WAPASA presents
The Creative Spirit Within Puppetry Arts
A Collaborative Conference at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School and Farm
July 31st - August 3rd 2025
Optional Pre-Conference Workshop
Thursday July 31st 9am - 3pm
Hues of Nature... Plant Dye Explorations with Janene Ping
We invite conference enthusiasts to join us for this pre-conference all day immersion into the beauty of plant dye color. Participants will work with local plants gleaned from hedgerows - as well as primary color exotics to create the full rainbow spectrum on natural fibers. The pre-conference workshop fee is $125 which includes materials, mordants, and dyes.
Participants may bring extra silk yardage from home to freely dye in the end-of-the- day vats.
Creative Spirit Puppetry Conference
Opening Evening ~ Thursday July 31st
Keynote Talk:” The Search for the Sacred” ~ 7pm
Followed by
Mountain Pine Tree Story Apron Puppetry
by Jennifer Aguirre
On to the heart of the conference!
Puppetry Intensive Workshops
Friday August 1st - Sunday August 3rd
Conference participants may choose from one of the workshops below that will run for seven sessions over the three days of the conference:
A. Puppet Magic: Unfolding a World from a ‘Suitcase/Basket’
~ Connie Manson
A parent arrived at a puppet story presentation at a neighborhood play center and presented me with a wonderful treasure - a vintage basket suitcase with sturdy leather handles and hinges. Imagine what magic can be created as the suitcase is opened and various surprises emerge for a story time treat! This workshop will inspire ways to incorporate music, movement, sensory surprises, and a delightful puppet story unfolding from a basket. This medium is perfect for outdoor settings and portable storytelling. We will be creating characters for seasonal stories using needle felting and wet felting techniques. Participants should bring a basket or small suitcase suitable for performance adaptations, fabrics for “interior design” can be brought from home or purchased from the plant dyed storehouse at the conference.
B. Pedagogical Puppetry for Kindergarten, Grades One and Two
~ Jennifer Aguirre
Jennifer Aguirre, who has designed a “Puppetry Through the Grades” curriculum for Waldorf Schools, offers this workshop on puppetry in the round for Kindergarten, and Grades One and Two. One of the best ways to include children in a puppet performance is to sit with them on the floor in a circle together, and have the children interact with the puppets in a scenery of silk scarves as the story is told. This engaging form of puppetry performance will be explored in detail through a variety of stories and performance tips. Workshop participants will make three table puppets with a step by step making process that is suitable for teaching young children.
C. Creating a Rod Puppet
~ Mindy Upton
The Rod Puppet has been used for sharing stories and plays for over a thousand years…
I am deeply connected to Rod Puppets because of their intimate quality of expressing love, story connection, and humor! They touch each child with a very special magic, and remain the most used puppet in my classroom. Their vital presence at community performances has inspired me to share this beautiful form of puppetry at this year’s collaborative conference. In this workshop we will learn the practical ways of constructing a rod puppet. As we explore the art of ‘embodiment’ we will enliven the ‘being’ that we create.
D. Colored Transparency Puppetry for Young Children
~ Cindy Sydow and Marjorie Rehbach
Today's young children face an onslaught of sensory impressions, many of which tend to shut their senses down. Teachers and parents are challenged to activate their healthy imagination. Colored shadow puppets can make a therapeutic contribution! This art form is versatile and also lends itself well to being integrated into larger puppet plays with marionettes, rod puppets or tabletop stories. WAPASA members Cindy Sydow and Marjorie Rehbach will share their enthusiasm for and knowledge of colored shadow puppet making, beginning with the basics. Workshop participants will engage in surprisingly simple steps of making the puppets, beginning with demonstrations of their creative work. Staging ideas, lighting solutions, suggestions for musical accompaniment, and special performance considerations for young children will also be explored.
Morning Walks, Singing, and Discussions
In addition to this specialization, participants are invited to join in morning exploration walks of the valley followed by singing. conference theme presentations and discussion sessions:
Modalities of Story/Art of the Craft~ Intention, Destiny, Freedom - Friday Morning
Cultivating Attention ~ Healing Modalities - Saturday Morning
With special guest Nancy Mellon
Evening Cabaret
The essence of our collaborative conference is that we all are inspired by each other’s endeavors! Do you have a short story to share, or a work in progress up your sleeve?
We encourage participants to bring an offering for our Friday and Saturday Evening Cabaret Sessions beginning at 6:30pm - hosted by the Professor, Mary Mary, Cedric the Dragon and JJ the Lamb. Participants can receive a 5% conference fee discount for bringing a puppet work in progress to share (recommended length - 5 - 10 minutes).
“Nuts and Bolts”
Cost of the Conference from Thursday Evening 7/31 to Sunday 8/3 at 1pm is $375. This fee includes morning and afternoon refreshments and some of the materials for the intensive workshops. Housing, Meals, and Transportation is not included. Meals can be purchased from the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store which is on the conference campus. Work Scholarships are available - for this, or if assistance is needed in arranging local transportation or housing, please contact jping@hawthornevalleyschool.org.
For more information about the Hawthorne Valley Community, search Cycle to Farms
Hawthorne Valley “unconventional by nature”
cycletofarms.com
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations must be submitted via email to jping@hawthornevalleyschool.org and worldpuppetry@gmail.com. A refund (minus the handling fee) will be issued for cancellations made at least 7 days prior to the event.