AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR is a vibrant portrait of Peter Schumann, the visionary founder of the Bread & Puppet Theater, whose six decades of radical political performance have been forged from a single, searing childhood question: how do we as humans respond to the madness of war and violence?
Born in Nazi Germany and shaped by the brutal reality of war via the aerial bombardments he experienced as a child, Schumann channeled this trauma into one of the most boundary-breaking landmark theater companies in the world.
Bread & Puppet is an iconic theater group that has helped to redefine political theater and public art in the U.S. for over 60 years. Founded in New York City in the early 1960s, the troupe revolutionized street protests against the Vietnam War by utilizing gigantic paper maché puppets.
The Bread & Puppet Theater grew into its full form on a 250-acre Vermont farm in the 1970s, where the landscape itself became a stage that continues to draw thousands to its epic outdoor spectacles.
Decades later, as international norms collapse and atrocities unfold in Gaza in plain sight, Peter Schumann — now 92 and still working with fierce urgency — finds his life's central question more pressing than ever. Peter continues his relentless work using paintings and large-scale performances to show audiences the true cost of war.
Drawing on originally-shot footage and a remarkable archive spanning 60 years, film director Robbie Leppzer offers an intimate window into the man, his art, and his unbroken faith that creativity can stand against the brutality of power.
AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR is a testament to the radical, enduring idea that art is not a retreat from the world — it is a way of fighting for it.
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