something must give- and it will not be me, 2025

"Something Must Give- And It Will Not Be Me" is a puppet piece about belonging- centering a fantastical creature, Cypress, returning to their childhood home after out-growing it. Using rod puppetry, shadow puppetry and direct manipulation techniques, this performance illustrates the struggle between family members as they learn how to coexist under the same roof once more.

This piece is based on m experience of returning home after graduating from undergrad. Originally planned to be an entirely different piece, Something Must Give was written in two distinct parts: the first being done right as I had moved back home, and the second only recently, after almost a year and a half. The tones of the two parts are starkly different, with the first representing the voice of anxiety that said I would have to destroy either my home or myself in order to survive, and the second representing introspection and reflection into why I was feeling so violent about my homecoming.

Progress on this piece was made during my time as a member of Puppet Showplace’s Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers cohort in 2025.

Special thank you to Eleni Kikiras Carter for cutting fabric flowers and painting cobblestones