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Josh Rice

@joshriceprojects

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Puppeteer. Improviser. Science Communication Facilitator. Go Bills!

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Opening night!! SHANK’s MARE in Indonesia!! Thrilled to be a part of Pesta Boneka #10 with this incredible Puppet Camp Team!!! Big thanks to both my sensei Tom Lee and Koryu Nishikawa V!! A dream to work on and tour a show for 13 years!!! @tlee668 @pesta_boneka by @joshriceprojects

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9 days ago

IT'S OPENING NIGHT!!!

We all wear many hats. In The Comedy of Errors (CoE), you literally and figuratively see the characters wearing many hats throughout the story. These hats indicate style, status, station but also which actor is playing which role. This is also true in our individual selves in our lives, but also of Shake on the Lake. Our roles are varied and many. I’m not just a Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director, but I’m also a Director, Producer, Designer, Puppeteer, Performer, Teacher, Rural Arts Advocate, and Storyteller among others. The same can be said of our entire company (especially my co-founder @drpilar )

Wearing many hats is what has made this company go for fifteen years. Choosing to be a multi-hyphenate multi-disciplinary many-hat wearing artist is the human-centered version of optimization and efficiency. The spectacle of watching five performers play twelve different parts AND music, in a slapstick physical comedy PLUS a musical pre-show is the quintessence of human-driven spectacle. And it is the recipe that has made Shake’s signature fast, fun, and physical style since we last staged CoE back in 2013.

Wearing many hats is not a bug, it’s a feature. A feature we gladly choose. Even when it’s challenging. Making a play in ten days is a challenge. Comedy is challenging. Physical comedy is even more challenging. As humans, we get to choose to do hard things. And in an age where we are barreling ahead at a breakneck pace toward optimization and efficiency, sometimes we need to be reminded how beautiful and difficult it is to be a human, what a privilege that is, and how a company of artists can create a world with their many hats.

Brava to our creative team KILLING it this cast is unreal featuring @iammattduncan @tim_a_cooper_ @lamar.laddie.daddie @kt_qtip @my.kenzieee

Set & props by @bay_almond building a beautiful playground for us, and fits by @sharcbear making us look so so good, @iammattduncan with the killer licks, and the unsung heroic efforts of SM extraordinaire @arose_foremily holding down the fort like a champ!

So grateful to @arkmfa and my brother @chad.bradford.one for hosting us! taken in Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts by @joshriceprojects

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3 months ago

Pumped to be in this room for week one of directing The Comedy of Errors for @shakeonthelake opening July 16-19 @arkmfa with these incredible humans!! taken in Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts by @joshriceprojects

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3 months ago

CALLING IN our NYSPF & Shake Supporters, and our local community in Perry, NY and WNY:

Last night, at the Charcoal Corral, a group of talented artists arrived from out of town, and not hours after arriving (some here for the first time), were met with racial epithets yelled at them from a passing car. I wish I could say this kind of hate doesn’t exist here in 2026, but it heartbreakingly does.

When we started @shakeonthelake and @nyspuppetfestival my hope was (in addition to sharing the work of artists I admire and revere with my community) to share the community I admire and revere with artists. Many of whom are repeat visitors to our town, some for a decade or more. Why? Because it’s a welcoming place that feels like a home for many of them, whether artistically, familially, or spiritually

Perry is my hometown. Silver Lake is my favorite place. There’s Letchworth State Park, the Corral, Silver Lake Brewing Project, white hots, beef on wecks, among so many other things and places, and these treasures are what I want to share with these out-of-towners. Taking someone to Letchworth or the Ring of Fire, or the Drive-In, or on a boat on Silver Lake for the first time never gets old.

Our mission is to use theatre and the performing arts to inspire and re-imagine community through performance, education, and creative placemaking. We specialize in serving rural communities and underserved populations in the Silver Lake, NY region.

The vision has always been for the arts & artists to be integrated with our audiences, not separated. We are here because of the community.

