Help Make Art

Help construct the actual puppets that will be flooding the streets of Ann Arbor on Sunday, April 6. Volunteers are needed in the studio for all of the following foolish tasks: sculpting, painting, constructing, sewing, costuming, merry-making, and papier-mâché galore.

Individuals

Come by yourself! Come with your friends! Come make new friends! Just get thee to the studio! Contact us for studio hours and location (or for gentle arm-twisting, if you’re ambivalent — we’re actually pretty cool, we think).

Groups

Are you involved with a team, business, neighborhood association, community service organization, club, band, gang, posse, etc. that’s looking to try something new and different? We’d love to have your group join the fun. Contact us to make it happen.

Can kids work at the studio?

Well-behaved children may accompany parents/ guardians, but MUST be directly supervised at all times. Unfortunately, the studio’s not set up (yet!) for child-specific creative activities — it abounds with lumber, tools, and other not-so-kid-friendly stuff. The studio is geared to adults, college students, and high school students. We do, however, want to see people of ALL ages gettin’ foolish at the April 6 event!

Wanna work independently?

We welcome groups and individuals to create their own pieces (in their own studios/garages) and bring them to the FestiFools event on April 6. For details about the staging time/place, please contact us at startproject@umich.edu. All pieces must meet the following specs:

Puppet specifications

Under 14ft tall (to clear electric lines!)
No larger than 6ft wide
Hand-made (no commercial pieces)
Human-powered (no motorized units)
Must have its own crew of operators for setup, performance, and take-down.