Wisdom, Wonder, and Enchantment: A Summer Collaborative Conference

Featuring a Keynote by Philipp Reubke, Simple Puppetry for Children under Six: Nurturing the Body Senses and Reality-Based Thinking

Workshop Leaders: Jennifer Aguirre, Oxana Chi and Layla Zami, Brian Hull, Nancy Mellon, Janene Ping, Marjorie Rehbach, Connie Manson, and Mindy Upton

On-Line Collaborative Dimension

In this on-line dimension of our summer arts conference, our keynote presentation, movement, and puppet performances will be live streamed and also recorded for viewing by at home participants. There will also be 2 puppetry workshops and corresponding plenum discussions for interactive collaborative engagement.

ON-LINE CONFERENCE HOST – Connie Manson

On-line workshops this year focus on community outreach through performance art that can travel to the park, hospital, library, or refugee camp.

Performance in the Park ~ and Bringing it Home – with Connie Manson

The Traveling Theater – Suitcase Performance with Mindy Upton

On-line workshops will be recorded and available for viewing for 30 days after the conference.

View Conference Schedule and Workshop Descriptions

Join us at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School in upstate New York!

Our in-person conference this summer invites teachers, artists, and friends to experience the inspiration of collaborative puppetry arts. Together we will explore storytelling by centering on our theme through an opening keynote and daily presentations and discussion. How can we protect and nurture a sense of wonder in the world? What is the role of enchantment and how does it play out in the modern world? Why are wisdom tales more important, now than ever, for humanity – and how can we transform these to be best received in the times we live in? Our conference community will explore the South African tale of “Enchanted Waters” through marionette construction and movement, dance, the creation of worlds and elements, and work with light, shadow, and color. This collaboration will model how to work with community arts, the fruits of which will be presented in a Sunday afternoon performance.

All conference participants will have the opportunity to participate in all of our offered workshops during the course of our conference days .

Ticket also includes Marionette kit to be used at the conference. Marionette kit will be available for pickup in person at the conference.

View Conference Schedule and Workshop Descriptions

Learn about Meals, Lodging, and Transportation

Hawthorne Valley Summer Conference Pandemic Parameters

To be able to dream into the holding of an in-person conference after these years of a world pandemic is not something that is taken for granted by conference planners. It is our hope that strains of COVID-19 that are still circulating will continue to be mild, as immunity builds for the large majority of our population. Each individual must follow their own intuition regarding what is healthy in regards to the state of their own self as well as that of our general society at large.

We are choosing to follow Hawthorne Valley School’s current health and safety guidelines since we will be on their campus. These do not require COVID-19 vaccinations of teachers or students, but do stipulate that all conference participants on campus, regardless of vaccination status, attend the conference only if they are free of symptoms of any illness. Participants are also asked to take a COVID-19 test before leaving home to travel to the conference. As long as results are COVID-19 negative, and no family members are COVID-19 positive, we welcome you to join us!

We honor people’s desire to mask if it helps them to feel safe. Our rooms that we will be using for the conference will be spacious and well ventilated with HEPA filtration. Meals can be purchased at the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store and there are outdoor dining areas for the conference. We encourage walks on the biodynamic farm and beautiful woodland trails surrounding Hawthorne Valley. There are ponds and streams that offer cooling waters… We sincerely hope that time spent at our collaborative arts gathering will be restorative and healing.

Conference related questions should be directed to worldpuppetry@gmail.com.