Maisie O'Brien

Maisie O’Brien (they/she) is a Lenapehoking (Philadelphia) transplant from Arkikosa (Dallas, TX) and a Chinese-American adoptee. Their shadow play simmers together everything from cut paper to traditional printmaking, overhead projector, crankie theater, stop motion animation, and cello. Being in the tradition of shadow casting calls them towards weaving our truncated ends (both roots and stems) into narratives of departure and becoming and multiplicity. They have had the joy of casting their shadows in communities including Studio 34, Open Kitchen Sculpture Garden, Black Cherry Puppet Theater, Nasty Brutish & Short, and the Puppet Slam Network, as well as developing shadows, puppets, sets, and costumes for local and international collaborations with fellow storytellers in film, dance, music, and theater. Maisie has studied puppetry in moments of academia and reckless abandon like Bread & Puppet Theatre, The University of Connecticut, and the Chicago International Puppetry Festival Workshops. As a second generation arts educator she also works to encourage People's voices through puppetry and narrative arts workshops, summer camps, and festivals. They teach puppetry and toy making with a focus on disrupting our day to day with play and self expression, and calling us in to our intersections and our collective liberation.