the mudlark puppeteers
The Mudlark Puppeteers. As a company, the Mudlark Puppeteers specialize in puppet theatre that is innovative and unconventional, presenting original and little-told stories of heroic misfits and wayward love. The Mudlarks have a developing repertory of object-based works in a variety of scales. Mudlark work explores history and human experience through a lens of fable, waging a playful but determined battle for alternative modes of being. We imagine hope in the form of new stories, reimagining the dispossessed as emerging heroes.
Mudlark Puppeteers’ REPERTOIRE
Mother Catherine and the Temple of the Innocent Blood
(A work in ongoing production)
The latest puppet operetta by New Orleans’ own Mudlark Puppeteers, this work is a celebration of the life and legacy of local folk hero, activist and spiritual leader Mother Catherine Seals. This is the story of a black woman’s ascension to glory through a life dedicated to healing through spirit.
In the Jim Crow South, Mother Catherine Seals came to hold sway over an interracial flock numbering in the thousands. Her spiritual tenets would be the foundation for one of the largest American religious organizations of the early twentieth century. Her unique style of musical worship, blending Gospel with African drumming and Jazz, would give life to music previously unimagined. But who was Mother Catherine? And why did so many people of different races, classes, genders and ages follow her word as wisdom? Through large scale rod and shadow puppetry and the music of the day, “ Mother Catherine and The Temple of the Innocent Blood” plays out these questions and the threads of life at which they tug, in vivid sound and color.
A Recluse and His Guest
Written by Tennessee Williams
Performed by The Mudlark Puppeteers
In a cruel village at the top of the world, where women are sometimes strung like sails from the trees in a midnight forest, a mysterious stranger comes wandering under the cold northern lights, seeking refuge in the home of a bitter recluse. This is a meditation on madness; a fable of patterns and disruptions where there may yet be hope for tenderness among outcasts. Told through rod puppetry, marionettes and dimensional shadows.
This Is the Peaceable Kingdom or (Good Luck God)
Written by Tennessee Williams
Performed by The Mudlark Puppeteers
This Is the Peaceable Kingdom or (Good Luck God) is among the last plays Tennessee Williams composed. It follows the collapse at a nursing home in Queens during the nurse’s strike in New York City in the spring of 1978. The play addresses issues of race, class, religion, and mortality. This is a difficult play. After being written it premiered and immediately closed due to controversy. This puppet revival first ran at the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts in September of 2022. This adaptation is focused on the potential for redemption and the persistence of hope that are inherent in the piece.
Bloodborne: The Red Death, An Unmasking
A post-mortem of Poe’s ” Masque of the Red Death,” as witnessed from a servant’s perspective, “Bloodborne” brings its audience into a prismatic, apocalypse feast. Who is the mysterious stranger stalking amongst the revelers, striking terror in their hearts? Vital questions loom- and the servant is the soul of discretion…
The Story of St. Dymphna, a Passion Play
The Mudlark Puppeteers present 'The Story of St.Dymphna, a Passion Play.' This work is an invocation and a celebration of the patron saint of runaway princesses and motherless children. Told through song, shadows and giant puppetry.
*contains strong images. parental guidance suggested
Mysterious Axeman Jazz
"The New Orleans Fringe Festival 2012's "Mysterious Axeman's Jazz" is a darkly delightful documentary about a century-old unsolved Crescent City serial killing delivered by a cast of oversized dolls. This is a play designed to warm the hearts of my colleagues on the crime beat, as it uses quotes from Times-Picayune newspaper accounts as story-telling stepping stones. A crime reporter is, in fact, one of the heroes of the piece."
-Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
Blue Book
From 1897 to 1917, New Orleans was host to one of the most notorious Red Light Districts in the world. Unlike other Tenderloins, Storyville had its own press and produced a collection of directories called “Blue Books.” While New Orleans was born with a reputation for unchecked vice and old-world ribaldry, Storyville was built on a fantasy of antebellum debauch that was writing its own demise. Meet the Demi- Monde Queens and their “jolly-good-girls,” presented in their own words from the Blue Books of their day. Meet the crib girls and johns, the big wheels and jazz men. Follow the life of Lulu White, the most infamous of Storyville’s madams, as ‘The Diamond Queen’ continually reinvents herself to outshine the encroaching specter of Jim Crow. Hear the music and witness the pageantry of a world on the brink of slipping into myth, as America charged towards its future.
The Pomology of Sweetness and Light
Funded by the Jim Henson Foundation
The Pomology of Sweetness and Light is a large scale puppet operetta that involves an interdisciplinary collaboration with the fields of stage acting, stop motion animation and fresh innovations in puppetry. Our narrative is a thematic exploration of the co-development of apples and the American identity, centralizing the theme of adaptation. We follow the tale of Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman, an American folk hero whose wholesome identity is complicated by the esoteric fact of his thwarted engagement to a ten year old girl.
