Accepted!

Bread and Puppet postcard

I experienced this feeling in 1996 and again in 2004. I received a letter today after a month of waiting. Crafted in very Bread and Puppet fashion, "We'd like to invite you to participate in our apprenticeship program." Shortly after I realized my dreams, I decided to apply to one of three Bread and Puppet apprenticeship programs. I opted for the 2-week one so I could use vacation and not apply for a leave of absence from work. I can only imagine going before the college administration and the board of trustees asking them for extended leave to live in a commune for four weeks, but I would have seriously considered it if need be! I will be there from July 31 through August 13th, living in my element as a hippie puppeteer, learning and helping with their Friday and Sunday shows.

For those of you who don't know, Bread and Puppet isn't your traditional idea of puppetry or puppet theater. It's pretty unorthodox and the only competitive thing about them is getting into their apprenticeship program, because what liberal college student or person with free time who digs political puppetry wouldn't want to spend their summer this way? There were 15 slots in the 2-week program and I've now secured one.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'll have no problem living in a tent for two weeks cooking organic food, composting, not showering and all around getting down with other smelly Bread and Puppet enthusiasts. Some know, but others don't know that I have worked with Bread and Puppet before, and others know that one of my biggest "regrets" was choosing not to take the Program Manager position I was enthusiastically offered at Spiral Q puppetry in Philly in 2002. I was 21ish and wanted to move to Boston, even though that was my dream job at the time.

I worked with Bread and Puppet on a community performance and week-intensive arts residency for a youth outreach program I managed while finishing my undergraduate degree in Rochester, NY (circa 2002). I hired artists to work with at-risk youth in the inner city for several weeks surrounding this arts camp. That was a challenging program and week in the lives of all who were involved! There were soooo many obstacles that these students had to overcome to attend each day. It was a lesson in perseverance and transformation, and I can’t think of anything deeper or more meaningful for the staff, volunteers and students to experience. It was definitely one of the hardest weeks of my life, but totally worth seeing everyone pull it together by Friday afternoon's performance.


As I shared with Bread and Puppet in my application letter "I now need to be a student in the non-traditional sense. I know the arts communicate, educate, and inspire social change and humanity more to me and many than any other vehicle. Bread and Puppet embraces this and has, by far, led this charge."


So hooray! Thanks for all your encouragement and support! This is just the beginning of my adventure.