SO, to fulfill our mission, we need the help of our community. I’m calling you IN!! If you see someone in your local community who looks different from you, or new, or fabulous, or even weird (being weird is a good thing, after all!) say hello to them and introduce yourself! Welcome them with small-town hospitality! Take care of them like they are guests in your home, because they are!!

Thanks for listening, and thanks for helping us make this a better place.

With Love,
Josh, Pilar, Linda, EG & the Shake/NYSPF Team taken in Perry, New York by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

Scenes from last night’s Rochester performance of KAYFABE, part of the 2026 @nyspuppetfestival! So much more to come — check out their socials and website for details! #nyspf2026 taken in The Theater at Innovation Square by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

That time during KAYFABE curtain call we were attacked by 24-hr Onsite Champion, The Outsider Will Carroll, and Dr. Kiss 💋 defended our honor and won the title!!! Wrestling IS REAL!!!!! by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

Turn up the volume on this clip to hear @vincetagram31 deliver a VERY real chop to my VERY real chest in prep for the puppet wrestling entertainment spectacular that is KAYFABE. Shows are June 17 & 18 at 7pm at @theaterais as part of @nyspuppetfestival by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

There’s something special about hearing the story behind the people who help shape our community. 🎭🍻

Last night at Silver Lake Brewing Project, Josh Rice shared his journey of creating the New York State Puppet Festival, from an idea rooted right here in Perry to an event that now welcomes artists and visitors from around the world.

TAP Talks are a great reminder that some of the most inspiring stories are happening right in our own backyard. If you’ve never been to one, keep an eye out for future talks at Silver Lake Brewing!

And if Josh’s story sparked your curiosity, now is the perfect time to experience the magic for yourself. The New York State Puppet Festival is just getting underway, bringing performances, workshops, films, and incredible artists to our region.

Learn more and check out the full schedule at www.newyorkstatepuppetfestival.org

Have you ever attended the Puppet Festival or a TAP Talk? We’d love to hear about your experience! 👇 taken in Perry, New York by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

Bear witness to the greatest spectacle in live puppets and entertainment, the granddaddy of the them, the showcase of the puppet immortals, KAYFABE, as Dr. Kiss battles in very own Puppeteers in the main event of PuppetMania!!

Shows are June 17-18 at 7pm at Theater at Innovation Square in Rochester, NY, presented by Five Star Bank!

Tickets linked in bio! taken in The Theater at Innovation Square by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

This IS my beautiful wife! To many more happy 604’s with @emma_wiseman by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

Rochester, NY....are you ready?

KAYFABE, the puppet wrestling entertainment spectacular, is coming to the Theater at Innovation Square June 17 & 18 at 7pm, as part of the opening of the 5th biennial New York State Puppet Festival!!!

KAYFABE was first developed by @nyspuppetfestival in 2021, with grants from @nyscouncilonthearts and @jimhensonfoundation and a full circle moment to come back with the full production in my home area of WNY!!

Come see us at @theaterais with tickets available at their website! Link in bio as well! taken in The Theater at Innovation Square by @joshriceprojects

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4 months ago

The JOSHES ( @harpom & @joshriceprojects ) are springing back into action with ReQuest 12/60!!

The numbers 1-12 hang before the audience, with a timer set for 60 minutes. In your hand you hold a menu with the names of improv scenes, games, and songs corresponding to said numbers. You shout out a number—we perform that scene—all 12 before our 60-minute time limit is up!

Can the JOSHES accomplish this daredevil feat of improv comedy performance? Come experience the absurdity of the joined josh-forces of Josh Marcks & Josh Rice joshing around with their unique blend of absurd comedy improv!! All fueled by your audience suggestions—it’s ReQuest 12/60!! Featuring special musical guest Ian McDougall!

Tickets are $20 or Pay What You Can, and can be purchased online via Eventbrite (link in bio), or at the door! taken in Theatre at 37 by @joshriceprojects

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7 months ago