Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Visit to Julian Crouch's Studio in Brooklyn


Tucked away in an industrial part of Brooklyn is a magical workshop brimming with curiosities and sinister looking characters - I have a penchant for things like these.

This Monday I had the pleasure of visiting Julian Crouch's studio in Brooklyn. I met Julian after a performance of Birdheart in San Francisco a few months ago. When I planned my trip to New York it had to include a visit to the master puppet maker's studio. I realized that I had been following his work for years without knowing it. I had been showing my puppetry class images culled offline and from the New York Times, even using the soundtrack from Shock Headed Peter, a production he worked on with the band the Tiger Lillies.

Julian is currently working on a job for a production at La Scala among other projects.

Works in progress.
Julian near some of his creations.

Some leftover heads from Birdheart with another painting as a backdrop.
One of Julian's paintings.
Julian uses a lot of natural materials in making his puppets from baskets, and bark to tree sap based glue and burlap and what appeared to be real teeth and bones.




Julian with a work in progress.
Helping out on a project was, puppeteer and musician, Erik Sanko. Erik is also a puppeteer I've admired for making creepy, hoary marionettes. I've had a poster from his production The Fortune Teller  on my classroom wall for years from one of my favorite little theaters in NYC called the HERE Theater.

With Erik Sanko
With Julian and friend and fellow puppeteer, Andrea Lomanto.
What a treat to discover two great puppeteers in one visit. I guess I got lucky. Scroll down for images of more puppets from past productions.










Sunridge Students Prepare for a Processional

Trompin' Manikins members Michele Wetherbee and Merrie Rivera taught students skills in puppet making at Sunridge Waldorf School this spring. Here are a few examples.