REDWING BLACKBIRD THEATER
On Main Street, Rosendale, in front of the theater
THE THEATER
Redwing Blackbird Theater is a community driven, puppet theater & workshop located in Rosendale, NY. The space was created out of an old bus station, and has been converted into a theater, workshop, home, puppet museum & community meeting space. We have been creating puppets, art, music & performance in the Hudson Valley for nearly 30 years. The theater is a celebration of community and citizen driven action, and has helped work towards justice and sustainability within the United States and all over the world.
OUR WORK
We build and perform giant puppet operas, mask and puppet shows, sung banners and cranked movies, brass band and parades. We also run puppet making workshops, help stage parades and protests, show up at our congressional representatives offices, and host community celebrations. We like to work together with people of all ages and types.
Spring, a paper mache giant puppet who has since graced dozens of parades
OUR PUPPETS
We delight in using the art of puppetry to sing out with the varied nuances and overtones of our pre-language state of being. Puppets can more easily express what cannot be said with words. Puppets also use words to say things that people cannot say, and they usually get away with it! Our materials cost practically nothing. We make puppets and sets from clay dug from the earth, glue made from cornstarch and paper and cardboard found in the recycling bin.
Our website
It is clear that the dominance over nature model now holds more sway than the harmony with nature model. If we are to continue our existence on the earth, then the harmony with nature is going to need to find a way to lead humanity. The dominance over nature side of things has given us remarkable technology. It is being used to put the world’s wealth and resources into just a few hands. Our hands might find their way again to provide for our basic needs. This website is a continuation of that vision.
OUR FOUNDER! AMY TROMPETTER!
Amy Trompetter is a puppeteer, trumpeter, World Theater historian, teacher & community organizer. She founded Redwing Blackbird Theater in the late 90’s as a workshop and performance space in the Hudson Valley. Her roots are in Bread & Puppet Theater in the 1960’s in NYC. She has taught, directed & performed all over the globe. She is the driving force behind the theater's drive to invent new forms, connect with the broad range of world theater traditions & address the urgency of local and global issues. Amy taught as an Assistant Professor of Theater at Antioch (tenure), Bates, Bard & Barnard Colleges. For several years she taught as part of the Bard Prison Initiative.