Fear lives inside all of us. It protects us. It cannot be conquered or erased; it must be met with compassion and understanding. Yet our society has lost touch with how to sit with and truly meet our fear. We try to fix it, conquer it, or force it away. But what if instead of beating our fears into submission, we approached them with compassion and kindness?

Fear is a new conceptual show by award-winning puppeteer Katy Williams that explores this question, inviting audiences to reconsider their relationship with fear, not as an enemy to defeat, but as a part of ourselves to understand. Katy Williams (she/they) is an interdisciplinary puppeteer based in Colorado. A lifelong visual artist, Katy draws from highly visual therapeutic practices such as EMDR and Internal  Family Systems (IFS), which have allowed her to personify and engage directly with her inner world. Fear, first developed during a residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA), was inspired by a powerful vision Katy experienced during a therapy session. In this vision, fear appeared as a purple guard dog embodying three states: healthy protective fear; overwhelming doom; and paralyzing apathy.

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Katy is currently in the process of fundraising and grant writing to further develop "Fear". Upcoming goals are to develop a finalized version of the puppets, expand and lengthen the story, and connect with local mental health and educational institutions through hands-on therapeutic puppetry. 

Fear lives within all of us, guarding us like a loyal companion. Instead of trying to conquer it, what if we met our fear, offered it a treat, and simply said hello?