6-week online course
Tuesdays, August 10, 17, 24, and 31 and September 7 and14
Time: 7-9 PM EST/New York City time (4 pm - 6 pm California time, 12 am - 2 am London time, 1 am - 3 am Paris/Amsterdam time)

PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Taught via Zoom by Alisa Sickora Kleckner
$195 ($175 for $5/a month and above Patreon members)

This six-week class, taught by artist and educator Alisa Sickora Kleckner, will throw wide the tiny doors to the expansive field of diminutive theatre. With roots as a Victorian children’s pastime, Toy Theatre has grown into a vibrant means of visual storytelling that, although it may shrink the scene, it provides a vast playground to explore our most precious tales.

Combining illustrated lectures and guided projects, students will have the opportunity to explore the breadth of miniature world-building from theory to practice. 

Collectively, we will explore and discuss the history of toy theatre, how this ‘plaything’ has evolved into its own performative practice and how puppetry, in its many incarnations, can be scaled down to fit perfectly on any shelf.  

We will also explore a range of fabrication techniques, the use of design principles as they relate to diminutive storytelling and discuss the philosophies behind why tiny things bring us great joy: miniatures, dollhouse culture, dioramas and the Nutshell Studies, oh my! Diminutive world-building is anything BUT fun-sized.

You will leave the class with your own toy theatre, resources for further study/inspiration and a range of fabrication tips that can be applied to any miniature endeavor no matter how grand in scope.

So let’s make room to illustrate a valued memory on a tiny Victorian stage OR create a secret, ritual performance space that you can fold away under a pillow OR bravely pocket your fears in a horror themed Altoids tin theatre. Bring your love of making and your willingness to play; this class is about inspiring big ideas for tiny spaces.

Working within both the professional and academic communities, Alisa Sickora Kleckner has designed and built costumes, masks, puppets, and f/x makeup for well over 200 productions, specializing in by not limited to theatre and themed entertainments. Alisa has also produced, directed and/or written a number of original puppetry pieces and devised works as well as created or consulted on immersive experiences.  As an educator, she teaches a wide range of courses in theatre design and technology as well as lecturing in art classes including Foundations, 3D printing and Digital Fabrication and Entrepreneurship in the Arts.  Alisa has taught professional and collegiate technique-based workshops across the country and more recently found a voice on panels for inclusivity and diversity in themed entertainment.  Beyond her traditional theatre endeavors, Alisa operates Scared of My Shadow, a leather mask business in which she specializes in creating wearable art pieces.  A selection of her works are viewable at www.alisa-sickora-kleckner.com and www.scared-of-my-shadow.com.