July 14, 2026

Jump Start 2026

Various Artists | Works in Progress
| Puppet Festival 2026

November 27-29

[Program tbd]

Runtime: 50-60 minutes

La MaMa’s annual Jump Start series gives puppet artists the opportunity to workshop and showcase current work-in-progress. Five artists will be presented in this year’s event…

Justin Perkins • William PK Carter •
Andrew Murdock • Marcella Murray •
Torry Bend

Scroll down to see presentation details

Torry Bend and Company

Coat and Coyote
Stripped of purpose, a discarded coat bonds with a female coyote, leaving a human-centered view of the world for reclaimed identity, wildness, and meaning.

Credits

Creator, Designer, Director: Torry Bend

Puppeteers: Tyler Benjamin, Kate Brehm, Jessica Hudson, Emily Liptow, Zulaa Mungunsukh

Composition and Music: Rob Chamberlain and James Phillips

Stage Manager: Opal Elwell

Puppet Build: Lindsey Elcessor, Opal Elwell, Zulaa Mungunsukh, Danny Ortez Lagos, Ellen Zeng

Andrew Murdock

Beacon
A figure awakens in the dark and illuminates a landscape of memories, fears, and dreams. This visually driven performance blends puppetry with pre-cinematic devices.

Credits

Andrew Murdock (lead artist/performer)

Gabrielle Schutz (dramaturg)

Sarah Finn (performer)

Sean Devare (sound/music)

Justin Otaki Perkins

Swan Lake Variation
An original puppet work suggested by Tchaikovsky’s ballet, tells the story of an unexeptional man’s encounter with the inexplicable.

Credits

Creator:
Justin Otaki Perkins

Composter:
David Leon

Special Lighting:
Camille Cooper

William PK Carter

Not Yet Buried
is a nature-based fantasy portrayal of a Queer Black experience that emphasizes the importance of community in the face of hate-fueled tragedy.

Credits

William PK Carter: Lead Artist, Fabricator, Playwright, Composer, Puppeteer, Vocalist

Ash Winkfield: Technical Advisor, Puppeteer, Vocalist

Emily Batsford: Puppeteer, Vocalist

Joseph Limos: Puppeteer, Vocalist

Thalya David: Puppeteer, Vocalist

Marcella Murray

Other Atlantas: Something Out The Mud
The trick, they say, is to not look down. I’ve learned that looking up can be a trap too. Look to your neighbor. Slowly, unsteadily, we make do.

Credits

Created and performed by Marcella Murray

The artists

Torry Bend
torrybend.com

bio

Bend’s puppetry has performed across the US, The Paper Hat Game was a NY Times Critic’s Pick, and nominated for a Drama Desk. She is a professor at Duke University.

Andrew Murdock
andrewmurdock.com
@AMurdock_Projects

bio

Andrew Murdock is an interdisciplinary artist collaging imagery across animation, video, physical theater, and puppetry. Seeking to reimagine his relationship with technology, he explores pre-cinematic storytelling techniques like shadow theater and magic lanterns. This experimentation has resulted in his recent work, Beacon.

Justin Otaki Perkins
jstnprkns.com
@jstnprkns

bio

Justin Otaki Perkins is a Brooklyn-based puppeteer, designer, and director. His work has appeared at the Met Opera, Shakespeare Theatre Company, NYTW, and Out of the Box Theatrics. Supported by the Jim Henson and Jerome Foundations, he co-founded and curates the Object Movement Puppetry Festival.

William PK Carter
WilliamPKCarter.com
@baeslleaf

bio

William PK Carter is a puppet artist and quilter based in Central Valley, New York. She bridges the puppet and fine art worlds by fabricating wondrous creatures that explore queerness and blackness. Her award-winning work and thesis have been exhibited in theaters, galleries, and museums nationwide.

Marcella Murray

bio

Marcella Murray is a New York-based theater artist from Augusta, Georgia. She is a playwright, performer, collaborator, and puppeteer. Murray’s work is heavily inspired by the observed ways in which people tend to segregate and reconnect, themes of identity within a community, and forward momentum in the face of trauma.

The 12th La MaMa Puppet Festival Fall 2026 is made possible by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Jim Henson Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation. Additional support from Cheryl Henson is gratefully acknowledged.