Upcoming Events

Playchella

As the US approaches the 2026 midterm elections, I, as a queer puppeteer in a rural, reflexively “red state”, am discovering more and more that community and comedy can help us, collectively, in healing from the civil discourse we find ourselves in as a country. Hence, Playchella!

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Visiting campuses across the country, Playchella features a series of hilarious, pantomime-style, puppet shows performed for passer-by students and employees, re-establishing the arts and humanities as the pillars of American civility. This celebration of the humanities follows a single puppeteer as he makes his way through a daily, artistic practice, including:

CLASSIC LITERATURE PUPPET SHOW PERFORMANCES (shows listed below)

-POST-SHOW AUDIENCE FORUMS

-DRAMATURGY AS MEDIA LITERACY

-MOVEMENT COMPOSITION

-MUSIC & SCORING DEMO

-GROUP CHARACTER STUDY

-PUPPET-BUILDING LIVE DEMO ft. YOUR SCHOOL MASCOT

 

What I ask of you is:

SPACE! (Lecture hall, practice room, dance studio, classroom, or auditorium to fit our small, mobile stage)

SHARE! (Let your organization’s members know this event is going on, encouraging a come-and-go approach to watching the humanities in action)

 

What’s playing…and why?

ROBIN HOOD (Themes: wealth disparity, classism, and practical skill-building) Runtime: 45 min

OLIVER TWIST by Charles Dickens (Themes: church & state, poverty, and found family) Runtime: 45 min

THE TRIALS OF DAVID (Themes: the arts, faith, and male intimacy)

ONDINE: A QUEER FAIRY TALE (Themes: emotional intelligence, democracy, and status quo) Runtime: 55 min

 

Without the goal of winning by the end, I am meeting folks where they are with these hands-off, communal activities. Goals like bringing laughs and levity to tough topics can help entice first-time and disenchanted voters to enter political conversations more proactively during the upcoming, 2026 midterm elections. Resources to register to vote, change parties, preview upcoming ballots, make voting plans will be provided with help from HEADCOUNT. (Considerations for local and state voting policies will be made to ensure effective steps are taken at PLAYCHELLA.)

 

Invitations to your local candidates to attend and participate will be made in the coming weeks as we I prepare for the upcoming touring season.

 

PBS NewsHour: Canvas Art Series segment (2022): https://youtu.be/cM1uZikMBEE?si=lj8OfC9wAOEoFPYQ

 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions about the day’s operation. This pop-up festival is made possible with the help of arts patrons and concerned Americans believe access to the arts is the key to healing our country.

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Each stop’s cost comes to:

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$500

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Your contribution today will help make these chances for first-time voters and current, disparaged constituents to vote for new leadership on national, state, and local levels possible.​