Our Artists
We are happy to honor a circle of radiant HOBT Artists who both inspire and carry out the many programs and projects of our theatre.
Gustavo Boada
has been working in Minnesota since 2007, and has four decades of experience in community-engaged art, popular education, and popular theater, including work in Latin America (Peru, Chile, and Puerto Rico), as well as around the US (New York, DC, Philadelphia, Vermont, and Minnesota).
Specifically, he has worked in a variety of capacities at In the Heart of the Beast (including being a lead artist in 13 May Day Parades), presented his work through BareBones Theater, Minnesota History Center (Dia de los Muertos 2010, 2011, and 2012), CLUES (Fiesta Latina in 2019 and 2021, as well as Dias de Muertos events and workshops, ArtStart (leading workshops with Public School students since 2007).
Gustavo has also presented his work at the National Museum of the American Indian ( Washington DC), the Peabody Museum in Boston, Naylamp Puppet Theater (in Philadelphia), as well as 5 Puerto Rican Day Parades in Philadelphia. This work included 4 plays representing his indigenous heritage as well as the native traditions of different Latin American countries. In the way he rooted his work with the community of twin cities Gustavo had been recipient of grants from MRCA to created "Puckllay: Family Puppetshow; form City of Minneapolis (Creative response Funds) to Create Big Alebrije Bikes 2022 and MSAB to create Big Paper mâché bike sculptures "Alebrijes.Catrinas y Mojigangas” 2023.
Gustavo and his wife Julie Boada co-founded a theater company in 2008 (called “Little Coyote Puppet Theater” since 2020), and has created 8 different plays, and presented them over 1,000 times to audiences all over the state of Minnesota.
Julie Boada
is an Anishinabe artist, storyteller, puppeteer and art educator. She has worked regionally and nationally for the past 32 years, with Heart of the Beast Masque and Puppet Theatre ArtStart and independently. Organizations she has worked with include the L.A. Music Center, The Minnesota History Center, and The Fergus Falls Center for the Arts. Recent work includes A river Runs Free, Lupita Doesn’t Want to go to Sleep and Puckllay. Julie has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Jerome Foundation. Julie has a B.A. in Studio Arts and American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota. She is passionate about work that fosters cultural pride and value.
Lys Akerman-Frank
Lys Akerman-Frank is a native Brazilian who has embraced life in the United States for 29 years. A graduate of St. Catherine University with a B.A. in Graphic Design, Lys also holds a Master's in Instructional Design. Lys's diverse background includes over a decade in the corporate world. Later, she founded Art & Frames in 2010, a custom frame shop and gallery in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lys works at The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery at St. Catherine University, continuing to enrich the artistic community with her passion and expertise.
Lys designs and builds puppets. She is a multimedia Artist who focuses on Masks and 3D cultures, bringing her creative vision to life in a new and enchanting way. Her work has been featured in various venues throughout the Twin Cities, including the prestigious Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia).
Chelly Beaver
Chelly Beaver is a puppeteer and storyteller from the northern metro with over a decade of storytelling experience and a huge love for children's literature. You can normally find Chelly at HOBT's Puppet and Mask Library the first and third Saturday of each month accompanied by her puppet companion Turnip the Dog. Stop by and join her for a storytime or workshop!
Ifrah Mansour
Ifrah Mansour is a Somali, refugee, Muslim, multimedia artist and an educator based in Minnesota. Her artwork explores trauma through the eyes of children to uncover the resiliencies of blacks, Muslims, and refugees. She interweaves poetry, puppetry, films, and installations. She's been featured in Middle East Eye, BBC, Vice, OkayAfrica, Star Tribune, and City Pages. Her critically-acclaimed, “How to Have Fun in a Civil War” premiered at Guthrie Theatre and toured to greater cities in Minnesota. Her first national museum exhibition; “Can I touch it” premiered at Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Her visual poem, “I am a Refugee” is part of PBS’s short Film festival. "My Aqal, banned and blessed" Premiered at Queens Museum in New York. Learn More: facebook.com/ifrahmansourart
Jake Quatt
Jake Quatt is a multi-disciplinary artist from Vermont. He received his B.A in Fine Arts and Journalism from Beloit College in 2019 and moved to Minneapolis in early 2020. Since arriving, his work has progressively become weirder, more experimental, and increasingly full of puppets. He is currently illustrating several books for Madhat press, animating on the automata project for the Science Museum of Minnesota, performing at Weird Stuff Only, and collaborating on a wide array of new and old projects with his partner, Ches Cipriano.
