PUPPETEERS
Annett Mateo
Annett Mateo believes anything can be a puppet! She has made all kinds of puppets out of all kinds of materials for people, projects and theaters both regionally and international. She is thrilled to be Puppet Master and Seattle Childrens Theatre and have a thriving freelance career as well.
www.puppetlandia.com
Brittany Moering
Brittany is the creator of Britt & the Wily Wayfarers, which are original, interactive, fantasy themed puppet shows. The Wily Wayfarers take the audience on whimsical quests, and learn lessons about health, friendship and science along the way. Brittany Moering is also an enthusiastic puppet builder and a confirmed geek.
www.wilywayfarers.com
Bruce Bowman
Bruce is a professional sculptor and model maker who just enjoys a bit of sillyness.
photo by Kendall Stewart
Clay Martin
Clay Martin is incredible. His shows leave a smile on everyone's face. He resides in Tacoma, WA - can occasionally be seen in the Portland circuit.
photo by Katie McClenahan
Dan Luce
Dan Luce has studied, built and performed all over the world in the art of puppetry. He has toured internationally as a part of Phillip Huber’s (Being John Malkovich) Huber Marionettes troupe and has worked for years building large-scale puppets with Michael Curry Design (Broadway Lion King, Cirque du Soleil).
Photo credit: Kook Teflon
Dustin Curtis
Puppeteer Dustin Curtis is the founder and artistic director of Trivia Puppet Company. He was the proud recipient of the 2017 Unima-USA Education grant to study shadow theatre with Italy’s Teatro Gioco Vita. Dustin also volunteers his time as guild president of the Puppeteers of Puget Sound (Seattle) as well as serving on the board of directors for Puppeteers of America. triviapuppet.com
photo by Ben Adams
Gavin Cummins
Gavin Cummins is a God among puppeteers. He is currently working as a full time puppeteer and builder for The Great Arizona Puppet Theater in Phoenix, AZ. His show The Bread Death is a must-see.
photo by Kendall Stewart
Jenelle Weidlich
Jenelle is so super duper. We love her hard. She will be attending Grad School in Berlin in 2018 and we will miss her and her alter-ego, Ollie.
photo by John Cornicello
Katie McClenahan
Katie is a production wizard by day and puppeteer by night. She co-wrote and produced a puppet short film, "Melvin the Birder", that has been picked up for distribution by Jim Henson and Disney and will be circulated as part of the Handmade Puppet Dreams Collection by Heather Henson. In addition to co-producing the BLE puppet slams with Summer Olsson, she enjoys bringing outside puppetry artists to Portland. She enjoys eating pizza, jumping into the ocean and collecting tiny things.
photo by Shawn Patrick Higgins
KCPuppetree
Kelly Campbell declared at a young age “I want to be a puppet!” When she realized there were actually people who operated the puppets, she agreed “I guess I could be a puppeteer instead.” Kelly studied puppetry with San Francisco’s Lunatique Fantastique, then joined the Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre’s family in 2009 and has since performed in several season shows, one-person puppet plays, and puppet slams. Kelly is currently launching her own puppet company, KCPuppetree, creating original puppet plays out of re-used objects.
photo by Katie McClenahan
Nicholas Mahon
is Mr. Toad. He is currently living in New York City as a freelance Art Director and Character Designer, so sightings of the amphibian are less frequent. Long live the toad.
photo by Jules Doyle
Rachel Jackson
Rachel Jackson is a Seattle-based puppeteer and food enthusiast who specializes in twisting the familiar into dark and humorous shapes through her company, Vox Fabuli Puppets. The mind behind "MANOS - The Hands of Felt", she more recently brought her hands to "Stories for Bad Children: Chapter 2", and the The-Felt-a-thon. She also co-produces Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam in Seattle. www.VoxFabuli.com
photo by Shawn Patrick Higgins
Randy Knickers
If you haven't seen Randy then you're newbie to Portland's amazing puppet scene. He's pretty adorable but he sometimes crosses the line. On Tuesdays he can be found in the back room of Parcheezies Pizza because the manager lets him play pinball for free. He's currently working on a super-secret TV show as a production assistant. You gotta start somewhere!
