PACKRAT

About

Set deep in the Sagebrush Desert, PACKRAT is a visually stunning puppet-forward play that contemplates humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Puppetry, projections and an original score elegantly come together to create many layers of meaning and emotions. At the center of the action is Bud, a peculiar rodent with a penchant for hoarding humankind’s goods. When a discarded cigar sparks a wild fire, the animals in Bud’s valley flee for their lives. Already an outcast among the desert animals for his hoarding instincts, he gets blamed for the human-made disasters infiltrating their lives. When they ban him from the community, Bud must set out alone amidst a raging fire, to confront human-made dangers and a few natural ones. PACKRAT is a poignant account of Bud’s journey to find his place in the world, and his ultimate realization that the interconnectedness of life rules the day.

Written and Directed by: Renee Philippi
Puppetry, Projection & Set Design by: Carlo Adinolfi
Original Music by: Lewis Flinn
Narration by: Vera Beren
Original Puppeteers: Carlo Adinolfi, Sabrina DeWeerdt, Maggie Gayford, J Hann, Kayla Prestel and Alanna Strong
Current NYC Puppeteers: Carlo Adinolfi, Mecca Akbar, Victor Ayala, Emily Batsford, Kirk Bixby, Camille Leigh Cooper, and J Hann
Lighting and Sound Design + Dramaturgy by: Eric Nightengale
Associate Director/Puppet Consultant: Betsy Rosen
Costume Design by: Laura Anderson Barbata
Costume Associate: Matthieu M
Projections Animation by: Tom Lee
Original Production Stage Manager: Casey McLain
Original Stage Manager: Jeongyun Lee
Original Assistant Stage Manager: Max Gayford
Projections Assistance: Hyung Seok Jeon
Puppet Construction Crew: Sam Casey, Christine Dempsey, Rosa Douglas, Ben Elling, Maria Grande, Besty Rosen, Josh Rice & Jaime Sunwoo

PACKRAT premiered in  2020 at Dixon Place (NYC) as a Dixon Place Commission.

Thank you to all the puppeteers who have worked on PACKRAT throughout its development: Katayoun Amir-Aslani, Sam Casey, Avery Deutsch, Ann Flanigan, Christian Jimenez, Ariel Leigh, Arielle Lever, Danielle Mendoza, Rania Rashoodi, Josh Rice, Betsy Rosen,  Mara Rothman, and Christine Schisano.

TECH RIDER

History

September 2025
Festival mondial des théâtres de marionettes, Charleville-Mézières, France, September 2025, performing in French.

August 2025
Gimcheon International Family Festival, Chuncheon Puppet Theatre, and Gangdong Arts Center, S. Korea

May 2025
Taos Center for the Arts and Paseo Project Residency, Taos, NM

February-March 2024
Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, GA
October 2023
Festival Internacional Cervantino, Guanajuato, Mexico
October 2023
in Spanish, Dixon Place, New York, NY
July 2023
National Puppetry Festival, POA, University of Maryland, MD
November 2022
Geumnarae Art Hall and Oil Tank Culture Park, Seoul, Korea
January 2022
Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds, WA (Streamed)
March 2021
Amphibian Stage Productions, Fort Worth, TX (Streamed)
February 2020
Flint Repertory Theatre, Flint, MI
January/February 2020
Dixon Place, New York, NY (Premiere)
November 2019
Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill, NY (Sneak Peak)
November 2018
La MaMa’s Puppetry Festival Jump Start, NYC (In-Process Excerpt)
June 2018
Concrete Boom: volume one, Dixon, NYC (In-Process Excerpt)
March 2018
TADA, Emerging Artists’ New Works Series, NYC (In-Process Excerpt)
October 2017
Dixon Place’s Puppet Blok, NYC (In-Process Excerpt)

Press

“Stunning, puppet-forward production”
– Broadway World

“Intricate puppets beguilingly handled”
– HiDrama

“A journey of rescue and redemption…Thoroughly mesmerizing … amazingly expressive”

“Has the solemn austerity of an ancient fable”

– The New York Times

“Dazzling puppets depicting animals on an odyssey for a new home after a forest fire wow in this enthralling performance piece for children and adults. Its technical artistry, emotional resonance and engaging plot all cohere into a ravishing experience.”

– TheatreScene

“A play must be doing something right when it can successfully invest a serving spoon with emotional resonance.PackRat tells a straightforward but moving tale, wonderfully performed. If one can see a theatrical experience as another kind of human treasure, you will want to add some time spent with Bud, Firestone, and the other inhabitants of the Valley to your own collection. “

– THINKING THEATRE

“…a magical show that transports spectators to a world of fantasy, imagination and nature….ingenious dialogues and an exciting narrative…“

– Tiqfun, Festival Internacional Cervantino

“The American company made us embrace the hope of a better world by accompanying the protagonist and his friend on a journey, guided by dreams and intuitions, towards a promised land…“
-Caracol en Movimiento, Festival Internacional Cervantino

The New York Times

THINKING THEATRE

TheatreScene

Video

Workshops

1) Family Puppetry Workshop: in which parents and older siblings work with younger children in creating their own desert animal puppet(s).

2) Design & Dramaturgy & Storytelling: focuses on the relationship of design and storytelling, specific to puppetry; the workshop leads participants in the designing of puppets.

3) Meet-the-Puppets: after the show, we present a ten-minute talkback, “Meet the Puppets,” in which we talk about the inspirations for the piece, and audience members can try their hand at operating the puppets in the show.

4) Create Your Own work: has participants creating their own theatre piece(s), while focusing on different skills: playwriting, dramaturgy, directing, and puppetry. Participants are given a specific topic(s) from which to create a piece, with the length of the pieces fluctuating based on the number and length of sessions.

5) Acting and Directing with Puppets: can be an introductory workshop or a master class and focuses on techniques that are unique to directing and acting with puppets.

6) Talkback with Audience or Special Focus Group.

7) Lecture/Demonstration: is presented with excerpts from the show as examples. The Lecture/Demo can focus on Our Creative Process, “Meet the Puppets,” Different Types of Puppetry, Manipulation of Puppets, Creating Puppet Plays, etc.

8) Introduction to Puppeteering and Puppet Manipulation.