HISTORY: In 1998, Amy Christian and Alessandra Ogren of Wise Fool Puppet Intervention in San Francisco moved to Santa Fe, and joined forces with Robbie Ann Pino and Jaime Smith to create Wise Fool New Mexico. In this way, WFNM was born, already possessing a rich and storied history spanning 10 years of community arts, giant puppetry and activism. Since then WFNM has created and performed 17 original works including:

• Flexion, an outdoor stilt aerial movement spectacular
• Baggage, a mask and theatre work addressing Domestic Violence and based in local women’s true stories
• Circus Luminous (2003 thru 2006), a collaborative “new circus” wrought with dazzling aerials, acrobatics, dance and social commentary
• H2O, Spoonfool, HAHA MONKEY FLOWER and The Curtain, multi disciplinary productions incorporating circus arts, puppetry and contemporary social issues from borders and immigration to capitalism and global marketing
• The Story of Stories, large scale shadow puppetry weaving diverse folktales about justice
• The Rainbird, a folktale honoring the stories of our ancestors

WFNM has toured participatory puppetry tales to over 50 public libraries and schools throughout New Mexico. Along with our local women’s community, WFNM created the One Railroad Circus, an all women’s circus which performed for five seasons and inspired the development of our popular Women’s Circus Workshop Intensives. WFNM directed an ongoing theatre arts program and summer intensives for adults with developmental disabilities, and co-produced the popular annual event, Vivos Entre Los Muertos, a community Dia de los Muertos celebration. In 1997 and 2000 Wise Fool New Mexico collaborated with Clowns Without Borders (an international relief organization) to journey to Chiapas, Mexico to perform clowning and circus shows and teach puppetry workshops in remote war torn communities. In 2005 and 2006 WFNM traveld to the colonias in Ciudad Juarez to continue this work. WFNM in collaboration with the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts has created the Walking Tall Circus Program which offers workshops to underserved youth throughout Miami Dade County in Florida.

In 2003, WFNM created Wise Fool Productions, a project which focuses on event entertainment and has been highly successful at promoting our work nationally and supporting both our artists and our company financially. This work has brought us to perform at El Monte Sagrado in Taos, Lotusland in Santa Barbara CA, and the Crystal Charity Ball in Dallas TX to name a few.

WFNM has also… created hundreds of puppets with children at 17 local schools related to curriculum, conflict resolution and culture; worked with kids and adults from 11 different Native communities; collaborated with the SF Children’s Museum, Institute of American Indian Arts, El Museo Cultural, and the Museum of International Folk Art, created a shadow play addressing historical trauma for use in Native Substance Abuse Prevention trainings and performed at local community events from the Queer Film Festival to All Species Day. WFNM has established thriving summer camps for local youth in Santa Fe and Penasco, has taught at TANF “Bridging for the Arts” camps across the state and established an annual Circus Performers Gathering for folks from the US and Canada to share skills and create community.