Pussypaws Puppetry — That Paradise Place Original Soundtrack
Soap Library is tickled pink to release the original soundtrack for That Paradise Place, an erotic puppet musical about the love, sex, and fantasy lives of artists with disabilities debuting at Abrons Art Center on November 1 & 2, 2024.
Created and performed by Pussypaws Puppetry under the guidance of sisters Priscilla Frank and Alana Hauser, the freewheeling musical is supported by colorful cast of visual artists, musicians, and performers with and without disabilities and and presented by Summertime Gallery, a Brooklyn-based studio, gallery, and residency for neurodiverse artists. Indie rocker and high school teacher Graeme Daubert heads up composition, arrangement, and recording duties.
The album’s twelve songs — all titled a derivative of “… is Full of Love” — take risks and embrace silliness. The creation of each song began with a first-person story shared by an artist with a disability. These stories then embarked on a collaborative, alchemical journey — adapted into songs, adopted by puppet alter-egos, embodied via dazzling, larger-than-life puppets, and finally brought to life on the big stage.
In a culture that often overlooks the internal worlds and erotic desires of people with disabilities, That Paradise Place forms a creative community where all facets of our humanity are worthy of being seen, sung, and celebrated — a shame-free space where creation is an act of love, and love is an act of creativity.
The soundtrack to That Paradise Place is available on Friday, November 1, 2024 in cassette tape and digital formats alongside a sachet of dried rosebuds, a soft nod to the flower behind the puppet troupe’s name and a humble reminder that pleasure and sensuality are all around us. Shop generously — proceeds support Pussypaws Puppetry in achieving its next big puppet dream!
That Paradise Place is a collaboration of over 60 visual artists, musicians, and performers: Miriam Abrahams, Tim Allan, Lucie Allouche, Miles Austin, Everette Ball, Baruch Bourdeau, David Burris, Angelina Cavallini, Chloe Claudel, Chris Chronopoulos, Susie Clowe, Thea Cohen, Sophia Cosmadopoulos, Diogeneis Costa, Graeme Daubert, Emily Davis, Heydi de los Santos, Brian Dyer, Dave Ercolini, Helena Frances, Micaela Frank, Priscilla Frank, Chase Ferguson, Madelyn Freed, Alana Hauser, Gabriella Herrera, Tristan Higginbotham, Jessy Hodgson, Camille Holvoet, Jessy Hodgson, Simone Johnson, Brason Jones, Ari Kadosh, Hannah Kaplan, Benji Kohler, Jamee Lind, Lauren McArthur, Evan McClellan, Codi McGarry, Dean Millien, Ruby Mizrahi (Mx Enigma), Dominica Montoya, Magen Nieves, John Peery (Pizza), Mallory Perry, Eleanore Pienta, Mitchell Polonsky, Jadé Porciatti, Natalie Power, Jonathan Putz, Jennifer Quinones, Molly Rainey, Oswald Saenz, Roxie Salamon-Abrams, Anna Schechter, Carlota Schechter, Tayloe Schinz-Devico, Emma Singer, Ellie Sondock, Matt Starr, Mckay Steigerwald, Felicity Stevenson, Marisa Sullivan, Shmuel Taurog, Eva Tortora, Frank Traynor, Jimmy Tucker, Ukrainian Village Voices, Nicole Weisberg, Margot Werner, Anna Witiuk, Grace Woodard, Hannah Wolland, Kenneth Youngblood, Jenna Zacharia, and Jed Zaeb.
Priscilla Frank is the creator and director of That Paradise Place. Priscilla works at the intersection of artistic expression and care work, with a little eroticism and enchantment sprinkled on top. For five years, she has supported artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Summertime and YAI Arts, where she organized exhibitions at spaces including MoMA and SPRING/BREAK. She previously worked as an arts and culture reporter at HuffPost and published two books of e(a)rotic corn cartoons, entitled Corn Smut, with SunRoom and Desert Island Press. Priscilla offers puppet shows, workshops, and celebrations with handmade and vintage puppets to people of all ages around New York City.
Alana Hauser is a documentary producer and enthusiast. She most recently served as co-producer of documentary features and series at The New York Times, where she worked on the Emmy Award-winning series The 1619 Project; Lance Oppenheim's sophomore feature, Spermworld; How We Get Free, which was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2023; and Sorry/Not Sorry, which debuted at TIFF 2023. Before that, she spent five years at Sundance Institute managing Catalyst, which connects work-in-progress documentary and fiction films with financiers, and Women at Sundance, which forges gender parity in media. That Paradise Place is her first theatrical production.
Pussypaws Puppetry is an inclusive puppet troupe of visual artists, musicians, and performers with and without disabilities. Pussypaws offers a freewheeling, experimental, accessible creative space where artists of all persuasions, backgrounds, and abilities can make puppet shows and have fun. Founded in 2023 by sisters Priscilla Frank and Alana Hauser, the troupe is named after the Pussypaws flower, whose magical properties open us to the healing powers of physical touch.
Graeme Daubert is an independent songwriter and recording artist based in Sunnyside, New York and founding member of indie rock band Alpenglow. In the summer of 2021, he collaborated with puppeteer Priscilla Frank on her production of All is Full of Love, an earlier iteration of That Paradise Place, at Summertime. Currently, Graeme is working on balancing being a high school history teacher with his ongoing musical pursuits and making puppet show magic.
Summertime is a nonprofit art studio, gallery and residency in Williamsburg, Brooklyn championing an art world where artists with and without intellectual disabilities create and display work alongside one another. Founded in 2019 by Sophia Cosmadopoulos and Anna Schechter, Summertime revolutionizes the art world by breaking down the barriers that have traditionally made “outsiders” of artists with disabilities.
That Paradise Place is presented by Summertime, with generous support from New York State Council of the Arts, Brooklyn Arts Fund, Bronfman Alumni Venture Fund, The Puffin Foundation, Brand X Editions, and so many beloved members of the community.
