Processional Arts Workshop: Bookings and Commissions

PROCESSIONAL ARTS WORKSHOP: Bring PAW to Your Community or Event

PAW will come to your community, event or project to do any of the following:

• DEVELOP A SITE-SPECIFIC COMMUNITY PAGEANT

• LEAD TOPICAL WORKSHOPS in PROCESSIONAL ART TECHNIQUES

• CREATE COMMISSIONED PAGEANT and THEATRICAL WORKS

• ARTIST TALKS, DISCUSSIONS, and CONSULTATIONS

DEVELOP A SITE-SPECIFIC COMMUNITY PAGEANT:

We will come to your community as artists-in-residence and work with local residents, schools, or arts organizations to create a pageant that uniquely reflects aspects of your local culture, history, or environment. We work collaboratively at every stage of the process, beginning with community interviews and brainstorming sessions, then designing and building through group Puppetraisings, and ultimately involving hundreds of volunteers to perform the final procession.

These site-specific workshops offer an opportunity for an entire community to contemplate its own local identity, with discussions framed and focused by tangible artistic goal as the outcome. At the same time, the workshops allow us to share technical and organizational insights necessary to sustain an annual procession for years to come. Depending on funding and the scale of a proposed event, these workshops range in duration from weekend workshops to month-long intensive residencies. Every community is different, so we invite contact us to discuss potential projects in greater detail.

TOPICAL WORKSHOPS in PROCESSIONAL ART:

Topical workshops focus on a particular technique or artistic practice within the larger genre of processional art. These hands-on workshops help event organizers, art teachers, or other interested participants initiate or enhance existing events in their communities. We customize each workshop to fit particular interests or age levels. Examples of workshops include the following:

• Luminous structures: How to create large, lightweight illuminated elements (lanterns, puppets, etc.) using both old-fashioned and state-of-the-art lighting sources, such as Electro-luminescent wire, LEDs, and battery-powered compact flourescents. 1-day or 2-day workshop.

• Basic Giant Figure Puppets: Learn to create and animate a 12-foot tall figurative puppet, working with molded papier-maché, lightweight bamboo armatures, heat-formed rattan, EVA foam, and other processes. Other puppet motifs (such as segmented snakeforms and flying creatures) are also possible. 3-day to 5-day workshop.

• Basic mask and head-dress: Create simple but elegant forms in papier-mache and learn various methods for mounting and performing them in procession. 1-day or 2-day workshop.

• The Art of Noise: Learn to create homemade musical instruments using ordinary household materials. Assemble a large percussive ensemble within limited time and budget constraints. Examples include sonotube Tibetan drums, Brazilian kwikas, and Aboriginal bullroarers. 1-day or 2-day workshop.

• Banners, Standards, and Ceremonial Architecture: Learn how to compose, print, and mount large fabric banners and other 2D elements using both traditional and modern techniques, such as batik dyeing, silkscreen, pouchoir, and giant relief print. 1-day workshop.

• Puppet Rejuvination Clinic: Are those old papier-maché puppets just too heavy to carry? Does the dragon’s mouth no longer open and its wings no longer flap? We will come to your community and retro-fit overbuilt puppets with lightweight materials, restore damaged parts to working order, and construct bearer belts or backpacks to allow to easier, and thus more lively, performance. Duration varies depending on project.

PAGEANT and THEATRICAL COMMISSIONS:

PAW can create original commissioned works for your event or production. Previous projects have included giant puppets, theatrical masks and costumes, and event-specific light-sculpture installations. Our crew produces these works in our upstate New York workshop, delivers and installs them personally, and when needed offers instruction in performance and operation. Our clients have ranged from the Sci-Fi Channel to the Elizabeth, NJ High School Marching Band (which won the state championship with a quartet of our giant dancing skeletons). Contact us to discuss a project, commission a design proposal, or ask about pricing and fees.

ARTIST TALKS, DISCUSSIONS, and CONSULTATIONS :

We are always eager to share our work and our thoughts on processional art with interested schools or other organizations. We tailor our lectures and discussions to accommodate specific groups, age levels, academic fields, or specialized topics. Our recent lectures have included the University of Michigan (College of Art and Design, and School of Urban Planning and Regional Development), Binghamton High School (Arts Division), University of the West Indies (Trinidad campus for Carnival Arts), Maine College of Art, and the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York.

We also provide consulatation for events, working with organizers to develop new approaches to community arts, volunteer coordination, procession "flow" and timing, crowd management, and other issues associated with creating and sustaining a community pageant.