Together with his family, creative surrealist Brett Sylvia captures dreams and inspires reality to spread its wings. Blending the mastery of both performing and visual arts, he presents an original storytelling and puppetry experience for the entire family.
Brett Sylvia was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts and lived in Dartmouth. He struggled with a learning disability and nightmares throughout his childhood often going without sleep. After the age of 12, Brett found himself in the ‘city that never sleeps’, Las Vegas, Nevada, where their was no shortage of entertainment.
In the year 2000, The artist ventured back to his homeland to reconnect with family, friends, and who he once was. Deciding to go to college for Art, he received an Associates Degree from Bristol Community College. There he learned drawing, painting, sculpture, computer graphics, theater and the importance of being involved with a community of artists. He then auditioned for Walt Disney World in Florida and became a puppeteer in two shows, Muppet Vision 3D and The Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
For the next 7 years Brett performed many characters and puppets for the Disney company and also created work of his own. During this time, he attended Massachusetts College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in 2012. He soon found himself working with large groups of musicians, performers, and artists of all types. Looking for the next challenge, Brett’s work seemed to be getting larger and more complex. In the final semester at MassArt he created “OP the Cyclops”, a strange creature that is covered with hair.
Brett holds Bachelors Degree in Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA, and Masters of Fine Arts Degree from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Brett Sylvia now has a family of his own that share his passion for creativity and storytelling. Together they are Sylvia Family Studios and own a creative retreat spanning 32 acres in Coventry, Connecticut.
Skills:
- Directing
- Writing
- Teaching
- Sculpture
- Painting
- Restoration
- Molding/Casting
- Electronics & Programming
- Puppet Design and Performance
- Stop Motion Animation
- Costume Design for the Stage
- Performance/Acting
- Special Effects Makeup
- Rhino 3D & Autodesk Maya
- 3D printing