Haitian American actor, puppeteer and voice-over artist Emmanuel Elpenord will dazzle Boston audiences with two world-premiere performances at the Puppet Showplace Theater this month.

“Jokes with Josue” and “The Tales of Turtle Boy” were developed during Elpenord’s time in the Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers at the Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline. The six-month virtual residency includes a $1,000 stipend, monthly meetings with the residency cohort, guest seminars and individual work sessions with a project mentor.

“It gave me a very niche, unique space to build,” said Elpenord. “Puppetry is a white field primarily…and this took the designing and devising that was happening in other circles, but it was specifically for puppeteers and people of color to have that space.”

Elpenord’s performances are done in two parts. It begins with “Jokes with Josue,” a series of riddles, jokes and tales inspired by Haitian folklore and told by the Uncle Josue character. The second act, “The Tales of Turtle Boy,” is an action-packed, choose-your-own-adventure story led by the energetic Turtle Boy character.

“These folktales, which I think of as fairytales, in a way, touch on deeper things for kids,” said Elpenord. “The piece pulls a lot on the audience’s imagination.”

Elpenord began his career as a theater performer and voice actor and booked his first puppetry gig more than a decade ago. He fell in love with the physicality of the medium and the way it combined so many art forms, including voice acting and the physical construction of the puppets.

“As a kid, I was juggling the TV remote, spinning it in my hand and doing manual dexterity things. Now I’m puppeteering and earning money by fidgeting things with my hands,” said Elpenord.

“Jokes with Josue” and “The Tales of Turtle Boy,” will be performed Nov. 15 and 16 at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tickets start at $18 for general admission and $3 for Card to Culture members through WIC, EBT, MassHealth and ConnectorCare. The Puppet Showplace Theater is located at 32 Station St. in Brookline Village.

After the Nov. 16 shows audiences will have the chance to chat with Elpenord, who speaks English and Creole, and to see a Haitian folkloric dance performance by KS Studio presented in partnership with Toussaint Louverture Cultural Center. For aspiring puppeteers, Elpenord will host a marionette fundamentals workshop on Nov. 13.

Elpenord hopes the performances will bring joy and laughter to the audience and provide a window into his heritage.

“What I like is that this goes across cultures. These are translated riddles that still work,” Elpenord said. “I don’t want what people think of Haiti to be just the political strife you see on TV. This is a hook into a richer Haitian culture.”

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