DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF COMMUNITY ROOM, WORKSHOP CANCELLED
Boxes to Buildings Workshop
Tuesdays June 14 – 28, 2022
3:30PM – 5:30PM

Westbeth Community Room
155 Bank St
New York, NY enter through courtyard

Registration required.

PROOF OF VACCINATION REQUIRED AT DOOR BEFORE ENTRY

.

Penny Jones is the founder of Penny Jones & Company Puppets: Early Childhood Theater, a legendary puppet show that has been in performance for over 40 years. Her hand-made puppets were recently featured in Puppets of New York City exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York.

Penny Jones excerpt from Profiles in Art Interview:

When I was working with other people’s puppet shows, they were geared to older audiences, but younger children came. And somebody made the rather mean joke that you could tell the success of the show by counting the puddles left by the youngest children in the front row, due to overexcitement. I thought, That’s terrible! I realized nobody is writing for that age, respecting that age. So I determined when I went out myself that I would focus on that age. I had a child that age. I really identified with it. I wanted to produce shows which would capture their imagination, which wouldn’t scare them, which would move them, which would not treat them like second-class citizens. And so I thought about it. I thought they have more fun when they’re sitting together as a group than when they’re sitting in chairs that are too big for them in between adults. They like to laugh. They need to exercise during the show. It’s too long for them to sit through a whole show. So we invent games that will exercise them without having to get up and run around. That’s why every show has a hand game. And they naturally want to participate. They say hello to the puppet when they see it. They don’t understand that you’re supposed to be a listener, a watcher, and not participate.

As I developed the different shows, I kept thinking of various ways that would allow them to participate.

Read entire interview with Terry Stoller Penny Jones
puppeteer

Penny Jones Westbeth Icon – See the film made about her as part of the Westbeth Icon Series

Visit: Penny Jones Westbeth Icon

More Information about Penny Jones & Company Puppets

Visit: Penny Jones & Company