© Beech Tree Puppets LLC 2016
About Us
A few years ago we would have never thought that our experience in theater, storytelling, music and the visual arts would lead us to what is now Beech Tree Puppets LLC. When a puppet enters the stage, people can connect to the story directly. Puppets can break down barriers, cross cultural differences, and open people of all ages to new ideas and possibilities. We are discovering that puppetry is a creative and expansive art form that engages and entertains, bringing a sense of wonder to a story or subject. Storytelling and puppetry also enliven the use of language, giving it nuance and meaning.
Walking through a beech forest is like being in a Gothic cathedral. The
trunks are tall, the bark looks smooth and silvery, and the branches reach
up and out like human arms. Likewise, on a visit to Chartres cathedral in
France, we clearly felt that here was a space meant to uplift the human
being. In that spirit, we want Beech Tree Puppets to create such a space.
Ingrid and Ole:
25 Years of Performing
Together
Our 4 years of puppeteering together were preceeded by a good twenty years of singing together, in opera and operetta, church, recital and concert hall. We have sung in Germany, where Ole is from, but mostly here in the USA. Since moving to the Washington DC area around the tide of the millennium, we have sung and acted with many of the great performing institutions in classical music around the area. Since our children, Felix and Cecilia, have attended Kindergarten, we have developed a strong interest in puppets.
Ole Hass
Founder, Puppeteer
Ole grew up in Hamburg, Germany. He followed Ingrid to North Carolina and also finished his Master in Opera Performance at NCSA, then earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from the University of Maryland. While singing with the Washington Bach Consort and the Washington National Opera, he worked as editor for RIPM (Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals) in Baltimore for ten years. His father was a boat builder, and Ole is trying to put what he remembers from him to good use.
Ingrid Cowan Hass
Founder, Puppeteer
Renaissance woman par excellence, Ingrid has finally found an outlet in puppets to combine many of her talents. A native of North Carolina, Ingrid holds a Bachelor in Visual Arts from Smith College, and a Master in Opera Performance from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Working with fiber lies in the family: her mother is a professional knitter and cross stitch designer, and her grandfather was a tailor. Check out her artist web page, www.ingridcowanhass.com.
What’s in a Name?
