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Maïté Agopian

Maite Agopian

Puppetry is intrinsically diverse, open to the world and to others, bridging cultures, languages and traditions as well as generations. After over 15 years of experience as an educator and outreach specialist in cultural and scientific settings, I’m focusing on using the power of puppetry and visual storytelling to inspire new dreams and possibilities, create more synergies between people, and enhance learning environments.

As a puppeteer and an educator, telling stories visually and musically, giving a voice and movement to objects, working collaboratively, as well as a hands-on approach to learning, are at the center of my practices.

Born and raised in Switzerland, I always found puppetry in its multiple forms fascinating. After exploring various art forms, I discovered in the arts of puppetry the tools of my eclectic taste and love for never ending possibilities of exploration. Since then, the passion keeps growing with every opportunity I get to make, create, collaborate and share. 

CHAK - Puppetry is the link between Switzerland where I grew up and Alaska, which has been my home since 2005, and where I became a mother of two. It includes all the places I immersed myself for longer period of time along the way (between Europe, Asia, and Far-East Russia); CHAK is the combination of all these very different frameworks that helped build my identity and inform my path as an artist. 

 

I am looking forward to share my passion for the arts of puppetry with you, either by constructing a new puppet to fit your performance needs, by helping you discovering and exploring that field during a workshop, camp, or school residency, or by exploring together new possibilities and projects. See what fits most your needs. And don't hesitate to contact me!

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CHAK - Puppetry is here to help bring more puppetry into our community. 

wooden marionnette
  • Instagram

Follow me on Instagram to see my latests puppets and projects!

RESUME
PUPPETRY TRAINING AND ACADEMICAL CREDENTIALS

  • AMP program, with Bernd Ogrodnik, (online, 2023)

  • Academy of Wooden Puppet, with Bernd Ogrodnik, (online, 2020 - 22), see my Interview with Bernd Ogrodnik

  • Puppetry and Technology, with Tom Lee (online, over 6 weeks, 2022)

  • Making Manual Cinema, with Manual Cinema, O'Neill National Puppetry Conference (online, June 6-11, 2021)

  • A crush course in Mime, with Les Bubb, London International Mime Festival (online, January 11-15, 2021)

  • The Language of Material and Objects: Movement and Experimental Puppetry with Alice Gottschalk, O'Neill National Puppetry Conference (online, June 8-12, 2020)

  • Rod Puppet Building Workshop, with Ines Zeller Bass, Sandglass Theater (online, July13-18, 2020)

  • Large Puppet Handling workshop, under the direction of Michel Villée, using Natasha Belova puppets (Brussels, Belgium, July 1-5, 2019) 

  • Shadow theater and light exploration, under the direction of Norbert Götz (Bamberg, Germany, July 29 - August 8, 2019) 

  • Residency in a puppet theater "la Turlutaine" with Catherine De Torrente (La Chaux-de-Fond, Switzerland, August 12-16, 2019)

  • Advanced Hand Puppet Theater Class, with Fergus Walsh (online, DRAM 5610, Spring semester 2019, UCONN) 

  • Advanced Shadow Theater Class, with Penny Benson (online, DRAM 5613, Fall semester, 2018, UCONN)

  • String Marionette carving workshop, with Miroslav Trejtnar (Prague, July 1-26, 2017)

  • Beginning Native Art Studio, (Art F268, Fall Semester, 2015, UAF)

  • Beginning Ceramic, (ART F201, Spring Semester, 2010, UAF)

  • Master in Social Science, Geography and Cultural Anthropology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland (2004)

GRANTS, AWARD AND SCOLARSHIP

  • UNIMA-USA scholarship, 2023

  • Keepers of the Earth/Cultural Survival grant, as part of the collaborative "Elvel Movie Group", for a puppet film project, 2022

  • Individual Artist Award, Rasmuson Foundation, 2021

  • Alumni Scholarship, O'Neill National Puppetry Conference, 2021

  • Adaptation and Innovation Grant, Alaska Council of the Arts, 2021

  • "In a Time of Change, the Boreal Forest", ITOC project, an Art, Humanities and Science Collaboration, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2020-2022

  • Ralph E. Cheese Minority Scholarship, O'Neill National Puppetry Conference, 2020

PERFORMANCES
EDUCATION PROJECTS

  • 2018: Puppet Tent Camp, 6 -12 years old, one week

  • 2019: Puppet Camp, University of Fairbanks Alaska Summer Session Camps, 9 -11 years old, one week

  • 2019: Shadow residency, Pearl Creek Elementary (500 students, prek-6), 2 weeks ; Salcha Elementary (70 students, prek-6), 1 week

  • 2020: Shadow residency, Nordale Elementary (250 students, prek-3), 2 weeks

  • 2022: Puppet Camps at the Botanical Garden, UAF Summer Session, 6 - 8 and 9-11 years old, two weeks

  • 2023: Shadow residency, Watershed School (250 students, K-8), two weeks

  • 2023: Puppet Camp in the woods, 7 -10 years old, one week

ABOUT MY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES (MUSEUM EDUCATOR, SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, OUTREACH & EDUCATION COORDINATOR), See my profile on linkedin.com/in/maite-agopian-swiss-alaska

DESIGNS AND CONSTRUCTIONS

  • Puppet Designer and Construction for "Evil Dead, the Musical" (singing moose and sofa), Interior Independent Theater, Fairbanks, 2019 (link)

  • Puppet Construction for "Avenue Q" (2 Lucy, 2 Princeton, bits and parts of others), Interior Independent Theater, UAF Theater, Fairbanks, 2018 (link)

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