Faces Of Nantucket: Lizza Obremski

Years on Nantucket: 28 years full-time

Favorite things about the island: The beaches, her people, community and nature, and the general vibe of the island.

If you’ve ever wandered around town in the morning near the Nantucket Atheneum, you’ve undoubtedly heard the voice of Lizza Obremski. The creative force behind Nanpuppets, Obremski moved to Nantucket when she was 12, where her natural ability to connect with kids always stood out within the community.

After graduating from Nantucket High School, Obremski attended Wheelock College in Boston to study elementary education and theatre. While doing a semester at the University of New Hampshire, she took her first puppetry class, and was immediately inspired by it. Having played with puppets as a child and using them while working at summer camps on the island, she had already seen firsthand how much kids loved them.

“One of the first times puppets came back into my life, I had a bag of old puppets from when I was a kid, and I was a camp counselor for the Community School,” Obremski explained. “We would drive around and listen to Michael Jackson and all this ridiculous music and stick puppets out the windows, and sing at people.”

This inspired Obremski to include puppets in her teaching, especially when she returned to Nantucket to teach preschool at the Nantucket Lighthouse School after college. She also spent time traveling and teaching in countries including Lebanon and Costa Rica, before ultimately returning to the island.

It was in her late 20s that Obremski knew she wanted to turn her passion for puppets into something more tangible. This led to the creation of Nanpuppets, a puppet show meant to connect with both kids and parents and highlight the joy in life.

“I was like, I just want to play –- and I have lists from that age where it's like, children's television show, puppets, all of the things I'm doing now… but it took me a while to figure it out,” she says.

Obremski began relearning how to make puppets in 2014 from Joe Zito, a long-time puppeteer on the island who she had previously done shows with. She then got a street performing license and began setting up across from the Juice Bar almost every night. Although the success wasn’t immediate, Obremski’s dedication has led Nanpuppets to where it is today.

“Having grown up here, I can't imagine a more supportive community to start a business and live in,” Obremski elaborates. “When I started Nanpuppets it was hard and small and very different than what it is now, and everyone I knew was like, do it.”

Using hand and rod puppets, Obremski uses her shows to reach kids through educational entertainment. With her “silly all the time” style, the main point of Nanpuppets is spreading joy. Her puppets, including Clarence the Clam and Larry the Lobster, each play a different role in the story telling, due to their unique personalities.

“That's one of the things I'm trying to do with puppets – if I can remain in my present moment with my frequency, then I can spread the joy and the love out everywhere else,” she says. “My favorite thing about a live puppet show is a massive group of kids in front of me belly laughing so hard.”

Beyond Nanpuppets, Obremski has been creating a children’s show called “The Lizza Show,” which can be found on YouTube. She focuses on going out and doing one simple thing to show people the magic of life every day, including mailing a letter or going to the library – all things that kids love to do.

The shows incorporate the puppets as well as a variety of other characters that Obremski creates, highlighting her imagination and creativity that is apparent in each of her performances. Dedicated to making children laugh and with an abundance of creativity, Obremski plans on growing both her TV show and puppet show, so more and more children can continue laughing alongside her.

“I have an attitude of if I just keep making, people are going to keep loving it, so I’m going to keep going and keep doing it, and it's going to keep spreading joy,” Obremski explains. “That's the biggest thing I want.”

All photos below by Charity Grace Mofsen