Mercer Times

This semester, The College of New Jersey's (TCNJ) School of the Arts and Communication is hosting Sebastienne Mundheim as Artist-in-Residence along with her company, White Box Theatre. Based in Philadelphia, White Box Theatre will present "Kea and the Ark" next month at Black Box Theater.

Sebastienne Mundheim is a seasoned performance-maker, installation artist, writer, designer, puppetry coach, and workshop leader with over 30 years in arts education. Recently, she collaborated with students in Professor Elizabeth Mackie’s advanced art courses to work on projects involving puppets that incorporate visual installation, storytelling, dance, and theater.

In the first session with students, Mundheim conducted warm-up exercises and taught techniques related to performance. This enabled students to create stories through the puppets and structures they crafted. Mundheim expressed enthusiasm about working with the students: “I loved the students’ willingness to experiment with materials and movement. I loved their open, reflective, and honest thoughts about the class experience,” she said. “I was sad that we only had two sessions together. I can’t wait to see what they do.”

Professor Mackie noted that this collaboration allowed students to understand construction better and explore how they could integrate movement into their sculptures for audience engagement. The challenge was in making projects sturdy enough while also wearable or hangable.

Pepper Rodriguez-Hernandez ’27 shared their experience of working alongside Mundheim: “While I was creating my puppets, I was reminded of our lessons of teamwork and trust throughout it.” They highlighted how classmates helped solve problems collaboratively: “They helped me come to solutions I would have never imagined on my own.”

In addition to these workshops, Clinical Professor Jose Bevia and Adjunct Professor Quinn Collins are collaborating with Daniel DeJesus on music for "Kea and the Ark." Bevia stated: “I hope that this approach will be composition to the experience and work with traditional music notation. The workshop will be eye-opening to our students.” He emphasized the importance of learning traditional music notation as foundational for musicians.

Bevia also commented on DeJesus' approach as an enriching extension of classroom activities: “I hope that they will see a different approach to music creation...complementary to what we normally do in our classes.” Blending music with theater presents challenges but offers opportunities for creative thinking.

Dean Pamela Barnett expressed excitement about hosting White Box Theatre at TCNJ: “Sebastienne Mundheim’s White Box Theater has launched our Artist-in-Residency program with a splash...culminating in March with a performance of ‘Kea and the Ark,’” she wrote.

Tickets for "Kea and the Ark" are available for performances on Saturday, March 1st at 2 pm and Sunday, March 2nd at 2 pm. Through electric cello, puppetry, movement, and storytelling elements tell Kea Tawana's story—who built an ark using materials from abandoned homes in Newark during the 1980s.

Mundheim’s paper sculptures are also featured until March 2nd in her Performance Environments exhibition at AIMM 111 side gallery.