Women in Puppetry: TPC’s Leadership Team
Written by Kenzy Hinkel
Did you know that the leadership team at the Puppet Co. is comprised of all women?
Let’s meet them!
the Puppet Co. Leadership Team. Top Row L to R: Maggie Rocha, Isabel Dawson, Kenzy Hinkel.
Bottom Row L to R: Elizabeth Dapo, Andrea ‘Dre’ Moore
Isabel Dawson is our Fearless Leader, our Midwestern Queen, our Executive Director! She loves to see the reactions from the children, especially when it is their first time at the theater. Backstage you can find her eating Mac and Cheese cups and making spreadsheets. She spent seven years puppeteering in the Good News Gang at her church in Bloomington, IL! They produced short skits for young children- her favorites included one of a snail that teaches patience and one about cereal growing on cereal trees. When she isn’t reconciling the budget, she is doing Zumba or paddleboarding!
The ever-fabulous, hard-working, backbone of the company is our Artistic Director Elizabeth Dapo! Liz’s puppetry journey began and all other paths fell by the wayside after creating a marionette of a cow using a cereal box and yarn. Fraggle Rock was of course, a significant part of her puppetry beginnings as well. When asked what Other things you do in your free time that are totally unrelated to puppets or theatre if that’s physically possible, she laughed, for in her free time she paints, draws, and makes models. A hobby unrelated to puppetry, she snorted? Never. Liz loves the moment when kids are so swept up in the story, they give you a funny look because they don’t know why there is suddenly a person there. Liz’s dream show is a version of Puss in Boots set in New Orleans with a Live Jazz Band.
Maggie Rocha our friendly, bubbly, knowledgeable Operations and Marketing Manager! She creates our short-form content, so go give her a like! Her favorite thing about working at the Puppet Co. is the people! She loves the banter of the Box Office and interacting with patrons. Not only is she a Business Baddie, but she also performs with the Puppet Co.! She was wonderful in Peter and the Wolf, and she loves to introduce our audiences to our puppets, puppetry, and theatre. In her childhood, she watched lots of puppetry-forward television shows, like Bear in the Big Blue House, The Puzzle Place, Johnny and the Sprites, and of course The Muppets and Sesame Street. True to her sunshiney disposition, her backstage snack of choice is Goldfish and orange soda. When she isn’t updating the website, you can find her painting by numbers, making potholders, and playing video games. Ask her about her DnD campaign!
Dre Moore the Assistant Technical Director and Property and Puppetry Fabricator. The secretive cryptid she is, it may never be known what her favorite backstage snack is or childhood intro to puppetry. Dre is talented, creative, effective, and always has the coolest hair in the building.
Kenzy Hinkel is our Board President. She also writes many of the blog posts… she might have even written this one. DM @thepuppetco or @kenzyhinkel with a secret password “#womeninpuppetry” for a free gift on your next visit! She loves interacting with the guests most of all. She attended the Puppet Co as a little girl and had the pleasure of working with the founders before they retired. There are endless heartwarming stories to share, but one is the first time she saw a dad lying on his stomach, head propped up by his elbows, and his daughter was propped up on her elbows, on her tummy, on her dad's back. “They looked like happy turtles!” Backstage, she lives off the cheese drawer!
I know what you’re really wondering. WHAT are all their favorite puppets?
Isabel: ”Definitely Megan Thee Scallion from Witch Wartsmith’s Halloween Spooktacular”
Liz: Her favorite puppet from our Legacy series is ” the tiny goat from 3 Billy Goats Gruff. The favorite puppet I've made so far for the playhouse might be Benji the bat from Witch Wartsmith’s Halloween Spooktacular OR the Goldsmith from Rumpelstiltskin. My favorite television puppet is the Crypt Keeper and my favorite muppet puppet is Boober Fraggle.”
Maggie: “Natasha the Duck from Peter and the Wolf. Not only is her character sassy and fun but the puppet itself, while small, has so many fun things you can do with it!”
Dre: “Ghoolie B!” She has taken hand-making off of Liz’s plate…so that making hands is out of her hands (pause for laughter)
Kenzy: “Why would you make me pick? Maybe I’m partial to Cinderella because she was so fun to play… but I adore Witch Wartsmith from Rapunzel and DJ Frank ‘n’ Grind from the Spooktacular!”
Here at the Puppet Co. we want you to know that we are one of the only puppet theaters in the US specifically built for puppet shows. We're year-round, we have great shows, actors, and staff and we would love people to come visit and tell their friends to come see us too. There are tons of types of puppetry, including shadow, bunraku, body puppets, and more! When we say our shows are for 4/5 and up, we mean up! All ages are always welcome at our theater! We’ve had a bachelor party attend to support his puppeteer fiancee, scholars from universities come for field work, fellow puppeteers from the Philadelphia Puppetry Guild, religious groups, and nursing homes visit us here! We can’t wait to see you soon!