Meet Some Fools

The START Project is a collaboration between community members and University of Michigan faculty, staff, and students. Here are just a few of the people who make FestiFools happen.

Fools’ Court members

The FestiFools steering committee (dubbed the “Fools’ Court”) meets throughout the year and obsesses over how to make FestiFools as awesome as possible. We raise money, secure the necessary permits, publicize the event, build partnerships with local organizations, recruit puppet builders, bring pizza and coffee to the studio — in short, we keep the hive buzzing!

Mark Tucker and Shoshana Hurand in the studio.

Mark Tucker (Creative Director)
Gretchen Adracie
Shary Brown
Nate Chmielewski
Aislinn Frantz
Shoshana Hurand
Deb Mexicotte
Ryan Munson
Jeri Rosenberg
Dave Waterhouse

Ruth Marsh (Administrative Assistant and all-around superhero)

Tina Kokoris (another superhero, who keeps track of our Fool’s Gold — and of us Fools, too)

We also appreciate the contributions of our Foolish alumni: Lisa Bee, Jesse Bernstein, Molly Blakowski, Lisa Herbert Borgsdorf, Geetha Iyer, Nikki Herman, Rich Klarman, Linda Lombardini, Tim Petersen, Mary Rea, Tamara Real, Theresa Reid, Cathy Roglitz, Jay Sandweiss, Sultan Sharrief, Colleen Sherman, Amy St. Amour, Sara Sterkenberg, Christopher Taylor, Margie Teall, Nick Tobier, Edward Vielmetti, and Elisabeth Wilson.

Some other contributing artists

Professor Nick Tobier & Pig (background & foreground, respectively).

Master puppet artists, Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles, have been our artists-in-residence on this project since 2007. They work directly with students and community volunteers to help produce the FestiFools extravanganza. We hope they’ll continue to share their talent and encouragement with us for many years to come. Thanks guys! Learn more about them and their work at the Superior Concept Monsters website.
Nick Tobier is an Associate Professor at the U-M School of Art & Design. During the Winter Term, he has his students build FestiFools puppets — and, of course, march them around downtown! — as part of their coursework. Since these pieces are designed and built at the Art School (rather than at the FestiFools studio), there’s tremendous anticipation and excitement on the day of the event: All the puppets converge on the same physical space for the very first time. Wow! (All this talk of things showing up in surprising locations seems almost lifted from Nick’s “Everyday Places” website.)
Myra Klarman, a portrait photographer based in Ann Arbor, is the Official FestiFools Photographer. She documents the puppet-making process and also the event itself. Her images really capture the energy and vibe of what we Fools are all about, and we’re extremely grateful for her efforts. Check out her FestiFools-related blog entries.

U-M undergrad researchers & employees

FestiFools is extremely fortunate to have the involvement of U-M students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Their projects have included the initiation and creation of our street art resources page. This year’s UROP intern is Amal Muzaffar; former UROP students include Aislinn Frantz, Lisa Frasco, Lauren Hantz, Meredith Hoffman, Kelly Lewis, Alyssa Marcucci, and Elisabeth Wilson. Our current student employees are Aislinn Frantz and Meryl Waldo.