“The pharaoh Akhnaten ascended to the throne at just 17 years old with a bold new vision to transform Egyptian society. What change do young people want to see in our world?

On the occasion of Akhnaten’s highly anticipated return to the Metropolitan Opera stage on May 19, the Met joins forces with the Bronx Arts Ensemble, director Miguel Alejandro Castillo, and artist Lexy Ho-Tai to present RA, Songs of the Past, Voices of the Future: A Community Project Inspired by Akhnaten. In collaboration with the Met Education Department and PS 83, RA is an interdisciplinary performance featuring countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, baritone Zachary James, Gandini Juggling, and Sing Harlem, with new music written by the students of PS 83 and Karsh Kale. Song, poetry, movement, and puppetry come together to create a joyful meditation on new horizons.”

Had the joy of designing and creating this 14 foot puppet inspired by the story of Akhnaten.

Photo Credit for images 1-5: Erin Baiano

Fabric, Wire, Foam, Ostrich Feathers, Paper Mache, Fake Flowers, Backpack, Wood, PVC Pipe, Dowels
2022

“loud and clear is a performance piece exploring diasporic imagination and future folklore. What happens when folklore migrates? How do we celebrate resilience within the exhausting process of migrating? The work imagines a hybrid fictional and post-nationalist folkloric festivity inspired by immigrants and the vibrancy of Latin-American traditions such as tambores, calypso, the dancing devil of Yare, Naiguatá, and the Andean ekeko.”

I had the honour of designing and creating masks and costumes for this powerful dance piece.

Choreography and performance by Miguel Alejandro Castillo and Daniella Barbarito
Music by Daniella Barbarito
Costume design by Lexy Ho-Tai
Scenic design by Xinan Ran

Outdoor images, photo credit: Jay Spencer, Courtesy Sable Project Indoor images, photo credit: Maria Baranova, Courtesy New York Live Arts

Created sixteen wearable soft-sculptures, based on various creatures living in the Delaware River. This was created as part of the interactive theater in the River Alive! permanent exhibition at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, which educates viewers about the beauty and challenges of the Delaware River. In this installation, viewers are invited to activate river stories through interactive lighting, sounds, and wearables in an immersive environment. Wearables are primarily made from found and recycled materials.

Lighting by Dwain Decker, sound by Will Owen, and set by Creative Machines and Will Owen. Envisioned and managed by Victoria Prizzia. 

2018

Commissioned by Street Lab to create additions to their PLAY NYC obstacle course to make it even more engaging and interactive for their users. I designed PLUSHIES - a series of open-ended, multi-purpose, soft sculpture pieces. These soft sculpture pieces have velcro, straps, loops and bells to encourage open-ended, multi-sensory tactile play + curiosity. The environment created by these sculptures becomes new each time and fosters a sense of collective stewardship wherever they are deployed. Kids can dress up in wearables and position and attach the evolving soft sculptures to the obstacle course elements, transforming the course into an other-worldly installation that they were part of. Wearing the objects allowed the kids to transform into characters and relate to each other and their environment in new exciting ways.

Thank you to Street Lab for this oppourtunity, and City Arts Corps for the funding support.

Fabric, Bells, Velcro, Straps, Fringe
2021

“With almost all the insects gone, the world is beginning to fall apart as crops fail and people struggle to hold on to their ways of life. Cassandra and her brother Alexander are tracking the last monarch butterflies in the world as they head to the west coast. Their path intersects with a truffle farm where a small group of people are hunkering down for the on-coming collapse of society.“

Designed + fabricated monarch butterfly puppets for Somewhere: Primer for the End of Days, written by Marisela Travino Orta and directed by Lisa Jackson-Schebetta. Performed at Skidmore College.

Feathers, Threads, Fabric, Wire, Beads, Yarn
2021

“Whales, blackberries, sentient artificial intelligence, bacteria, and so many strange beings from OTHER ORBITS anxiously await you.” Had the pleasure of creating puppets for Applied Mechanics’ upcoming Reality TV show for aliens!

Fabric, foam, beads, polyfil, feathers, pom poms, googly eyes, wire
2022

“Big Green Theater is an eco-playwriting program for public elementary students in which kids write plays about local ecology, climate change, and environmental justice, then see their work produced professionally for audiences of their peers and families." .

Amidst the start of the Covid-19 Lockdowns in March 2020, this project transitioned from a theater project (where I was the prop / specialty costumes designer), to a film project (where I became a puppet-maker + puppeteer). Theater actors + makers rehearsed, filmed, discussed, created, and edited remotely, resulting in two wildly fantastic films following the scripts written by Bushwick youth (yes, that means some of the puppets had to dab!). Here are some images of puppets I created exclusively using found and recycled materials that I had on me during the quarantine. Find out more about this incredible project here, and watch the full films here and here. Thank you Bushwick Starr, Superhero Clubhouse, and the incredible team of creators for demonstrating such creative resiliency during this unprecedented time.

