Saturday October 9 * ONLINE * noon-130pm Eastern * REGISTER

 The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imagined wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot.

"Breaking the fourth wall" is when this performance convention, having been adopted more generally in the drama, is violated. This can be done through either directly referring to the audience, the play as a play, or the characters' fictionality.

Breaking the fourth wall is common in pantomime and children's theatre where, for example, a character might ask the children for help, as when Peter Pan appeals to the audience to applaud in an effort to revive the fading Tinker Bell

("If you believe in fairies, clap your hands!").

Sometimes a puppeteer changes into a force that is for or against the puppet character -or something expressing the character's mental state, religious beliefs, or atmosphere.

When a Puppeteer goes from being invisible to being a visible force that the puppet needs to contend with, that could be called breaking the 5th wall.

Saturday October 2nd 10am-noon EST LIVE IN-Person at Rhizome DC 6950 Maple St NW, Washington DC, DC
*Please be prepared to wear a mask indoors, though we will work outside weather permitting.

*If you have a table top puppet or floppy stuffed animal/ragdoll please bring it. flexible objects and hand puppets also welcome.

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Lab is a safe place where people brave theatrical exploration and mistakes are welcome.
"the only failure is not trying"
theater = Baptism by Fire.

Puppet Lab supports the development of works in progress: you can present work for feedback or direct others in lab to improvise parts/puzzle out specific scenes and how your show might work. Improvisation is central to our explorations.

Puppet Lab’s purpose is to be a hub for all those interested in puppet theater who would benefit from:
boosting creative power
honing puppet-manipulation skills
cross-pollinating ideas
receiving feedback about works in progress
building puppet community

Open to all levels of experience.

Rhizome Puppet Lab works to uphold community access: no one will be turned away for lack of funds. However, if you appreciate what we are doing and would like to contribute something (suggested donation $8) please do so.