La MaMa Kids: Once Upon A Plastic Forest

EVOLVE PUPPETS (TANYA KHORDOC & BARRY WEIL) have been fixtures in NYC’s indie theater scene for more than two decades. Their large-scale puppet play HOME received a Jim Henson Foundation Grant for its development, and was performed at The Tank NYC in 2019.  They are currently developing their fourth full-length puppetry play, entitled THEY WERE CALLED TREES.  Evolve created the world premiere production of former Czech President Vàclav Havel’s play MOTORMORPHOSIS for UTC61’s Havel Festival in 2006, and were visited backstage by President Havel himself.  They designed and built puppets for Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble’s world premiere of PRINCESS MALEINE at La MaMa; created live-video-projected miniatures and models for UTC61’s musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s CAT’S CRADLE; and served as puppetry designers and associate producers for Theater East’s production of DEVIL AND THE DEEP, a musical co-written by Graham Russell of Air Supply, for which they developed internally-lit LED puppets.  Evolve has also performed many original puppet works (written, designed and directed by Tanya & Barry) at venues that include La MaMa, HERE Arts Center, St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Brick, Dixon Place, The Tank NYC, two Puppeteers of America National Festivals and the Voice 4 Vision Festival at Theatre for the New City.  They have been seen throughout NYC (and Vermont) in the political parody THE WIZARD OF OUNCES (written by contemporary “Land of Oz” author Edward Einhorn), and have led puppetry and performance workshops for organizations like Girl Be Heard.  Tanya is vice-president of the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York, serves on the board of the League of Professional Theatre Women, and performed the character “Phoenix” on the children’s web series ROSIE’S PLACE.  Barry is a playwright, actor, director, filmmaker and graphic artist who has created puppets, masks and other unusual objects for companies that include Third Rail Projects, UTC61, Mantis Dance Co., Foolish Theatre Company and L.A.’s Sacred Fools.  http://evolvepuppets.com/

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