Photo by Drew Simpson
Shared Bill / Double Feature
Everything Is Nothing
BY: HAPPPY ACCCCDENT
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Alien Bodies
BY: Robin Amico
Everything is Nothing
Miracle cures. Rejuvenation. Youthful glow. Neutral tones.
Happy Accident returns with a new puppet dispatch from our beautiful cultural sewers. In their new show, Everything is Nothing, your favorite Saturday morning super pals take you on another trip through the dark alleys of modern life. Picking up where their last piece-the acclaimed Vol. 1-left off, Everything takes us further into our fractured collective psyche and OH MY it’s a BLAST. liz HOWLS and Drew Simpson pull inspiration from multi-level marketing, health and wellness culture, Mad About You, relentless pharmaceutical commercials and abhorrent technological “advancements” to create a surreal garbage world full of glitches, easy listening and flat, functional lighting. It’s like a trip to the dentist without all of the annoying paperwork and anesthesia.
Everything is fun. Everything is fabulous. Everything is what you want, when you want it.
If there was a pill that would make it all go away, why wouldn’t you take it?
Alien Bodies
When a stranded astronaut encounters an ancient, inscrutable monument, she transforms into an alien creature. With no way to return to her former existence, she must reconcile her horror at what she has become with her relief at finding belonging on an alien world in an alien body.
Alien Bodies is a 30-minute sci-fi puppetry performance featuring tabletop puppets, rod marionettes, shadow puppets, and more. Drawing from her own experiences as a trans woman, Portland-based Puppet Artist Robin Amico crafts a transformation story of grief and embodiment.
Showtimes
60 min | PG-13
Sunday, Oct 11 7:30pm
Wednesday, Oct 14 9:00pm
Saturday, Oct 17 3:30pm
Content Warning: Strobing light, fog, body horror (cartoon-ish)
Production
HAPPPY ACCCCDENT - The Sticks Photo by Sarah T. Communications
Art by Robin Amico
HAPPPY ACCCCDENT - Surgeons Photo by Sarah T. Communications
Robin Amico’s workbench is quickly taken over by puppets as she assembles the body of a giant apex alien!
HAPPPY ACCCCDENT - Feeding the Worm. Photo by JmeJames Antonick
Painted alien carapaces dry in Robin Amico’s studio.
HAPPPY ACCCCDENT - Disco Balls Photo by Sarah T. Communications
Robin Amico debuts a short “test of concept” at the Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam, puppeteering our hero alien and a giant apex alien! Photo by Brianna Jones
HAPPPY ACCCCDENT - Talk Show Photo by S. Elfie
Robin Amico debuts a short “test of concept” at the Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam, puppeteering our hero alien and a strange flying alien. Photo by Brianna Jones.
HAPPPY ACCCCDENT - Happy Time Show. Photo by Patsy Morris
HAPPPY ACCCCDENT - Analysis Photo by S. Elfie
Company
Happy Accident (aka HAPPPY ACCCCDENT)
Happy Accident is the collaborative absurdist performance work of puppeteer/visual artist liz HOWLS and musician/lighting designer Drew Simpson. They have been building and performing together since early 2024, so not that long. But long enough.
They find most of their inspiration digging through bins full of refuse, spending late nights binge-watching horrible sitcoms, and trying to figure out how everything ended up this way. While most of their performances are based around puppetry and sound, they also incorporate mask work and elements of what is often referred to as “performance art”.
Their first full-length piece, Vol. 1, debuted at the 2025 New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival and was toured nationally for 3 months in that same year. They have been guest performers at Outta Hand Puppet Slam in Portland, OR; Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam in Seattle, WA; Full Moon Puppet Show in Minneapolis, MN (which liz also runs & curates); Puppets in the House Regional Festival in Verona, WI; Puppets in Portland at Mayo St. Arts in Portland, ME and were selected for then 2026 National Puppet Slam at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA.
They are available for punk shows, art museums, theaters…basically anywhere with a floor, a place to crash for the night and a few hundred bucks.
Artist
Robin Amico
Robin Amico is a queer Puppet Artist who has performed in variety shows and Puppet Slams across North America, including the 2022, 2023, and 2026 National Puppet Slams. She collaborates with local artists to devise multidisciplinary performances, including Hand2Mouth's Danse Macabre: The Testament of François Villon (2021) and Piercing the Veil: A Samhain Celebration (2023). She has served as a Puppet Wrangler for Artist Repertory Theatre's Wolf Play (2019) and Oregon Children's Theatre's The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show (2018, 2020, and 2022), repairing and maintaining puppets for each production. She earned a Drammy Award for Excellence in Puppetry as part of the 2018 production of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. She has also worked as a fabricator with Michael Curry Design and Portland Center Stage. She served as Senior Coordinator in the Art Department at LAIKA Studios, working on their upcoming feature film Wildwood.
Bios
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Everything is Nothing - Director, Writer, Music and lighting designer, lead carpenter, “Man”
Drew Simpson is a musician, writer, performer, director, puppeteer, builder, jazz carpenter and visual artist. A lifelong fascination with energy, physics, and light has led Drew to experiment with electricity and light sculpting. When puppets aren’t pulling his strings, Drew moonlights as guitarist and vocalist for long-running Portland punk band Pathogens.
In 2024, Drew teamed up with partner/puppeteer/visionary liz HOWLS forming the absurdist performance group known as HAPPY ACCIDENT. HAPPY ACCIDENT has completed 2 successful national tours with their show, “Vol. 1,” performing it for over 4000 people. Drew has designed lighting for experimental musician Transparent Aluminum, New Orleans legends Quintron & Miss Pussycat and recently created a series of color luminants for artist Rankin Renwick’s installation Translation, Please at Anita Gallery.
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Everything is Nothing - Director, writer, puppet-builder, engineer, “Woman”
liz HOWLS is a versatile artist whose talents span puppetry, visual arts, animation, illustration, and beyond. Whether crafting intricate paper cuts, designing puppets, or creating immersive installations, liz is a master of blending mediums to bring her visions to life.
Known for her unique approach to puppetry, liz’s work is a poetic fusion of the traditional and the surreal. Her performances are a mix of childlike wonder and dark, fantastical elements that keep audiences captivated long after the curtain falls. In recent years, liz has shifted toward the avant-garde, infusing puppetry with unsettling sounds and imagery that challenge the viewer.
Driven by a love for collaboration, new challenges, and the stories that emerge from travel, liz continues to push creative boundaries—creating work that is as imaginative as it is impactful.
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Alien Bodies - Creator
Robin Amico is a queer Puppet Artist who has performed in variety shows and Puppet Slams across North America, including the 2022, 2023, and 2026 National Puppet Slams. She collaborates with local artists to devise multidisciplinary performances, including Hand2Mouth's Danse Macabre: The Testament of François Villon (2021) and Piercing the Veil: A Samhain Celebration (2023). She has served as a Puppet Wrangler for Artist Repertory Theatre's Wolf Play (2019) and Oregon Children's Theatre's The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show (2018, 2020, and 2022), repairing and maintaining puppets for each production. She earned a Drammy Award for Excellence in Puppetry as part of the 2018 production of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. She has also worked as a fabricator with Michael Curry Design and Portland Center Stage. She served as Senior Coordinator in the Art Department at LAIKA Studios, working on their upcoming feature film Wildwood.
Instagram: @robin.amico
Tiktok: @robins.workshop