Donate here and learn what great gifts you get with your donation!
I. THE BASICS
We are the People’s Puppets of Occupy Wall Street, a collective of artists, musicians, and performers who have come together to use the potent and exhilarating vehicle of radical puppetry, by the People and for the People, to raise social and political awareness, build community, and offer a means of engagement in a more participatory democracy!
So, we’re asking YOU to participate! By making sure we continue to have access to the space and resources we need, to do the work we do (and hell, you can even join us in it!).
We build large-scale puppetry, toy theater, cantastorias, and perform throughout New York City’s public spaces, streets, subways, and parks.
And we amplify the voices that need amplifying. We collaborate everywhere possible, wherever a group’s mission stems from a shared thirst for social justice. We’ve created visuals and performances with and for organizations such as the Black Institute, the Robin Hood Tax, the Coalition of Immakolee Workers, the Lakota Grandmothers, 350.org, Move to Amend, among others…
We aim to carry on the extraordinary lineage set by radical puppeteers throughout history, from Bread & Puppet Theater, to Great Small Works, to the Puppetistas of the Anti-Globalization movement.
We believe another world IS possible. And that what we do is one way the work of transforming the world becomes more compelling, more creative, more conversation-starting, more fun, a world you want to be part of.
Donate here and learn what great gifts you get with your donation!
II. SO BE PART OF IT
We’re setting out to raise a year’s worth of studio rent to allow ourselves the freedom of knowing our basic needs are taken care of.
With this, we can focus entirely on supporting the vital actions we support, and also expanding the scope of what we do, such as providing workshops where we can share what we’ve learned, and creating new work in response to the most urgent issues of our day (such as our forthcoming “The Heavy Price of Living in a Free Society” to be presented at LaMaMa Theater in November of this year).
Any monies we raise beyond rent will contribute to material expenses. We’re quite a resourceful lot! We’re all volunteers who are very adept at scavenging, recycling, and scoring donations, yet there are some things we just can’t procure without funds.
Your contribution ensures that we’ll be able to keep the voice of the People loud, inclusive, and creative, for a good time to come, because, oh baby, we intend to be in it for the long haul…
And what you get in return:
Who better to be thanked by than a group of puppeteers? In gratitude for your contribution, you’ll get to select from People’s Puppets T-shirts, handmade and screened tote bags, a screened flow chart of the Declaration of the Occupation of NYC, a puppet-making kit, appearances at your actions and events, and more!
Donate here and learn what great gifts you get with your donation!
III. AND WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
You may have noticed that we live in a time of intensifying power struggles, an increasing economic gap, and advancing risks to our environment. We recognize that it is precisely at times like this that we most need each other, need ways of sharing the stories of the most vulnerable among us, need to actively be examples of what we are FOR, not just against.
We use puppetry and performance to give voice to these stories, to inspire conversation on these issues, and to remind each other of our ability to take part in our own future.
Donate here and learn what great gifts you get with your donation!
IV. OTHER WAYS TO PARTICIPATE (BEYOND THE FUNDRAISING PART)
Ah, the ways are legion.
- “Like” this campaign; use our campaign link http://localflux.net/project/Puppets-to-the-People to invite others to “like” it.
- Send out tweets; ask friends to re-tweet them, and follow @power2thepuppet
- Share our campaign link on Facebook; ask your friends to re-post it.
- Visit our Facebook page to see what we’re up to, and invite your friends to visit: https://www.facebook.com/OWSPuppetGuild
- Be on the lookout for, and ATTEND, our November 18 fundraising party (get up, get down, there’s revolution in this town!)
- Check our FB page and join us at a demonstration that matters to you!
- Contact us at powertothepuppets@gmail.com to visit the Puppet Lair and get involved in the many projects we do.
Peace, Love, Puppets, and Big Gratitude,
The OWS Puppet Guild
