Scroll down for special Ernie Experiences!

Writer/Director: Renee Philippi
Puppetry & Set Design: Carlo Adinolfi
Original Music: Joe Phillips
Dramaturg/Lighting & Sound Design: Eric Nightengale   
Costumes: Laura Anderson Barbata        
Associate Director/Understudy: Emily Batsford
Production Stage Manager: Max Mooney     
Performers: Carlo Adinolfi, Tau Bennett, Amanda Card, Camille Leigh Cooper, J Hann, Kasper Klop, Kezia Tyson

Ernie’s Secret Life is an episodic odyssey, fusing ever-changing puppetry stagecraft with humor, music, and a raw understanding of our profound collective reality.

Sparked by the isolation & turmoil of our time, this is a story of discovery. Fearing something has happened to his son, a man builds a canoe & secretly sets off to find him. What he finds – is himself. Powered by a wondrous landscape-in-motion, Ernie’s Secret Life is a play about escaping & then finding your way; a celebration of how we become who we want to be.

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Meet-the-Puppets! After every performance, you can try your hand at puppet manipulation & learn about the inspiration for the show!

For helping make Ernie’s Secret Life possible, Concrete Temple Theatre is grateful to The Jim Henson Foundation, The Hellen Plummer Charitable Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts with support of Gov Kathy Hochul & the NYS Legislature, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Green Feather Foundation, and of course Dixon Place.

Concrete Temple Theatre (CTT) is a multi-disciplinary company, committed to the creation of compelling new theatrical works, incorporating drama, dance, puppetry, music and the visual arts. Since 2004, our company has created devised visual theatre that challenges the traditional relationship between design and text. Through touring original works and presenting workshops in NYC, nationally and internationally, we strive to bring myth and ritual back to the center of dialogue, by presenting works and workshops that address real issues within communities (grief, family relationships, environmental stewardship). For over 15 years, and still going, we have been proud partners in Dixon Place’s CECO Senior Citizen program.  

CARLO ADINOLFI  (Puppet & Set Design, Puppeteer) has worked in the theatre for 32 years, and along with Renee Philippi, is Artistic Director of Concrete Temple Theatre. Carlo is a Dancer, Designer, Actor and TD. He performs as Bud in Concrete Temple’s PACKRAT, for which he designed and built all puppets and sets. The Scotsman (UK) said Carlo Adinolfi exudes “strength, grace, and agility” on the stage, The Independent (UK) praised him as a “beguiling and versatile entertainer,” and Daily Mail (UK) cheered his “astonishing artistry.”

RENEE PHILIPPI (Playwright/Director) has worked as a Theatre Director and Writer for over the past 30 years. Her work has been produced nationally as well as in New York City. She and her Company, Concrete Temple Theatre, have had 3 critically acclaimed New York Off-Broadway productions. Her work has been produced internationally in: London, Scotland, Germany, India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Bulgaria, S Korea, Costa Rica, Mexico and Italy. She is the Artistic Director of Concrete Temple Theatre, along with Carlo Adinolfi.

Ernie’s Secret Life is commissioned by & presented at Dixon Place with support from New York State Council on the Arts w/Gov Hochul & the NY State Legislature; NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs w/the City Council; Howard Gilman Foundation; The Jim Henson Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and generous donors like you!