About Doppelskope
Doppelskope creates highly visual and interactive comedies that explore topics ranging from existential dread to ecological crises. We believe that the stories we tell about the world can change the world. We believe that audience interaction empowers people to be active participants in the world. We believe in the intelligence of children and the whimsy of adults. Our shows celebrate life and inspire connection, discovery and community.
The DoppelGang
Ora Fruchter (Co-Artistic Director, Co-Founder)
Ora is a Brooklyn-based puppeteer, performer, director, writer and educator. She is Doppelskope's puppet designer and she directs our family shows. Her puppeteer credits include HERE Arts Center, La MaMa and St. Ann’s Warehouse. Ora is also the creator of Yellow Sneaker Puppets and taught the Puppetry, Clown and Devising class at Muhlenberg College. www.orafruchter.com
Stoph Scheer (Co-Artistic Director, Co-Founder)
Stoph (she/her/they/them) is puppeteer, writer, and puppet builder with background in acting, directing, and circus arts. Her credits include the Jim Henson Company, the Muppets, and Banksy. She trained in the Jim Henson Technique with the Jim Henson Company, and trained as a theatrical puppeteer with Figurentheater Wilde und Vogel. Her NYC theatre credits include Theater for the New City, La MaMa, Dixon Place, The Tank and the PIT. Stoph also performed frequently at Lost Nation Theater and Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre. www.scheerbrilliance.com
Toby Singer (Resident Composer)
Toby is a composer and playwright who specializes in earworms. Outside of The Grilogy, recent compositional work includes Debate Team (which debuted at the 2016 Fort Worth Fringe Festival); Wicked Frozen (w/ Zoe Farmingdale, a Time Out New York critic's pick in 2014), and South by South Death (w/ Jared Saltiel, debuted at National Sawdust in 2016). Toby was trained at the University of Michigan School of Music. www.tobysinger.com
DoppelStory
The name Doppelskope is a misspelled portmanteau of “doppelganger telescope” (imagine a telescope so powerful you can see the back of your own head).
Doppelskope is the creative partnership between Ora Fruchter, Stoph Scheer and Toby Singer.
Stoph and Ora started as an experimental performance duo that made open-hearted new theatre to approach life’s darkest problems through comedy. Toby then added his diverse musical expertise and together we created three off- the-wall, family-friendly, fairytale musicals. These shows explore environmental justice (Gruff!), the relationship between humans and technology (Grimm!), and the complex social ramifications of commerce (Growl!). They’re also uproarious comedies that highlight our unique hybrid of clown theatre and inventive puppetry.
Gruff!, Grimm!, and Growl! (“The Grilogy”) premiered at Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre from 2014-2016. In 2017 Doppelskope produced Gruff! in NYC to critical acclaim which led to a transfer and Off-Broadway run at the McGinn/Cazale Theater. The Grilogy is available for licensing and companies around the country have since launched their own productions. After creating the Grilogy, Doppelskope received a prestigious Family Grant from the Jim Henson Foundation, which they used to create The Amazing Story Machine. The New York Times described it as “endlessly inventive” during its initial NYC-run at The Tank. The Amazing Story Machine was subsequently performed at Symphony Space, The Jim Henson Carriage House, and Puppet Showplace, with future performances TBA.
Photos by Eric Michael Pearson