Found + Recycled Materials including cardboard, paper, plastic bags, fabric scraps, egg cartons, packaging, yarn
2020

“Big Green Theater (BGT) is an eco-playwriting program for public elementary students that uplifts the imaginations of young people most impacted by our new climate reality and brings their ideas to life on stage. BGT aims to inspire students to manifhereest a sustainable and just community by using the power of their creative voice. “ Learn more about Superhero Clubhouse’s Big Green Theater here.

I had the joy of creating two sets/ backdrops for The Mystical Jungle and Luminescence City, an imaginative eco-play written by fifth graders at P.S. 152 in Woodside. As part of the process, I facilitated two virtual design workshops with students to introduce them to the design process and to get their creative input. The final sets are made from painted paper, evoking the feeling of being in a children’s book. Thank you to Brandon Lee Harris for assisting on this project.

Acrylic on Paper
2021

“In the winter of 2019, we lived and created for five weeks in the Everglades National Park, through the AIRIE program. and the play that resulted was a combination of research and experience regarding the environmental challenges that the Everglades face, as interpreted through our diverse creative styles.

"Pedalers'" tells the story of a bike-touring theatre company that travels a future, post-climate change Florida landscape teeming with alligators, mosquitos, and sawgrass. The “carnival” they bring glorifies America’s past “Age of Abundance” and offers a distraction from the battle against the elements that living in Florida has become. However, after the pedalers lose Nonna Harmonia, their founder and matriarch, they question whether to continue in the name of tradition, or to evolve their show to respond to the changing needs of their community and to develop a new relationship with nature.”

Set + Prop Designer for Agile Rascal Bicycle Touring Theatre’s Florida Tour. The challenge was creating impactful designs - that could be modular and transported on bicycles. I primarily worked with found and reycled materials, particularly packaging found in our waste stream - packaging, bottles, and other plastics. Find out more about the brilliant Agile Rascals here.

Big thank you to AIRIE (Artists-in-Residence in Everglades) and Aloha Redland for hosting us while we devised this original play! And thank you to the wonderful Rascals on this team: Dara Silverman (Artist Director/ Writer), Jenny Hipscher (Director), Jackie Rivera (Production Manager/ Performer), Miguel Alejandra Castillo (Lighting Designer/ Performer), Kendrick Haunt (Costume Designer/ Performer), Michael Hulburt (Performer), Joel Knopf (Composer/ Performer), Ashley Whiting (Performer), Susan Freinkel (Journalist), and Nick Zelle (Intern).

Photo Credit for Images from Show: Nick Zelle
2019

“In October 2019, Agile Rascal participated in Touchstone Theatre Company's Festival Unbound. Festival Unbound was an opportunity for the community of Bethlehem, PA to commemorate the historic closing of their famous steel mill and an opportunity to envision a new future. It was also an opportunity for Agile Rascal to envision a new way to collide performing arts with cycling. Rather than bring the arts to our audiences on bicycles, we brought our audiences, on bikes, to the arts.

Over a 2.5 mile ride, our participants were invited to envision their landscape in a new way - one full of history, possibility, and creative potential.”

I had the pleasure of creating 20 cardboard horse heads, transforming bikes into horses for audience members to ride in this participatory Agile Rascal show. A horse’s scroll, maypole ribbons and socialism/ capitalism/ anarchy signs were also amongst the various props I created for this brilliant Agile Rascal show, using found + recycled materials. View more photos, listen to Jaren Feeley’s incredible score, and find out more about the project here.

Photo Credit: Ed Laskin (Images 1 - 12)
2019

Commissioned to create a lively, inviting, and family-friendly installation for the High Line Family Festival - a free three day pop-up event that offers workshops, performances, and programs for families. Celebrating the diversity and joy of plant life on the High Line, I designed several backdrops and tactile elements that would be engaging for kids (and adults!), using primarily recycled materials. 

2018

“New York City streets certainly have a beat of its own. It’s exhausting and overwhelming. It’s exciting and energizing. It’s unapologetically New York City. Honk Honk! Beeeeeep! Get out of my way! Putt your way through people rushing about, angry traffic jams, street performers, and all the wonderful and weird nuances and noises of New York City.“ 

Interactive mini-golf hole based on the mini-golf course's theme for the year, NYC has the beat. Created in a short time period using primarily recycled and found materials. Exhibited at Governor’s Island for three months, open and free for the public to play. 

Building Advisor: Mark Ressl, Studio Assistant: Lewis Shore

Photo credit 3, 9, 13, 14: Victor Utama

2017