Masanari Kawahara
Masanari Kawahara is a performer, educator and Butoh practitioner who incorporates puppetry, mask and movement into his work.
Notable recent works include The Story of Crow Boy (2016) at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and the solo performance piece Little Boy (2014) commissioned and developed by Pangea World Theater’s Alternate Vision series, performed at Pillsbury House Theatre.
Masanari Kawahara is a Playwrights’ Center McKnight Theater Artist Fellow (2010-2011).
Esther Ouray
Esther Ouray has been creating, performing, celebrating, and teaching with In the Heart of the Beast since 1980. As puppeteer, actress, director, dancer, and choreographer, she has creatively engaged with community locally, regionally, and internationally.
She has cavorted with other performance companies as well in the Minneapolis area - among them are: At the Foot of the Mountain, Barebones Productions, Illusion Theater, and Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts. Currently Esther is a company member of Zamya Theater Project. She has been the recipient of grants from the MN State Arts Board, Jerome Foundation, Rimon, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Puffin Foundation, and Arts on Chicago.
Laurie Witzkowski
Laurie Witzkowski is a maker of theater, music, ritual and gardens in both English and Spanish. She has been creating at In the Heart of the Beast for several decades, wearing every hat there is. Additionally she has enlivened space in war zones, sacred sites, on the streets and by rivers across the country and the world, dedicated to ending violence on all levels.
Besides her theater work with many ensembles, she has appeared on stage, screen and recordings as a vocalist, musician and conductor. Drumming! Dancing! Working with kids and dirt and seeds! She just can't help herself.
Orren Fen
Since before Orren could even speak they have been making weird Queer art in South Minneapolis. Orren focuses her work on puppetry, drag performance art, prop and set design, dance, costume design, sequins and googly eyes.
Gender identity usually works its way into the art Orren makes along with other things like clowns, grandmas, inanimate things with faces, and silly little jazzy dance moves.
Orren has performed at many venues and events in the Twin Cities including Weird Stuff Only, Open Eye Theater, B.O.N.K., Puppet Cabaret MPLS, Heart of the Beast Theater, Full Moon Puppet Show, the Dick Von Dyke Show, and many School Dance showcases.
Stayci Bell
Stayci is a granddaughter to her deceased grandparents Louise and Willie Caliup and a niece to her deceased Uncle Calvin. She is a daughter, mother and grandmother. Stayci is a grower of food. She is a theater actress, puppeteer and stagehand.
Nicole Amaris
Nicole Amaris is a resident of Powderhorn with 20 years experience in performance, visual art and teaching. Her years as a vocalist, stilt performer and youth advocate in South Minneapolis and Portland shaped her experimental art and vision.
Currently, she finds joy teaching youth involved with Heart of the Beast to be proud and stand tall, mostly on stilts! Nicole’s art is found everyday in the street or classroom, as she believes art should be accessible and shared with community.
Ramon Cordes
Ramon Cordes: has worked in puppet type art for over 20 years, growing up in the Powderhorn Park area and participating in numerous projects with In the Heart of the Beast, including the annual MayDay festivals, the Phillips Project Artist Team, and a puppet poem conceived by Bart Buch called, Ode to Walt Whitman. He is an active member of the Twin Cities Bike Polo team.
Angie Courchaine
Angie is a community-based artist and teacher living and working in South Minneapolis. They enjoy working on collaborative projects, usually using their skills in visual arts, puppetry, and movement.
Most recently they appeared as an aerialist in the puppet rock opera Basement Creatures at In the Heart of the Beast. When Angie's not biking around town, they can be found stilt walking (proud member of Chicks on Sticks) or flying on various aerial apparatuses. Angie is also a board member, maker, and performer with BareBones Productions.
Gaea Dill-D’Ascoli
Gaea grew up in Powderhorn Neighborhood and became involved at Heart of the Beast at the ripe old age of 2. She surprised no one (except herself) when she decided to pursue art full-time after returning from three years in the South Pacific as the Peace Corps Volunteer.
Now, her art takes many forms including community based puppetry, stilt walking, writing, photography and technical theater. She's had the pleasure of working with Barebones Puppets, Brooklyn Center High School Theater and the Phillips Project to bring art to students, adults and the public. She can be found online at GaeaDD.com or DragonsLLC.com.