The City That Care Forgot
The City that Care Forgot, performed by Pandora Gastelum of The Mudlark Puppeteers, is a one-woman shadow and rod-puppet show set to early jazz music which explores the lesser-known history of old New Orleans through the lives of some famous and infamous figures, including Lulu White, the Diamond Queen of Storyville.
Kate Culhane and the Dead Middle Man
In the aftermath of the Irish potato famine, an intrepid young woman matches wits with a spectre of supernatural greed. Our clever heroine may save her village from the forces of darkness, but must the effort cost her immortal soul? Told through puppetry and traditional music.
Vasilissa The Wise
For the 5th annual NOLA Giant puppet festival, the Mudlark puppeteers premiered " Vasilissa the Wise". This is a feminist adaptation of a " Baba Yaga" story. Based on Slavic lore, this story explores the significance of women's work and their place in society. Told through rod puppetry, shadows, marionettes, and traditional song, " Vasilissa the Wise" expresses the story of a young woman overcoming grave obstacles, including a cannibalistic witch, to attain her power.
Fitcher's Bird: A Mystery in Clockwork
Fitcher is a wicked magician with a heart made of cogs and gears. To set his heart in motion, he requires the love of an innocent. He is searching for a bride who can surpass his clever challenges. Will young Iris beat the sorcerer at his own game, or will she join his chamber of horrors? In this feminist retelling of the infamous " Bluebeard" story, a haunting fable unfolds in puppetry, dance and antique music.
The Snow Queen
Based on the haunting fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, The Snow Queen recounts a girl’s harrowing journey to young adulthood, in which she overcomes desperate adversity with a loving heart. In her fantastic travels, the girl encounters a garden of talking flowers, a dangerous band of robbers, ice beasts---and the beautiful, evil Snow Queen herself.
The production features dozens of large and elaborate puppets created through a series of free workshops for young adults led by The Mudlark Puppeteers. The participants fashion children, animals, demons and flowers who people the world of the Snow Queen, and enact the adventure.
The Adventures of Puss and Boots
This is a lively retelling of the Beloved fable of a clever cat who uses his feline Wiles to guide his master in a perilous ascent from Pauper to Prince. Told through giant scale puppetry and set to a score of live music, this show is a treasure box to Delight children of all ages.
The Monkey King
Adapted from the ancient Chinese epic -Journey to The West-, ' The Monkey King' follows the adventures of the magical monkey whose quest for glory takes him from his home on the Flower and Fruit Mountain to the depths of the Sea Dragon Kingdom and the heights of the Jade Emperors' heavenly palace. The Monkey King's ambitions are so bold that he will rise to challenge the armies of Heaven itself, but he must learn that it takes more than magical powers to live as a true hero.
Told through giant scale puppetry to a live score of original and traditional music. Run time: 35 min
Bride of Black Lake
Fleeing persecution in Moscow, Lida, a young Jewish bride, is attacked on her way to meet her husband. Fatally wounded, Lida is cast into the waters of Cerna Voda, The Black Lake. On the brink of death, Lida is visited by the voice of her Grandmother and her Grandmother’s stories of ‘ the rusalka. ‘ The rusalka are the unquiet spirits of young women who have died in water. From out of the depths, the rusalka approach Lida as her life slips away and offer her a final wish. Lida desires above all to return to the land of the living and be united with her groom- but within every wish is a trial. Will Lida make the ultimate sacrifice in name of love or be forever lost in darkness? The Bride of Black Lake is a postmodern fable set against a background of the pogroms in late 19th Century Russia and explores the conflict between desire and acceptance, between progress and history. Combining elements from the stories of Andersen's The Little Mermaid, the Slavic faery tale of the Rusalka, and the Jewish folktales of the Dybbuk and The Corpse Bride, The Bride of Black Lake features original and traditional music, bunraku, marionette and shadow puppetry.
The Passion of Santa Liberata
In the vast and wealthy kingdom of Lusitania, there was once a king who had nine daughters. Each of these princesses was lovely and talented, but the loveliest and most gifted of all, was the youngest. Her name was Tristeza. When the wealthy Sicilian King comes seeking a bride, he is captivated by Tristeza- and her father is won over by the Sicilian treasury. But Tristeza's only aspiration is to devote herself to a life of piety. She prays for a miracle and her prayers are answered. The subversion of her father's plan will have tragic results, and give rise to one of the most beloved patrons of freedom from persecutions of gender.
Adapted from Catholic Mythology. Told in shadow puppetry. Runtime: 16 minutes. For mature audiences.
Alligators
Once upon a time, in Old New Orleans, a traveling man came off the the river, and took a pretty young cake vendor to be his bride. She soon bore him a son, perfect in every way. But it wasn't long before the traveling man wanted to take his little son with him to bathe in river at night. The pretty young woman began to change. She began to talk to the people in town about her husband's terrible secret. Were her wild-stories about shape-shifting the products of madness and not to be believed? Or was there something peculiar about the traveling man that put the girl and their little son in genuine danger?
