Z PUPPETS ROSENSCHNOZ PRESENTS: Tales of ᏓᎦᏏ Dagsi Turtle & ᏥᏍᏚ Jisdu Wabbit

Z PUPPETS ROSENSCHNOZ PRESENTS: Tales of ᏓᎦᏏ Dagsi Turtle & ᏥᏍᏚ Jisdu Wabbit April 26 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Z PUPPETS ROSENSCHNOZ PRESENTS Tales of ᏓᎦᏏ Dagsi Turtle & ᏥᏍᏚ Jisdu Wabbit A new musical adventure to help keep alive the Cherokee language Saturday, April 26, 10:30 a.m. East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier Street, St. Paul Free admission! Dagsi Turtle & his sidekick Jisdu Wabbit race through time and space to bring you a new musical adventure into the Cherokee language. Hop aboard the Turtleship and join Dagsi and Jisdu’s quest to keep alive this endangered Indigenous language. This show features catchy original tunes and out-of-this-world puppet characters, created and performed by Cherokee Nation citizen Chris Griffith and Shari Aronson and directed by Julie Boada (Anishinabe). Recommended for ages 5+. Tales is an Awardee of a 2025 Jim Henson Foundation Family Theater Grant, with support also from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. In 2019, the Cherokee Nation declared a state of emergency for their language. In response, Z Puppets is creating live performances, music videos and web series to engage youth and adults in seeing and hearing Cherokee language, culture and history. This work has earned critical acclaim, media attention (Indian Country Today, Cherokee Phoenix and MN Public Radio) and thousands of viewers for their creative approach to revitalizing an endangered language. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Chris Griffith (Writer/Composer/Puppetry Designer/Performer), is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Co-Creative Director of Z Puppets Rosenschnoz and award-winning puppetry artist/arts educator in Minneapolis. Over 30 years, his work has attracted support from Indigenous Performances Productions, Cherokee Film Office/OK Film & TV Academy, NDN Collective, FilmNorth, Tiwahe Foundation, National Endowment of the Arts, Perpich Center for Arts Education, Ivey Awards and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Shari Aronson (Writer/Performer). Co-Creative Director of Z Puppets Rosenschnoz, started her career as a Resident Playwright at Bloomington Playwrights’ Project in Indiana, followed by a McKnight Foundation Screenwriting Fellowship and M.A. in Drama Education. Theaters nationwide produce Shari’s stage adaptation of children’s book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. She has also developed interactive environments and experiences for Minnesota’s History Center, Science Museum and Children”s Museum. Director Julie Boada is an Anishinabe artist, storyteller, puppeteer and arts educator. Julie has worked regionally and nationally with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre, Z Puppets Rosenschnoz, and the MN History Center. A 2014 Ivey Award recipient, Julie has received support from the MN State Arts Board and the Jerome Foundation. Julie has a B.A. in Studio Arts and American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota. About Z Puppets Rosenschnoz Z Puppets’ mission is to bring people of all ages and abilities into the power of playfulness, through performances, workshops and feats of imagination. Our work delights children and their adults with the inventive blend of hand-crafted puppetry, quirky humor and whimsical music. Since 1998, we have created 30+ original shows — from a glow-in-the-dark performance of cell division to a mindfulness musical. Z Puppets has earned honors and support nationally from the Jim Henson Foundation, Network of Ensemble Theaters, Puppeteers of America, Parents’ Choice and Creative Child Magazine and Ordway Center for Performing Arts. Z Puppets performs across the country (including National Puppetry Festivals, Heard Museum of American Indian Art and Eric Carle Museum), as well as in Minnesota (at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, Walker Art Center and Minnesota State Fair). Shari and Chris consider it a great honor to lead people into sharing laughter and making meaning of the world. Thus, their company motto: Behold! The Power of Playfulness. Learn more at zpuppets.org.