PUPPETHVNNXTHVNNew HavenJune 13, 2026 “Why the tears? This is Puppet Haven, not the DMV. Why are you crying like somebody put pineapple on a New Haven pizza?” exclaimed Tony Pepperoni. The loudmouth puppet operated by NXTHVN apprentice David Fulton had the whole audience laughing as he fa iled to comfort his fellow puppet Ariah the Knight, operated by apprentice Nia Jackson. Ariah was heartbroken because she lost a priceless box – a box of stories that the fabled Anansi entrusted to her. “Out of curiosity, how much would a story go for?” inquired Pepperoni as the audience tittered. “Whatever amount of zero’s, we can negotiate.” Tony Pepperoni and Ariah the Knight were characters in PUPPETHVN, a puppet show that arts incubator NXTHVN held on Saturday. PUPPETHVN was the special project created by NXTHVN’s apprentices. In its seventh year, the Apprenticeship Program pairs New Haven area high school students who want to pursue a career in the arts with NXTHVN fellows. For about a year, the apprentices work alongside professional artists, creating art in the studio and setting up gallery spaces (they even get paid!). Ariah the Knight, operated by Nia Jackson. Credit: Credit: Benita Nnachortam @benitannachortam / NXTHVN “In addition to learning from the fellows, we also learn from each other because [we’re] here with a whole bunch of different artists. We do art and show it to each other. [People] add suggestions and make comments. So, it’s just a way of furthering our art,” said apprentice Saida Hutchinson. Always looking for “outside the box” ideas, NXTHVN Student Program Manager Janai “Jay” Kemp decided that this year’s cohort should create a puppet show for their final project, after meeting PUPPET VILLAGE creator Iyaba Ibo Mandingo. Mandingo taught a curriculum that included puppet design and concept development, character building, fabrication and assembly, mechanics and movement, voice and character performance and storytelling. With Mandingo as their guide, the apprentices designed and developed compelling stories for each of their characters. Kemp wrote their script. Each puppet started with a foam base, but the apprentices went wild with materials, creating puppets that looked as inventive as the stories they shared. The proprietor of a pizza food truck, olive-skinned Tony Pepperoni wore a blue apron and had the swagger of someone right out of Little Italy. Pepperoni killed his dream of being a “cheese technologist” to carry on his family legacy after his father passed. Noor, brought to life by apprentice Basmina Noor Badshah, was a dual-sided puppet that represented the binary of Badshah’s religious versus cultural identities. One side of the puppet was clad in modest Islamic dress and the other side was wearing vibrant Arabic attire. “She’s a baddie,” said Badshah, with a laugh, of this alter ego. “I left her at home.” Puppet Noor’s story was about questioning her religion. Andre “Pert” Ennis’ puppet shocked me the most as a mere three days before the event he was cutting up brown felt to get started on his puppet. By show day, Pert’s puppet Apollo sported locs and a fly custom jacket made by New Haven based designer Brenton Schumaker of Deadby5am. Apollo’s tale was that of a gifted artist whose ego was almost his undoing. Pert making his puppet Credit: Janday Wilson Photo Pert with puppet Apollo Credit: Janday Wilson Photo Puppet Haven, the world that the apprentices created, transformed NXTHVN’s event space. Support poles became leafy trees. The “sky” was blue fabric stretched across the ceiling. Boulders were placed around the stage for the puppeteers to sit on. Behind them were huge backdrops of artfully designed food trucks. The apprentices created most of the backdrops. They were aided with set design by NXTHVN curatorial fellow Juanita Sunday and volunteer Josh “An Urban Nerd” Brown. Three months of rehearsal paid off as the apprentices confidently maneuvered the puppets and shared their stories with poise. Looking around the room, I could see that the adults were as equally captivated as the kids in the audience. The puppets’ stories were engrossing as they competed to get their stories placed in Anansi’s box. By the end, we learned that no one story is more important than the other. Anansi appeared and told the denizens of Puppet Haven that all their stories matter. “You do not honor story by shouting your own the loudest. You honor story by recognizing yourself in someone else’s.” One by one, the puppets began to recount each other’s stories, demonstrating that in community listening is an act of care. In the end, the puppets gathered around the box to put their stories inside. The box lit up while lights placed around the audience also came alive. The adults were just as delighted as the children. In that moment, we were all connected by the power of storytelling. PUPPETHVN served both spectacle and self-reflection. It was a wondrous experience to be transported to such a vivid world imagined through the sheer talent of young artists. For more on NXTHVN, visit their website. Basmina Noor Badshah with dual-sided puppet Noor Credit: Janday Wilson Photo Iyaba Ibo Mandingo taught kids puppet making after the show Credit: Janday Wilson Photo Jay Kemp with apprentices behind the scenes Credit: Credit: Benita Nnachortam @benitannachortam / NXTHVN PUPPETHVN performers with NXTHVN founder president Titus Kaphar Credit: Credit: Benita Nnachortam @benitannachortam / NXTHVN The post Apprentices Turn Foam and Fabric Into Magic appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less