Adapted from Southern American Folklore. Runtime 12 minutes. Suitable for audiences of all ages.
Stray: The Story of Ivan Mishukov
Ivan Mishukov was born to a distracted mother in an overcrowded ghetto in the suburbs of Moscow. He spent his days hiding in one of the four corners of the tiny apartment. He was always hungry and the screaming around him was nearly constant. Then one day Ivan went outside. He was four years old. This is the incredible, true story of Ivan's survival on the hard streets of post-Soviet Russia. It follows Ivan's adventures as he lived for five years with a pack of wild dogs who would become his protectors, his friends and his family.
Told in shadow puppetry. Runtime 25 minutes. Suitable for audiences of all ages.
Pretty Maid Ibronka
Ibronka was the loveliest girl in her village, but of all the village maidens, Ibronka alone had no lover. One fateful night, Ibronka said " I wish above all things to have a sweetheart, even if one of the devils he be!" It goes to show that you must be careful what you wish for, because it wasn't long before a devil came to court pretty maid Ibronka. To claim her destiny for true love, Ibronka must find the wisdom and courage to break the demon's spell.
Adapted from a Hungarian folk tale. Told in shadows, rod puppetry and marionettes. Runtime: 25 min. Suitable for audiences of all ages.
The Story of St Dymphna
In Ancient Ireland there lived a powerful warrior king named Damon. When the good queen dies, King Damon vows never to marry again until he finds a bride who surpasses his former queen in grace and beauty. Tragedy and the cruel machinations of the court advisors conspire to turn Damon's grief-clouded desire toward the young princess- his own daughter. With the help of an elderly monk, the princess must the flee to a distant land to escape her father's advances. But their fragile safety can't long elude the King Damon's conviction... Marvel at the mythic origins of the patron Saint of Madhouses, the Motherless and Runaway Princesses.
Adapted from Catholic Mythology. Told in Shadow and rod puppetry to a score of very black Metal. Runtime 13 minutes. For mature audiences.
The Complete Botanical Bestiary
A selective glimpse into the sordid lives of plants behaving badly.
Journey through a sinister garden, between beds rich in botanical beauties, the facts of whose personalities are stranger than fiction. Described as " sweeping, cinematic, and awe-inspiring," The Botanical Bestiary explores the influence of vegetational treachery on human history.
Part One:
Aconite, Coca, and Ergot
Part Two:
Datura, Tobacco, and Killer Algae
Inspired by botany, world history, and Amy Stewart's Wicked Plants.Told in shadow puppetry. Each part runs 30 minutes, with a 30 minute intermission between the two. Total performance time: 1.5 hrs. Suitable for audiences of all ages.
Encyclopedia Animalia: A Medieval Bestiary, A-Z
Discover a world of monsters which alight from the pages of magical texts. Learn the secrets of grand and ghastly beasts, from the terrible Asp to the troublesome Xoni. Wonder awaits in this catalogue of creatures reborn from the distant past. Told in shadow puppetry. Adapted from the writings of Medieval alchemists.
Runtime 20 minutes. Suitable for audiences of all ages.
Hunter's Blind
A Tale of Love and Transformation Based on True Events In a world of shadow and superstition, where nothing is as it seems, a young girl sets out on a dangerous journey to unmask a monster, and discover her destiny... Across the bleak countryside of 15th century France, an unknown evil stalks the innocent. Netta is a friendless orphan struggling for survival in a time of war and famine. When a plague of child- disappearances besets her dismal village, Netta answers the call of the mystery. In the riddle of her birth she may hold the key to undoing a sinister curse. Netta's quest will take her far from the path, but to rescue what she truly loves, how much must she sacrifice? Follow Netta into the wood as she journeys into territories unkind to purity. " Be watchful through the forest and of faces rough or fair. For whatever company takes your side, a wolf may shelter there..." Inspired by the true story of Gilles de Rais, with influence from ' Little Red Riding Hood" by Charles Perrault. Hunter's Blind is told through bunraku and shadow puppetry, and is set to a score of original music. Runtime: 1 hour. For mature audiences.
The Six Swans
When their cruel stepmother, who is a wicked witch, changes six princes into swans, their sister, the Princess Eliza, must brave an incredible trial to break the spell. She must keep a vow of silence for six long years and weave each brother a shirt of starflowers. Will Eliza succeed and end the curse, or will the witch's evil have its way? Told in shadows, rod puppetry and marionettes Adpated from the Brothers Grimm. Runtime 30 min. Suitable for audiences of all ages.
The Nightingale
The Emperor's palace and garden are the most magnificent in the world, but of the many wonders in his vast empire, the nightingale is best of all. The emperor never leaves his throne, so heavy is he with his own importance, so he has never heard the beloved voice of the little bird. The nightingale is summoned to the palace, to please the Emperor, but can nature's beauty thrive in a gilded cage at court?
Told in shadows and marionettes
Adapted from the story by Hans Christian Andersen. Runtime: 18 minutes. Suitable for audiences of all ages.
