EVENT, WORKSHOP
Puppetry for Parents and Professionals
Saturday, Jul 9, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Join us this summer at MoMI for Puppetry for Parents and Professionals presented by WonderSpark Puppets. Puppetry can be used as an effective tool for interaction, pretend play, communication, motivation, de-escalation, and more. Led by professional puppeteer and Jim Henson Foundation Manager Lindsey “Z.” Briggs, participants will learn the basics of performance and technique as well as discuss ways to utilize puppets within the home, school, or other settings to build emotional connections. Puppets can be especially effective with children of various abilities, including those on the autism spectrum and those with developmental delays. All participants will receive their own puppet kit to take home, which includes a unique customized puppet and a finger puppet. The workshop is intended for parents and any professionals working with young people.
Participants will be eligible to receive 2 CTLE hours for attending this workshop.
This workshop costs $20 to attend (MoMI members get 25% discount). Get tickets now.
Lindsey “Z.” Briggs is the voice of Foley, the host of The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley and Friends, nominated for a 2021 Audie Young Listeners Award and now in its second season on Audible. Her work with Sesame Street also includes the role of foster monster mom Dalia in Season 51 Karli’s Life Box and in Sesame Street in Communities Foster Care Initiative. Z. recently performed background character work and right hand and props assisting in the second season of the Apple TV+ show Helpsters. She has performed as the puppet version of Cardi B for Atlantic Records, Lottie Lamb in three seasons of Seemore’s Playhouse (PBS Kids), and a dance-loving octopus for Moby’s music video I Like to Move in Here. Z. was invited to participate in two Sesame Street Performer Workshops in 2018 and 2006.
Z.’s innovative professional development course for educators, counselors and therapists working with students of all abilities with a special emphasis on neurodivergence, Making Connections Through Puppetry, has empowered hundreds of professionals and parents to learn how to use puppets when working with these populations. This innovative program originated through the Jim Henson Foundation and is supported by the Museum of the Moving Image. Making Connections Through Puppetry has received funding from The Kennedy Center VSA Program Sites and Next for Autism.
Z. is co-artistic director of WonderSpark Puppets performing puppet theater shows throughout New York City and beyond for children and families. She attended the MFA Puppet Arts program at the University of Connecticut and has been a guest lecturer and educator at Carnegie-Mellon and Yale University.