A Puppeteer with the Palsy Performs Scenes from Shakespeare, or, The Ghost in the Machine

by Cary Mazer

Instead of his usual performance of his favorite scenes from Shakespeare, the master puppeteer, along with his troupe of inanimate thespians, shows us why and how he became a puppeteer. Then, for one night only, he puts on a performance unlike any he has given before.

Instead of his usual performance of his favorite scenes from Shakespeare, the master puppeteer, along with his troupe of inanimate thespians, shows us why and how he became a puppeteer. Then, for one night only, he puts on a performance unlike any he has given before.

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A Puppeteer with the Palsy Performs Scenes from Shakespeare, or, The Ghost in the Machine

Recommended by

  • Mark Loewenstern: A Puppeteer with the Palsy Performs Scenes from Shakespeare, or, The Ghost in the Machine by Cary Mazer
    “

    Was fortunate to see a live production of this play and was much impressed with its depth and theatricality. It is an elegant reframing of what it means to act, to live, and to struggle with disease that many may find useful. Mazer uses loved ones as a metaphor to demonstrate the stages of grief in the deterioration of one's own body. Devastating, genuinely moving stuff.

    Was fortunate to see a live production of this play and was much impressed with its depth and theatricality. It is an elegant reframing of what it means to act, to live, and to struggle with disease that many may find useful. Mazer uses loved ones as a metaphor to demonstrate the stages of grief in the deterioration of one's own body. Devastating, genuinely moving stuff.

    ”
  • Allison Backus: A Puppeteer with the Palsy Performs Scenes from Shakespeare, or, The Ghost in the Machine by Cary Mazer
    “

    "A Puppeteer with the Pasly…" is a thought-provoking delight. Mazer’s play encourages reflection on the body’s relationship to art, ambition, limitation, and loss.

    This is a play for Shakespeare lovers, puppetry lovers, actors, scholars, humans (particularly those whose bodies have known physical limitation), and anyone who has sat in an audience and fallen in love with the theatre.

    "A Puppeteer with the Pasly…" is a thought-provoking delight. Mazer’s play encourages reflection on the body’s relationship to art, ambition, limitation, and loss.

    This is a play for Shakespeare lovers, puppetry lovers, actors, scholars, humans (particularly those whose bodies have known physical limitation), and anyone who has sat in an audience and fallen in love with the theatre.

    ”

Development History

  • Workshop, University of Pennsylvania, 2018

Production History

  • Professional, Skepro and Theatre Exile, 2025