Talk To The Hand: Hand Puppets from Pattern to Performance

Are you ready to make a new best friend? We will build a puppet, learn the basics of puppeteering, and work on and perform a short show! During this 6 session class, you will learn to make a puppet with artist Lucy Wirtz. Puppets will be made out of reused materials from the WasteShed. All materials will be provided! Participants will use their new puppets in a final puppet show at the end of the last class. Participants can expect to utilize sewing machines, hand sewing, hot glue, foam, and many other reused art supplies. This class is geared toward adults. No experience is necessary! Classes will take place over the course of five weeks meeting on Thursday evenings from 6pm - 8pm, starting Tuesday Nov. 3 2026 and ending on Tuesday December 15th. The final session on December 15th will be a puppet showcase where you can invite friends and family to come see your work! ***NOTE: there is NO class during the week of Thanksgiving (Tuesday November 24th) About Lucy: By the time she reached her senior year at UCLA, a pandemic hobby of puppet building and puppeteering earned Lucy the title of “puppet girl” within the theater school.​ After graduating with a B.A. in Theater and a minor in Education Studies, that niche interest in puppets propelled her to Chicago and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Though Los Angeles born and raised (she, like, totally doesn’t have a Valley Girl accent), Lucy has acclimated to the change in weather patterns and has made Chicago and its thriving art communities her home. You may find her around the city puppeteering at viral ice cream shop The Sugar Hole, working Front of House at various venues, or onstage with Malarkey Comedy at iO Theater. Getting there Free and paid street parking is available outside the WasteShed Edgewater, but spots may be limited so please plan accordingly. There are multiple bus lines as well as the Argyle and Berwyn red line stops a couple blocks away! Documentation Your participation in a WasteShed program constitutes implied consent to be photographed, and for those images to be utilized by The WasteShed for educational, fundraising, and marketing purposes. If you prefer not to be photographed, please let a staff member know and we’ll be happy to respect your wishes.