2/16/2025 – TransAtlantic Puppet Masters, Alison Duddle and Sandy Spieler: A Conversation Between Friends

Puppetry and mask artists Sandy Spieler (Founder of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, USA) and Alison Duddle (A Bird in the Hand Theatre and Quiddlesticks, UK), have nurtured a trans-Atlantic bond for the past 30 years, after working together on In the Heart of the Beast’s May Day Parade in 1995. Spieler became a mentor for Duddle, as she has been for many in the puppetry community. Out of this connection, came a deep and enduring friendship–– even as the two have worked thousands of miles apart. Join us for a conversation between these two influential and innovative puppet and mask artists, who exemplify the transformative power of puppetry at the community and international level. They discuss their friendship and their artistic practices, and how, in the words of Sandy, “Art wakens us to the wonder of our everyday lives.” Co-sponsored by UNIMA-USA and the Women and Masks Project.

The following are links and resources mentioned during the conversation:

• You can find Alison Duddle’s company website here and a longer bio for her at https://sites.bu.edu/womenandmasks/alison-duddle/.
• Alison mentioned an Instagram post that showed how to make her large snow leopard lantern puppets.
• Sandy Spieler’s webpage can be found here and a longer bio we created is here: https://sites.bu.edu/womenandmasks/sandy-spieler/.
• We have also compiled a page of pedagogical resources related to Sandy. This is part of the projects efforts to offer more pedagogical resources for teachers: https://sites.bu.edu/womenandmasks/research/pedagogical-resources/.
• The May Day Parade where Alison and Sandy first connected is no longer held but here is a wonderful video from 15 years ago with a great interview with Sandy.