Please get in touch with us to request any kind of access support or share your thoughts by emailing hello@detroitpuppetcompany.com or by calling 313.444.3699. This may include ASL interpretation, assistance from the street into our space, or more information about what to expect while you are here.  

Our public performances and programming are free or pay-what-you-can with no one turned away for lack of funds. Some workshops or performances may require RSVP to attend, and attendance is based on capacity. 

To contact our staff about accessibility or questions, please email hello@detroitpuppetcompany.com. 

Currently, the Amphitheater and public green space are open from dawn to dusk daily.

Getting here

Our outdoor performance venue is located at 2221 Carpenter Street where Detroit meets Hamtramck’s north side. We are situated between Carpenter Street and McPherson Street on the north and south sides, and between Dequindre Street to the west and Goddard Street to the east. Our space begins with our studio building, the black and white striped house, and includes the grassy lots and surrounding field to the right and behind the home. 

Guests can enter from either Carpenter Street or McPherson Street. See “entrances” below for more information. If you need help getting into our space from the street, please call us at 313-444-3699 and a member of our staff will come out to assist you.

Parking: Street parking is available on Carpenter Street, McPherson, and Goddard Street. At this time, there is no designated accessible parking along these blocks. If you require an accessible path, we suggest parking along Goddard between Carpenter & McPherson, where a curb cut on the corner of Carpenter & Goddard will connect you to our space. 

Sidewalks: The City of Detroit recently repaved the sidewalks along Carpenter Street. We are still working on safely and properly improving the fragmented sidewalks on McPherson. The McPherson sidewalks are usable, but we caution people to be careful as they enter off of McPherson. It takes 90 seconds to walk from the sidewalk on Carpenter Street to our amphitheater seating area.

Bus: Some of the bus lines that stop near our space are the Russell (40), with the closest stop at Dequindre & Carpenter; the Chene (52) buses, with the closest stop at Joseph Campau & Carpenter; the Plymouth (38), with the closest stop being at Caniff & Saint Aubin; the Chicago/Davison (15), with the closest stop being the Davison & Dequindre stop; and the Chicago/Davison (15), with the closest stop being the Davison & Dequindre stop. These bus stops currently do not have bus shelters. MetroLift, DDOT’s paratransit service, can provide door-to-door drop-offs near our location. Rides must be scheduled ahead of time.

Bike: At this time, we do not have designated bike parking. Bikes can be parked and locked against our blue metal tube art that acts as a street barrier. Please be mindful not to block entrances and keep paths clear.

About Our Performance Spaces

Generally, our venue is made up of two main greenspaces connected by concrete paths and an alleyway running down the middle. At this time, the alley has not been repaved meaning fragmented sections may be potential trip hazards. We are working on a way to safely connect the intentional paths on either side of this alley.  

There are three sets of intentionally raised grassy areas we use for makeshift seating and play. The first is what we call our Amphitheater Seating Area, a raised rounded grassy area behind the main performance lawn. A concrete path separates the Amphitheater Seating Area from the performance lawn. The Amphitheater Seating Area is where many of our guests sit to enjoy performances. 

The second is a play hill set up along the East fence to the right of a concrete path. The third is what we call our Mounds of Fun which are three mounds of different heights in front of what we call our Children’s Lawn. During extra warm days, we will move performances to this area due to the shade the surrounding trees provide.  

There are two metal tube structures along the north and south sides of the site. These were developed by architect Aaron Jones as a way to limit large-scale dumping, and permit pedestrian access to the space. While these structures are art, they are not made for play. Please be mindful with children. 

Entrance: We have multiple step-free entrances off of both Carpenter Ave and McPherson St. The Carpenter Street entrances are on the South side of our space, to the left and right side of the blue tube fence, and measures 5 feet wide or more. On McPherson Street, we have three 10-foot wide wooden gates we leave open during performance times.

Paths: Both entrances connect to brand new concrete paths that wind throughout our space. The paths measure between 5-6 feet wide where width changes depending on the area. The paths will take you between performance spaces, around the raised garden beds, to different shaded and treed areas, and along the white metal tube structures that hold art and signage. To walk the paths from the southeastern Carpenter Street entrance to the north western McPherson Street gate takes about 5 minutes.

Seating: We invite guests to bring their own blankets and chairs that they feel most comfortable using to set up where they wish. We have some metal folding chairs with backs stored inside where some have seat cushions. Please ask a member of our staff if you’d like one.  

Accessible Viewing Spaces: At this time, guests set up their own blankets, seats, or park their chairs where they wish near the Amphitheater Seating Area and generally throughout the space. Depending on your needs, wheelchairs and accessible seating can be reserved along sections of the paved paths or in another area of your choice. Please alert staff if you need assistance finding the best space to get settled before a performance. 

Shade: Trees planted throughout the space provide natural shade where guests can relax. On very warm, sunny days we will host performances closer to this natural shade. We will plant more trees in the Fall of 2022 to provide more shade for future programming. 

Lawn Maintenance: Our groundskeeper maintains our lawn regularly so that the grass is kept short enough for guests to move comfortably around the space.   

Audio & Microphone Use: All performances make use of microphones and sound systems for low levels of amplification. We are considerate to end all programming around 10pm to respect our neighbors' need for quiet nights.   

Lighting:  While most of our programming takes place while the sun is up, we have six solar powered lights scattered throughout the fields that activate as it gets dark.  

Restrooms: During our outdoor summer program series, we rent portable, outdoor restrooms we set up directly behind our home-base house near one of our solar powered lights. At least one stall will be accessible. We supply hand sanitizer.   

Food & Beverages: We invite guests and families to bring their own snacks and drinks as they wish. There is a corner store across the street where people can buy and bring in what they’d like. However, we ask guests to refrain from bringing alcohol into the space and to clean up after themselves after eating. 

Weather: Since our space is mostly uncovered and outdoors, we will postpone any planned programs in the chance of heavy rain and storms. 

Service Animals: Service animals are welcome! We are surrounded by green space where pets can be walked. We have trash bins where people can dispose of pet waste.

Performances and workshops

Performances and workshops can be well attended with a steady stream of people coming and going throughout the event. We can see smaller audiences of 30-40 people, or larger audiences of 200 or more. This means that our space may be both louder and busier than during hours where there are no active programs occurring. Depending on the performance or programming, music may be playing through speakers. If you are someone who can feel anxiety and experiences sensory overload, we recommend making an appointment to visit at a quieter time. On days that we have scheduled events, visitors can start showing up for those events 30-45 minutes prior to the start of the show.