Director Anna Sobel has been a professional puppeteer since 1998. She first trained and worked as a puppeteer for Kids on the Block (national) and Blue Sky Puppet Theater (University Park, Maryland). In 2003 she was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to study puppetry in India as a tool for social change and education. She spent nine months in India and founded Talking Hands Theatre on her return to New York in 2004.
In addition to performing, Anna is a Jewish educator and experienced teaching artist offering short and long-term residencies in puppetry and theater, specializing in arts integration with literacy and social studies. For ten years, she was a teaching artist with Enchanted Circle Theater (Holyoke, MA), a non-profit organization on the cutting edge of arts integration and social justice education. Prior to moving to New England, Anna taught puppetry in New York City public schools through Shadowbox Theatre and Brooklyn Arts Council. In 2008 she was honored as the Laura Adasko Lenzner artist-in-residence at the Bank Street School for Children. Anna studied literacy and early childhood education at Bank Street College and also holds a master's degree in educational theater from N.Y.U.
Anna is also a jazz singer and percussionist and performs regularly with Shubalananda & Friends (Kirtan) and the Yiddishkeit Klezmer Ensemble (Jewish Music), and accompanies Friday night services at Temple Beth El in Springfield.
Anna speaks multiple languages and is passionate about the arts and education. She brings her vibrant energy and positive vision for the future to all she does.