photo by Aaron Hewitt
Red Yarn Puppet Band
The Red Yarn Puppet Band is an energetic folk ensemble that enlivens animal folk songs with puppetry and interactive performance. The group was organized by Andy Furgeson, a teaching artist who uses folk music and puppetry to help children build creative skills, values, and an understanding of history. RYPB features the talents of Jessie Eller-Isaacs (middle-school teacher, singer, and craftster), Tony Candelaria (former Laika puppeteer, co-creator of arts production company Belly & Bones), Stef Choi (former Laika designer, co-creator of Belly & Bones), and a rotating cast of musicians and puppeteers. www.redyarnproductions.com
Robert amico
Robert Amico is a puppeteer, puppet fabricator, and props artisan. He has received a Drammy for Excellence in Puppetry as part of the cast of Oregon Children's Theatre's production of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. He also performed as a puppeteer and puppet designer for The Tall Tales of Paul Bunyan, a show Robert co-wrote and produced as part of the Fertile Ground Festival. In addition to his work onstage, Robert has worked as a puppet fabricator at Michael Curry Design, Portland Center Stage, and Oregon Children's Theatre, as well as the Props Master for several shows at Artist’s Repertory Theatre. Robert graduated Magna Cum Laude from Lewis & Clark College where he studied Theatre and Studio Art. robert.william.amico@gmail.com
photo by Shawn Patrick Higgins
Samala Coffey
Samala Coffey is the director of local experimental puppetry troupe The Shenanigans Alliance. The Alliance was founded in 2010 by a pair of identical twins and features a rotating cast of talented Pacific Northwest performers.
Sarah Andrews
Sarah Andrews graduated from Central Washington University with a BFA in acting. She has directed several shows including "Crossing" by Reza De Wet and "Misreadings" be Neena Beeber as well as a number of her own original works. She has been trained in puppetry by Brian Kooser.
Simple Machines
Puppeteers Rollin Carlson and Tony Fuemmeler first worked together on the 2007 UNIMA Award winning Pinocchio for Tears of Joy Theatre. They formed Simple Machines at the time of the creation of their first show, and have made a series of intimate shadow shows since. Rollin has collaborated with a variety of companies in town, including defunkt theatre, Fever Theater, and Playwrite, Inc. Tony works as a mask maker, puppeteer, director, and teaching artist in Portland and around the country.
Photo by: Meg Nanna
SUMMER OLSSON
Summer Olsson is a performer, writer, designer, and teacher. She co-produces the BLE puppet slams with gusto and courage. She is one half of the clown pair Duo Doppio, and loves a great story, a complicated character, or a funny wig. She is active in the theater, puppetry, writing, and clown communities of Portland and beyond.
photo by Shawn Patrick Higgins
Tayloranne Finch
Tayloranne Finch works as an Organic Farmer and Puppeteer out of Portland, OR. She is inspired by the mystic plant spirits and engages their wisdom while she works. She enjoys collaboration and multi-disciplined performances incorporating dance, sound, real and unreal objects into light shows. She'd love to hear from you and share stories!
Photo credit : Teatro Calamari
TEATRO CALAMARI
Founded in 1995 as an international touring company by Emmy award winning puppeteer Tim Giugni, Teatro Calamari pursues theatrical excellence on the stage with productions that weave puppetry, mask and physical theater into whimsical and innovative theatre experiences for the entire family.
Wisteria Fleming Loeffler
Wisteria is a graduate of Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, CA. As a puppeteer she's had the opportunity to tour with Tears of Joy Theatre, Teatro Calamari and more. She loves puppetry, because anything's possible, a rock can talk, a person can have no mouth, you're walking along and suddenly the whole world is talking to you.