Seth Eberle
Seth Eberle is a socially engaged puppet, mask, and teaching artist. Alongside performing with In the Heart of the Beast, Seth is also an Arts Educator at Silverwood Park where he is focused on teaching about the natural world through art and puppetry. In puppetry, he has performed or worked with Torry Bend at Open Eye Figure Theatre, Whitman Electric at Intermedia Arts, the Nordnorsk Opera of Norway, Bread and Puppet Theatre, Magic Lantern Theatre, and Public Domain Productions. Seth was also a fellow of the Creative Community Leadership Institute, a program of Intermedia Arts, in 2015.
Patty Gille
"I am an old time fan of In the Heart of the Beast. I’ve danced the parade as Carmen Miranda for at least 30 years. Often found at the Saturday Matinee puppet shows. I show up as frog or raccoon at different events. Composer of the famous MayDay Money song among others. Paper mache maven".
Olli Johnson
Olli is a theater artist, musician, crafty lady, and aspiring paper engineer. She has performed with Bread and Puppet, In the Heart of the Beast, Barebones and Bedlam Theatre. Formerly, she was an ensemble member of the Unseen Ghost Brigade, a clown troupe that travelled by raft and shared performances in small towns along the Mississippi River. She currently works as a teaching artist at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Adventures in Cardboard, and Mia. Her obsessions are book-binding and making pop-up books, automata, and playing accordion.
Madeline Helling
Madeline Helling is a multidisciplinary artist who jumped into the fields of puppetry and cardboard engineering in 2010. Much of her work centers around large scale community-based collaborations. For six years, Madeline has worked on In the Heart of the Beast projects including the MayDay Parade, the Phillips Project, main stage productions, small scale productions, residencies and commissions. Recently, this work sent her to South Africa to collaborate with Handspring Productions. She has twice co-directed the BareBones Halloween Extravaganza, Metamorphosoup in 2014 and We All Fall Down 2015, and is currently a member of the BareBones Productions board. Madeline works as an arts educator at Adventures in Cardboard. She is described as “so exuberant, you forget that you’ve been papier macheing for the last five hours” (BareBones Productions).
Jeong Ae Neal
Jeong Ae Neal has been recognized as a master puppeteer of Korea and is a puppet, doll, mask, and print maker. A prolific artist, she not only creates worlds of fantasy and reality through inanimate beings who take on lives of palpable existence - she also is deeply involved in the modern realities of environmental and social issues, single mother issues, and workshops for mothers and children. Her creations have been commissioned and spotlighted through exhibits, shows and workshops throughout the world. Jeong Ae is now a resident of St. Paul and has been on MayDay artistic staff since1999. She actively participates in In the Heart of the Beast and Barebones Productions.
Angela Olson
Angela Olson is a puppet artist and arts educator from Minnesota. She has created and performed in work across the country, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. She lives in South Minneapolis with her dog, Princess Leia.
Junauda Petrus
Junauda Petrus is a writer, aerialist, playwright, creative organizer and performance artist. She has received a Givens Foundation fellowship, Jerome Travel and Study grant, Many Voices Mentorship with the Playwright's Center, and Naked Stages Residency at the Pillsbury House.
She is also a cultural producer-in-residence at the Givens Foundation, where she co-hosts a podcast series called Black Market Reads. She is the co-founder of Free Black Dirt, a Minneapolis-based artist collective.
Mary Plaster
Mary Plaster is a Minnesota-raised, world-traveled, mixed-media artist and facilitator based in Duluth since 2000, where she is founder/artistic director of All Souls Night, held in early November since 2008. She is the feature artist of 2016’s ArtWorks festival, August 27 & 28, in Austin, MN. Career Highlights include: Parliament of World Religions, The Cosmic Mass, Ordway International Children’s Festival, Duluth Children’s Museum, MN Ballet, and Burning Man, with Jungle Theater and Children’s Theatre Company internships. A HOBT/MayDay fan/kindred from its start, Mary first joined art staff in 2008 and spent that summer with the Bread and Puppet Theatre in VT. maryplaster.com
Anne Sawyer
Anne Sawyer works as a puppeteer and arts educator for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Open Eye Figure Theatre, Chicks on Sticks, Silverwood Park, and Artstart. Anne is the author/illustrator of two children’s books: Nalah and the Pink Tiger and Nalah Goes to Mad Mouse City. She tours puppet show versions of these around Minnesota. For five years she has served as the Artistic Director of the New York Mills Cultural Center’s Kalevala Puppet Pageant.