Damon Young is a teaching artist and performer specializing in collaborative theatre arts and shadow puppet performance. As puppetry strengthens cooperation, creativity and empathy, it’s a perfect vehicle through which participants in Damon’s programs can celebrate the hands-on magic of storytelling and learning. Teachers and children are active creators in these educational programs, working with Damon to create interactive and unique community performance that synthesizes puppetry, music, voice and music. Dive in, play, create—be a part of the magic!

Social Media: Instagram, Facebook

Arts Disciplines: Theatre/Drama, Storytelling, Puppetry

Core Content Curriculum Areas: Visual Art, Theatre/Drama, English/Language Arts, Science, Social Studies/History

Specialized Content Areas: Arts Integration, STEAM, World Cultures

Special Populations: Exceptional Learners (students with disabilities as well as those who are gifted and talented

 Grade Levels: Pre-K, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Program Types:
School-based Classroom Workshop(s), School-based Afterschool Program, School-based Assembly Program, School-based Residency Program, School-based Summer Program

Community-based Workshop(s), Community-based Assembly Program, Community-based Afterschool Program, Community-based Residency Program, Community-based Summer Program

Online Content for School Use, Online Content for Community Use, Online Content for Summer Program Use, Hybrid Online and In-Person Content for Schools, Hybrid Online and In-Person Content for Communities, Hybrid Online and In-Person Content for Summer Programs

Pre-Service Learning and Professional Development: Professional Development for Teaching Artists

Geographic Availability: Metro Atlanta, North Georgia, Middle Georgia, South Georgia

Program Fees:

• Performances:
  • $450 (plus travel expenses outside of metro Atlanta) + Discounts for multiple performances.
• Workshops:
  • $450 (plus travel expenses outside of metro Atlanta) + Discounts for multiple classes at one location.
• Residencies:
  • $1,500 for a 5-day residency
• Access to Online Content:
  • $250

Artistic Profile:

As an artist, Damon is always learning and growing, taking inspiration from the children and communities he collaborates with to help kids express their experiences through images, movement, sound, and story. Damon’s experience in theater, music, and puppetry spans the last 20 years including touring the USA and Canada. He studied Theater at Georgia State University, where he wrote and performed theater programs for students of Atlanta elementary schools. He has studied with puppet masters of traditional Anatolian Turkish puppetry and Indonesian Wayang. Damon has worked and trained at the Center for Puppetry Arts for 18 years and has had extensive workshop training at National and Regional Puppetry Festivals. He directed and performed a large scale shadow theater piece based on the Mayan Popol Vu at the Center for Puppetry Arts. For television, Damon created and performed shadow puppet sequences for Marvel’s Hawkeye, a miniseries shown on the Disney+ platform, and a TV spot for the Great Wolf Lodge. He founded Mr. Damon’s Shadow Puppet Theater which creates dynamic, interactive puppetry experiences and extensively performs at schools, theaters, festivals and libraries across the southeast.

Teaching Experience:

As Lead Teaching Artist and trainer with the Center for Puppetry Arts education department, Damon regularly leads workshops for students, teachers and artists, and creates puppet designs and learning activity curriculum. He recently designed and conducted arts integration professional learning workshops for teachers to bring puppetry to their classrooms to enhance learning, cooperation, and creativity.
As a Fulton County Teaching Museum touring artist, Damon created and implemented innovative new educational puppet theater residencies from American History to Greek Mythology. He has been a regular enrichment residency artist for the Decatur City school’s after-school programs for 12 years, leading literature and science-based residencies in which students create and collaborate to build dynamic performances.
To serve students working from home, Damon created and produced educational videos including “Puppet Pow!” an on-line video program for the Center for Puppetry Arts and “ArtSparks,” an educational video program for the Fulton County Teaching Museum. Atlanta teachers incorporated these themed educational programs into their curricula.

Damon’s professional teacher training and development includes Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, the Puppetry in Education and Therapy hands-on retreat in Orlando, and Professional Days for Teaching Artists and Therapists with the National Puppetry Festivals.

Sample Programs:

• • Traveling the Silk Road with Puppetry of Asia
    • Join Mr. Damon and Fidget the squirrel on an adventure along the silk road as we explore fascinating Asian puppetry traditions! This captivating performance includes mythical storytelling, authentic musical instruments. cultural traditions, comedy, and lots of audience participation. This program is a favorite among teachers and students for its entertaining demonstration of history, music, stories, and puppetry traditions of Asian cultures. Add a custom workshop so students can create their own Asian inspired shadow puppets!

      Tree of Life Coloring Sheet Sample

  • The Light of Leonardo
    • Discover your inner Da Vinci! This innovative performance celebrates Leonardo Da Vinci, the gifted artist and engineer who was inspired by the natural world. Join Niccolo the knight, and his dragon, as they explore the mechanics of SIMPLE MACHINES and the properties of LIGHT. Accompany young Leonardo into the Tuscan countryside, through his apprenticeship in bustling Renaissance Florence, and discover his multifaceted genius and futuristic inventions. Feel the excitement of investigating science and learning, and be inspired to joyously pursue your own creative genius.

      Add a custom workshop or residency for students to have an immersive experience creating shadow puppets and stories while exploring the properties of light, engineering, and science.

  • Shadow Puppet MAGIC!
    • An engaging and entertaining online or in person program on the science and art of shadow puppetry! Join Mr. Damon and his special guest Fiona the firefly as they explore the science of light, and the art and magic of shadow puppetry. Perfect for elementary, this program can be tailored to any age group and supports performance standards for light science. Learn how to create your own shadow puppets, and perform with them in meaningful ways to explore curriculum and storytelling.

Sample Lesson Plans/Study Guides:

Available Upon Request

• Listing ID: 6005