Puppetry
Puppetry is more than whimsical characters and playful skits. It's a powerful tool for social change, and Tanya leverages its unique ability to address racial justice issues.
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She creates puppet shows that tackle complex themes of prejudice and discrimination, making them relatable and engaging for audiences of all ages. Through vibrant characters and interactive storytelling, she sparks conversations about equality and empower viewers to become agents of positive change.
My Night in the Planetarium
"My Night in the Planetarium" is an unique puppet show, a collaboration between Tanya Nixon-Silberg, Sarah Nolen, Innosanto Nagara and Roxanna Myhrum . The show tackles complex themes like colonialism and dissent for young audiences. The show brings Innosanto Nagara's vivid illustrations to life with an intricate pop-up book world built by Nolen and skillful puppetry, encouraging audience participation and aligning with Little Uprising's mission of youth empowerment. Funded by the Puppet Showplace Theater's incubator program, The Jim Henson Foundation, Boston Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, the show offers families an engaging artistic experience that sparks conversations about fairness, justice, and the power of protest.
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Interested in collaborating with Tanya and Sarah? Reach out!
But, Rather (2021)
"But Rather" is a puppetry exploration with the goal of creating a story of joy for a little Black girl. Created with the support of Danza Organica's We Create Festival in 2021, "But, Rather" features Lambe Lambe and rod style puppetry. The moving screen or "crankie" highlights a poem by Clint Smith called "No more Elegies Today" with typesetting by Annika Sarin Designs. This exploration catalyzed my public art piece They Did Not Know We Were Seeds (2023) funded by The Boston Triennial's (formally Now and There) Accelerator program. ​
Alice Childress' Like One of the Family (2025)
Like One of the Family is a puppetry-based work-in-progress inspired by Alice Childress’s brilliant and underrecognized book of the same name. Originally published in Paul Robeson’s Freedom newspaper in the 1950s, the stories follow Mildred Johnson, a sharp-witted Black domestic worker in New York, as she navigates racism, class dynamics, labor, and daily life with humor, dignity, and radical clarity. Told in the form of conversations with her friend Marge, the book is a masterful reflection on Black womanhood and working-class survival.
This new adaptation reimagines Mildred’s voice through puppetry, crankies, shadow play, and movement. Mildred will be brought to life as a large-scale puppet, with Marge represented through shadow and light. The piece explores the layered, often unspoken intimacy between Black women as they navigate both care work and care for each other.
Currently in development, Like One of the Family is grounded in community. The work includes story circles with Black women elders, domestic workers, and caregivers whose lived experiences help shape the narrative. This project is both performance and public history—a living tribute to Black women’s labor, language, and love. It asks: what does it mean to honor the stories that were never meant to be staged—but must be seen?
Photo Credit: Tess Scheflan, Sarah Nolen