izaq charp (Musician & Heaven on Earth) “Good god, it’s hideous,” gasped the veterinarian as izaq charp oozed out a cyst on the anus of a warthog at the Cincinnati Zoo on September 7th, 2023. izaq charp was quickly flushed down a toilet where he joined a gelatinous conglomeration of pieces of shit. It was here that izaq found his repulsive voice. izaq began his career by flatulating into the faces of the panel of judges on America’s Got Shit for Brains. From there, stardom was a short shart away and it wasn’t long before izaq could be found every Tuesday evening defecating on the Crown Prince of Belarus’s face. It was a life of fame and filthy glamor that izaq led those next few wild years. But after a near fatal snot swallowing incident left izaq with a permanently impaired sense of smell, izaq decided to denounce his life of extravagant depravity. So izaq got himself stuck to the bottom of the next passerby’s shoe and, stinking most grotesquely, made his way to Ithaca, NY. izaq now divides his time between licking questionable encrustations off items donated to the Ithaca ReUse Center and collaborating with Lilypad Puppet Theatre.
Julie Glanville (A Very Feral Christmas) peaked in high school when she was named “Most Artistic” in her senior class, and has failed to live up to the hype ever since. She identifies as a possibly-relapsing-former-wannabe-writer – believing that stories help us remember that life is beautiful and miraculous, despite all the madness and sadness in the world.
Julian Plum & Maddox Ziomek (The Knight and the Dragon) are married artists based in Newfield, NY. Julian is best known for his 2025 Porchfest art and 75% of Ithaca households having at least one Julian Plum print on their walls. Maddox is a co-founder of Third Place Theater and is often found playing pretend on stage at Liquid State. The pair have been improvising and writing together for 17 years, and have a deep affinity for the homoeroticism of medieval knights.
Lily Silly Puppets (Guard) Lily Gershon is the director of Lilypad Puppet Theatre, a local puppeteer and creator of Lily Silly Puppets. She makes hand and shadow puppets in Freeville, at a small collective house called the Dacha Project that she built with her pals. She enjoys parades, jazz singing, wind-up toys, and pop-up art, and pretty much anything absurd and wacky.
Marietta Synodis (Jester) Marietta is a modern-age Renaissance woman. She walks the world telling stories through acting, dance, puppetry, radio, and lots of hand gestures. She produced THIS is Ithaca — a series of audio portraits that explores community and the people who build it. She is also (ever so slowly) building her own home. She would like to thank her mentor, YouTube, for guiding her in these endeavors.
Marina Gershon (Guard) On this winter night, the unbridled ferocity of the storm is matched only by the blackness of the sky, horizontal streams of sleet masked in an impenetrable inky curtain. It’s incongruous, unnerving, you think staring out the window at the utter absence of anything. There’s a knock, barely audible over the frenzied din. A pause, and then another. And is that the jingle of tiny fairies’ bells? But, whosoever could be out on a night like this? Why, it’s Marina Gershon of course! She’s come with gifts and laughter and steaming mugs of tea. Snowflakes land on her eyelashes for an instant before being melted by her radiant warmth. She stands on your doorstep smiling, waiting to be invited in, which of course you do. And your day, however it may have been before, is now a merry one indeed. Such is the way of Marina.
Matthew Ocone (The King) is a musician based in Ithaca, NY. In addition to performing on solo classical guitar, he regularly plays with Isaac Sharp in The Dacha Guitar Duo, with violinist Bill Hurley in The Tarragon Duo, and with puppeteer Lily Silly. He lives at The Dacha Project, in Freeville NY, a sustainable homestead, where he manages a small vegetable farm. For info on his various musical projects, The Dacha Project, and his passion for Hippopotami, you can visit his website.
Mike Chen (Mall of Death) grew up in the Golden Age of the American Mall and has mad visions of turning the Ithaca Mall into a paradise of crafting and games and puppetry.
SingTrece – (Vibing Heavy) – ”Her voice has been called ”Milk and Honey to the Ears” and you can’t help but feel something with every note she sings. SingTrece recently won first place at the famous Apollo theater. She also tours Europe, singing in Malta, Norway, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and even the Vatican twice. She starred and sang in the feature film “Manhattan Front” written and directed by Cathy Crane. Trece has also performed in many theatrical roles: Dream Girls (Effie), From the Blues to the Bible (Ruby Pearl), The Wiz (Glinda the good witch) and Crowns (Velma, a hat Queen) and many more. She is now the face of the band SingTrece & Stone Cold Miracle. SingTrece learned that her gift of singing was a light with a purpose and needs to be shared with the world. She encourages and inspires with every note she belts out so effortlessly with every song she writes or asks to sing. SingTrece is a playwright, director, actress, singer, songwriter, mother, wife and all around amazing woman.