November 15, 2025
1275 Minnesota Street
WORKSHOP: 2–4 pm LOUNGE
PANEL DISCUSSION : 4–5:45 pm ATRIUM
For this FREE Third Saturday Workshop, puppeteer Ramon Abad will lead a family-friendly demonstration of the styles of puppets that will be used in San Francisco Opera’s production of The Monkey King. This fun, interactive workshop will involve audience members of all ages being invited to make several puppets move and come to life. No experience necessary…just bring your creativity and your openness to play together in teams! This workshop will take place in the Lounge at 1275 Minnesota street.
Following the workshop will be a two-part panel discussion in the MSP Atrium followed by audience Q&A:
THE LEGEND OF SUN WUKONG, featuring Huang Ruo, composer; Weihong Bao, UC Berkeley Film and Media; Ling Hon Lam, UC Berkeley East Asian Languages and Cultures
THE MAKING OF THE MONKEY KING featuring Huang Ruo, composer; David Henry Hwang, librettist; filmmaker Elena Park, Lumahai Productions, moderator
The public program is presented by San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Arts Education Project and produced with Lumahai Productions, in partnership with Minnesota Street Project and the Asian Art Museum.
Illustration by Brian Stauffer
About Ramon Abad:
Ramon Abad (he/his) is a Filipino American puppeteer, artist, and teacher based in San Francisco, CA, acknowledged as unceded Ramaytush Ohlone land.
He began his puppetry practice in the mid 90s where he performed a traveling solo puppet show at Bay Area Filipino American festivals. His latest puppet booth project Tito Ramon’s Pop-Up Puppet Show was the first puppet show performed at Kapwa Gardens post Covid-19. Since 2021, Ramon has been a resident artist of Balay Kreative Studio, a collective of Filipinx American artists based in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco.
He was a shadow puppeteer and puppet-maker with Larry Reed’s ShadowLight Productions and was in Wayang Listrik that toured in the Jim Henson International Puppetry Festival ‘97. As the resident puppeteer with the Filipino American sketch comedy troupe tongue in A mood, Ramon devised and directed skits using puppetry at Bindlestiff Studio. Ramon premiered his first solo art installation show “Mabuhay, Friend!” in Fall 2023 at the gallery of the San Francisco Arts Education Project inside the Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco. He designed a series of interactive sculptures or “puppets” that encouraged gallery visitors to touch, move and play with the artwork directly.
He has directed stage plays, online performances and immersive theater shows using puppetry. Ramon has led puppetry residencies in the US and the UK. As a workshop leader, he seeks to engage all communities to explore modern puppetry regardless of age, background and skill set.
