Dream Eaters Performance Collective, founded in New York City in 2014 by Norah Solorzano, Alex Young, and Shawn Chua, creates experimental puppetry works that immerse audiences in shared dreamlike experiences. United by a fascination with puppets and dreaming, the collective has developed a distinctive approach to performance that blends intimacy, interactivity, and visual innovation. Their early work, Eater of Dreams (2014), invited audiences of two into a Harlem apartment for a highly personal immersive experience, followed by Baku: Dream Two (2017), an improvisational shadow and foam puppetry piece. Their current project, Library of the Dreamless, extends these ideas into a near-future world where dreams are shaped by technology and data, with development supported by PQ Studio (2019) and a Henson Foundation Workshop Grant (2024).
The collective’s practice also includes residencies and interdisciplinary experimentation, such as their 2021 NEA residency at Tofte Lake, where they explored waterproof puppetry inspired by the natural environment, leading to their puppet film The Bog (2021), which premiered at the Ballard Institute. They have continued to expand their work through residencies and performances, including Manship Artists Residency (2023), Minneapolis Fringe Festival and the Center for Performing Arts (2024), and the La MaMa Theater Puppet Slam (2024). Additional works include Labyrinthian(2015), Big Shot (2016), RatPlanet (2020), and Threshold (2021), with a new puppet film set in the Sandia Mountains currently in post-production (2025).
