Riperion is a new performance project that explores how water carries memory, culture, and consequence. Using hand-crafted water puppets, live music, and poetic narrative, the piece examines the dynamics between humans and water in the Gulf South—especially around the Mississippi River, wetlands, storms, and displacement.

 

The show features shallow water tanks on stage in which puppets emerge, swim, or transform. Some characters rise from the surface; others are submerged, drifted, or tangled. We draw inspiration from Vietnamese water puppetry while adapting it to local mythologies and climate realities. The performance is modular and tourable, allowing it to be staged outdoors in public spaces along the river.

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We are currently in the design and construction phase, building puppets, testing mechanisms in water, and composing original music. The next phase involves rehearsals and work-in-progress showings at sites near the Mississippi River in New Orleans. This approach allows us to engage audiences directly impacted by flood risk and coastal change, while presenting water as both poetic and political force.

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Riperion blends folk performance, ecological inquiry, and cultural storytelling to help us reflect on how we live with—and within—water. It’s a performance that asks: What does the river remember? What stories do we carry in our bodies like boats?