The Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline Village has long been a spot for innovative artworks. Now the arts organization is taking its commitment to invention and diversity to a new level with the launch of the Black Puppeteer Empowerment Grant & Creative Research Residency.
This grant will provide five Black puppeteers with $1,000 to launch a new piece of work as well as a mentorship with acclaimed puppeteer Brad Brewer and an online platform to showcase their work-in-progress this summer. The application is open to artists nationwide including artists in other mediums that are interested in incorporating puppetry into a particular project.
“Puppet Showplace is very intentionally situated from its founding at the intersection of the urban and suburban communities in Boson,” says Roxanna Myhrum, artistic director of Puppet Showplace Theater. “We know that Boston is a deeply segregated region and we see puppetry as one of many art forms that can create welcoming spaces for our communities to meet and be strengthened through the shared experience of joy and creativity.”
The application closes on June 27 and those awarded with grants will be chosen by July 1. The residency will culminate in an in-progress, open-to-the-public, virtual performance that will likely launch in August.
The Puppet Showplace Theater has presented work by several Black puppeteers in the last few years, including a powerful piece called “Just Another Lynching” by the well-known artist Jeghetto. Celebrating and presenting these artists and using the theater as a venue for discussions about racial justice are important first steps. But Myhrum says the organization is constantly evaluating how they can do more to make the industry accessible to those who are shut out.
“How do we open as many doors as possible? And that includes for people who are professional puppeteers but who are still experiencing racism, microaggressions, and barriers to entry anywhere in a field that still has predominantly white practitioners,” she says.
Interestingly, puppetry has a very diverse history with roots in African puppetry traditions that are some of the most revered in the world. But here in the United States where 400 years of enslavement did its best to stamp out the cultures and creations of African Americans, the industry is largely white. Even Black puppeteers with big names, like Kevin Clash who voiced Elmo in Sesame Street, are pushed to the background.
Myhrum hopes this grant will help make the industry more accessible to diverse artists. “One of our goals is to build a cohort of people who are creating art who can support each other through their practice in different ways,” she says. “There’s a priority for work that really sees and embraces and empowers our communities.”
More information on the application process can be found on their website.
