Monkeybear’s Harmolodic Workshop supports Native, Black, and IPOC in developing creative and technical skills in contemporary puppetry. Through workshops and developmental programs, Monkeybear creates opportunities for artists to create their first works of puppetry and develop further in the form.

Monkeybear’s Founder and Executive and Artistic Director Chamindika Wanduragala saw the lack of Native, Black, and IPOC artists in puppetry and created an innovative way for them to get into puppetry, founding Monkeybear in 2016. Monkeybear’s culture of support and experimentation builds an environment where artists from other disciplines feel safe stepping outside their comfort zones, creating a community that collaborates and supports each other as they dive into this powerful form of visual storytelling. Monkeybear mentors artists in puppet-making skills and storytelling; exposes them to current national and global work; provides critical feedback; supports artists in navigating opportunities and applying to grants; and nurtures a sense of community among artist cohorts by promoting the active exchange of ideas. While puppetry has been practiced around the world since ancient times, in the United States, the contemporary field is largely white. As a constituent/artist-led organization, Monkeybear is deeply committed to providing support for early career Native, Black, and IPOC artists even beyond their programming.

Jerome Foundation supports Monkeybear’s Harmolodic Workshop’s Puppet Performance Intensive, New Puppetworks, Puppet Cinema, and Iron Puppeteer programs. Offered on a biennial basis, Monkeybear’s programs provide early career Minnesota-based puppeteers and artists from other disciplines with everything they need to thrive. In the Puppet Performance Intensive, artists participate in a 7-day, free workshop to learn the fundamentals of puppet performance led by master puppet artist Andrew Kim. Artists who complete the Intensive can automatically participate in New Puppetworks, an 8-month mentorship program to create a 5–8 minute piece, with a stipend, access to Monkeybear’s studio, and culminating in a documented show at Pillsbury House +Theater. In Puppet Cinema, artists who have participated in New Puppetworks, can access an 8-month long mentorship program to create a short puppet film; artists learn basic filmmaking principles for puppetry, and have an opportunity to work with cinematographers, sound designers, and editors. Encouraging dynamic improvisation, a sense of play, and collaboration in storytelling, the Iron Puppeteer program brings together up to 10 alumni artists every other month to collaboratively devise a one-night only piece to be performed that evening.