Wild Cactus: A Mixed Media Puppetry Production

Abstract

I have created an autobiographical theatrical production following the growth cycles of a small sentient cactus. Her failure to thrive in her natural environment is met with confusion, but ultimately tenacity. This hero’s journey is set in the American Southwest with the story unfolding as a dance. The construction of this storybook ballet has no dialogue and was made entirely with textiles.

The characters were made as soft form sculptural puppets, and the backdrop has been stitched as a 24-yard-long panorama. The puppets and panorama are an impressionist view of the Mojave Desert and its wildlife.

An original folk music score rounds out the production as my ode to home. However, this work is not a recreation, it’s an emotionally charged epic from the perspective of an unreliable antagonist. The tactile nature of the textiles works with the choreography of the puppets to show the physical turmoil and joys of growing up as an outcast. The heart of this story centers around belonging and hoping for better. This production was created to bring me catharsis and show respect for the child I was growing up neurodivergent and gay in conservative Christian America.

I’ve given imagery to what my experience felt like and how I made joy from it.