Freak March: A DIY Community Parade with Freak Nature Puppets

Event details Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026 Time: 12:00 PM to 5:30 PM Location: Founders Park - between George Finley Bovard Administration Building and Mark Taper Hall of Humanities, Los Angeles, CA 90089 Type: Student Life, Lecture / Talk / Workshop, Dance/Theater Campus: University Park Campus Department: Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative Audience: Students, Alumni, Faculty/Staff About this event ADMISSION: Admission is free and open to everyone. Reservations required. RSVP beginning Monday, August 3, at 10 a.m. DESCRIPTION: Make a parade in a day with Los Angeles–based artist collective Freak Nature Puppets! Build mini-floats, giant puppets, silly noisemakers, doodads, and anything else you can create, followed by a joyful parade across the USC campus. What to Expect: Drop in between 12 noon and 4:30 p.m. to build or come at 5 p.m. to join the parade—you can participate for as little or as long as you’d like. Participants will learn making skills from Freak Nature and experience the power of collective creation and the joy of public performance. No experience needed, and all materials will be provided (though you’re welcome to bring your own, too). This Is One Part of a Series! This event is a part of Freak Nature at USC, a two-part series featuring the dreamlike and fantastical work of L.A.–based artist collective Freak Nature Puppets. Related Event: Freak Nature Presents: Freak Nature Wednesday, October 7, at 7 p.m. Bing Theatre Info and RSVP Bio: Freak Nature Puppets is a Los Angeles–based artist collective creating dreamlike worlds through giant puppetry, physical theater, music, and participatory performance. Inspired by the radical puppetry of Bread and Puppet Theater, the visual imagination of Mummenschanz, and the joyful absurdity of Pee-wee Herman, Freak Nature crafts immersive experiences that invite audiences into playful acts of creativity and wonder. Their collaborators have included Dead & Company, Childish Gambino, Bob Baker Marionette Theater, and Poncili Creación, and they developed the collective as the inaugural artists-in-residence at Los Angeles’ Elysian Theater. (Instagram, YouTube) Presented by USC Visions and Voices. Organized by the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Co-sponsored by Freak Nature Puppets and Elysian Theater. Official event details: https://calendar.usc.edu/event/freak-march-with-freak-nature-puppets