When Shan Ayers’ children were young, he would perform for them with hand puppets. The enjoyment wasn’t only fun for his children — he fell in love with performing.

Soon after, Shan was performing at community centers and for other families and children. He Then received the opportunity to study Bunkaru theatre with the Tonda Bunkaru Puppet Troupe in Japan.

“The puppets mesmerize you,” he says. “I jumped at the chance.”

The Japanese puppet tradition of Bunkaru not only describes a form of theatre and storytelling, but also the performers involved. Troupe members travel great distances to share their gifts of storytelling and performance.

Kentucky natives Shan and Trish Ayers are the co-directors and artistic minds behind The Mountain Spirit Puppet Troupe. They have traveled all over the eastern United States and Japan sharing their talents.

In traditional Bunkaru, stories are passed from generation to generation and reflect Japanese culture. Shan and Trish decided to write their own plays as a method of teaching their audiences about issues like disabilities and breast cancer, or celebrating things like dreams and friendship. For each show, a traditional blessing is given and three short plays are performed.

Shan is an associate professor in theatre and general studies at Berea College and was a guest designer for the set of ISU Theatre’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.”

Trish is a trained photographer with pieces displayed in many galleries, but illness made her turn to her true love of writing. She has studied under playwright Arthur Giron, and is currently studying under author/poet Sidney Farr. Her main focus has been playwriting, and she received the Thornton Wilder Dramatic Writing award.

“Writing has saved my life,” she says. “Through writing and keeping a journal I found out that I have severe food allergies, so since then I have been actually able to get out and do things. I have big dreams.”

Those big dreams helped her and Shan decide to take Bunkaru puppetry on the road.

They received the Alvin Edgar Grant for Performing Arts and began using their talents to create Mountain Spirit. Shan carves most of the puppets himself and Trish writes the plays.

Originally, the pair thought of forming a troupe to travel with them, but after cost consideration they decided that when they traveled, they would simply employ locals to participate with them.

“It involves so much more when you have the strength of a community,” Trish says. “It’s wonderful to watch the excitement that someone gets when they find out that they can do it. We are committed to teaching and creating a community because each time you make new friends.”

Shan also studies collaborative learning and finds that puppetry brings community members together.

“It takes three people to maneuver the puppet and that takes so much collaboration,” he says.

Shan and Trish tour around Shan’s teaching schedule and in the summer but hope to someday make puppetry a full-time job. Their passion is reflected in some of the stories they tell about their audiences and participators.

“We were in Kentucky and a reporter came to interview us, and he started to direct his questions to the puppet, and when he left, he shook hands with the puppet,” he says. “And another time a woman came up to me and said ‘Logically I know it’s just wood and fabric, but how do you make it have spirit like that?’ And that is what keeps me going.”