Masking Emotions. Fostering Connection Through Performative Art in the Digital Space. An Interview with Yuliya Tsukerman, Puppeteer and Mask Maker

This interview focuses on the work of Yuliya Tsukerman, a puppeteer and mask maker working in theatre and film, and based in Brooklyn, New York. Her project, Transmissions from the Ancient Forest, is a series of video poems in which a community of lesser gods tries to make sense of human suffering. We discuss the mask-making process, the characters’ emotions, and how these are perceived by online audiences. Her work has been supported by the Jim Henson Foundation, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Franklin Furnace, the Jerome Foundation, Clubbed Thumb, Folly Tree Arboretum, the NYFA Playwriting/ Screenwriting Grant, Loghaven, Mana Contemporary, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.