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Alex and Olmsted: Original Puppet Works (puppets, puppetry, theater)

Performance, Theatre

Awards Received

Individual Artist

2020

Our core belief as a company is to tell stories of magic and wonder. Our philosophy is rooted in the pursuit of Puppet Theater; the thrilling point at which an inanimate object comes to life (magic), and the greater phenomenon of an audience readily suspending their disbelief (wonder). Through puppetry, physical theater, and innovative machines, we strive to make work that awakens the imagination and is accessible to all audiences.

About the Artist

Alex and Olmsted (Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas) is an internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company based in Baltimore, Maryland. They have toured original shows in France, Italy, South Korea, Germany, Denmark, and Canada. They have also performed at numerous theaters within the United States including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Symphony Space and HERE Arts in New York City, the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, The Detroit Institute of Arts, the Puppeteers of America Festival, and many stages in their beloved city of Baltimore, Maryland. Alex and Olmsted has been recognized by the New York Times and awarded 4 Jim Henson Foundation grants. In 2020, they received the Independent Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, the highest honor for performing artists in the state of Maryland. They were awarded the international UNIMA-USA award for excellence in the art of puppetry, selected by Mid Atlantic Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts for their Tours program, and named an official selection of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Paris Art Film, and others. Alex and Olmsted is a resident company at Baltimore Theatre Project. Vernon and Thomas are also proud company members of Happenstance Theater with whom they have created 12 productions since 2012. In addition to their work in live performance, Vernon maintains and repairs the automata on exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum and Olmsted serves as President of the National Capital Puppetry Guild. 

Alex and Olmsted: Original Puppet Works (puppets, puppetry, theater) website Alex and Olmsted Website Alex and Olmsted: Original Puppet Works (puppets, puppetry, theater) website Alex and Olmsted YouTube

Artist's Statement

Our primary focus is to create innovative works of theater that are accessible to all. As theater artists, we infuse our own life experiences into our imaginings of the lives and experiences of others; people, animals, objects, and archetypes. We are invested in sparking a dialogue with the audience that encourages participation; the audience engages their imagination and empathy when relating to the puppets and by doing so broadens their perception of the world.   

Featured Work

Photos

Alex & Olmsted's "Homebodies" is an object performance that explores the concepts of house and home. Centered on a 30 cubic inch puzzle box that has trick doors and amenities, Alex & Olmsted combine physical comedy and puppetry to unlock the house of the imagination. All ages.​ Photograph by Leslie Swan.
Alex & Olmsted's "Homebodies" is an object performance that explores the concepts of house and home. Centered on a 30 cubic inch puzzle box that has trick doors and amenities, Alex & Olmsted combine physical comedy and puppetry to unlock the house of the imagination. All ages.​ Photograph by Leslie Swan.
Alex & Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation Grant awarded "Milo the Magnificent" is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned. "Milo the Magnificent" had its Henson Foundation Grant premiere at Baltimore's Black Cherry Puppet Theater in 2017. Since then, Milo has toured the United States to such prestigious venues as Symphony Space in New York City, the Detroit Institute of Arts in Michigan, The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, and the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry in Connecticut, among others. Milo has also toured international festivals including the Festival of Wonder in Denmark, the Puppet Festival Chuncheon in South Korea, and the Festival de Casteliers in Montréal, Québec. Alex and Olmsted invite audiences to the front of the stage to answer questions and demonstrate how the puppets were built. Photo by Kintz at the Jim Henson Foundation Grant premiere at Baltimore's Black Cherry Puppet Theater in 2017.
Alex & Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation Grant awarded "Milo the Magnificent" is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned. "Milo the Magnificent" had its Henson Foundation Grant premiere at Baltimore's Black Cherry Puppet Theater in 2017. Since then, Milo has toured the United States to such prestigious venues as Symphony Space in New York City, the Detroit Institute of Arts in Michigan, The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, and the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry in Connecticut, among others. Milo has also toured international festivals including the Festival of Wonder in Denmark, the Puppet Festival Chuncheon in South Korea, and the Festival de Casteliers in Montréal, Québec. This portrait was taken by Sean Dennie Photogrpahy at the 2019 International Festival of Animated Objects in Calgary, Alberta.
This is us in our workshop, a critical space where we build all of the puppets, props, and set pieces for the shows we make. Photographed by Maya Jackson.
These masks were created using a flat patterning technique for a Spring Equinox parade with Happenstance Theater in 2021.

Videos

  • Marooned! A Space Comedy by Alex & Olmsted

    See more information about Marooned! A Space Comedy by Alex & Olmsted
    Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded MAROONED! A Space Comedy is an innovative new puppet show, featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, that takes place at the outer reaches of space. An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she be able to survive strange creatures, anomalous atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED!
    ​
    All ages.
    ​Available for tour! Tech rider available upon request.
    Trailer filmed by Sharon Crissinger.
    Medium: Puppet Theater, Physical Theater
    Year: 2022
    Details: 60 minutes, no intermission.

  • Marianne's Onion

    See more information about Marianne's Onion
    “Marianne’s Onion” is a true story from the pandemic in which Marianne Ross, in need of an onion, finds one miraculously in the woods and muses on the meaning of unexpectedly receiving a seemingly mundane gift.
    Medium: film
    Year: 2020
    Details: full film: 8 minutes

  • Milo the Magnificent

    See more information about Milo the Magnificent
    The Jim Henson Foundation Grant awarded Milo the Magnificent is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned.
    Medium: live puppet theater
    Year: 2017
    Details: 40 minutes

  • Kindred Spirits

    See more information about Kindred Spirits
    "Kindred Spirits" was created for Coney Island's "Puppets Come Home." Coney Island's "Puppets Come Home" series serves to honor the 150 year history and tradition of puppetry at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.
    Medium: film
    Year: 2020
    Details: 3 minutes

  • Homebodies

    See more information about Homebodies
    Homebodies is an object performance that explores the concepts of house and home. Centered on a 30 cubic inch puzzle box that has trick doors and amenities, Alex & Olmsted combine physical comedy and puppetry to unlock the house of the imagination. All ages.​
    Medium: live theater
    Year: 2018
    Details: 90 minutes

  • HUBBA HUBBA

    See more information about HUBBA HUBBA
    Created and performed by the Jim Henson Foundation grant award winning Alex and Olmsted (Milo the Magnificent®​ and MAROONED! A Space Comedy) comes the world premiere of HUBBA HUBBA*, a collection of vignettes that explores the different aspects of romantic love using puppetry and physical comedy. From the dawn of life to modern romance and everything in between, HUBBA HUBBA is a comedy that incorporates handmade puppets, dynamic masks, and innovative storytelling to investigate the many qualities of love’s triumphs and obstacles. Suitable for all ages!

    *HUBBA HUBBA was awarded a 2023 creativity grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.
    Medium: Puppet Theater, Physical Theater
    Year: 2023
    Details: 70 minutes, no intermission