Puppet Happenings: Live Puppet Theater In-Person & Online
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PUPPET HAPPENINGS - TOP PICKS |
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Book of Mountains & Seas *
Beth Morrison Projects, Basil Twist & St. Ann's Warehouse
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March 15-20
Tuesday – Saturday at 7:30pm
Sunday at 5pm
Book of Mountains & Seas is a work of vocal-theatre for 12 singers, two percussionists, and puppets. It is inspired by the ancient Chinese compilation of early myths of the same title, which was first transcribed in 4th century B.C. Over the years, these mythological stories have become part of Chinese written and oral history, shifted and reshaped to match contemporary times. Book of Mountains and Seas is a 21st-century adaptation through the lens of our modern-day relationship with the natural world. The creation stories conjure a sense of respect and awe for the environment and the water stories challenge us to be good stewards of the natural resources we have been given.
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Production Grant (2020)
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Song of the North * - Hamid Rahmanian/Kingorama
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March 5 & 12
March 5 - 2pm
March 12 - 2pm & 7pm
Song of the North is a large-scale, cinematic performance combining the manual art of shadow puppetry with projected animation to tell the courageous tale of Manijeh, a heroine from ancient Persia, who must use all her strengths and talents to rescue her beloved from a perilous predicament of her own making and help prevent a war. This 80-minute show utilizes a creative ensemble whose shared talents and skills advance the themes of unity, collaboration, and experimentation through performance, story and nearly 500 puppets. Song of the North, adapted from the Book of Kings (Shahnameh), challenges the Eurocentric worldview of art and storytelling through a contemporary multimedia experience of this classic Persian tale.
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Production Grant (2021) and Presenter's Grant (2022)
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Once Upon a Winter Night * - Michael Sommers
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March 3-27
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays - 7:30pm
Sundays - 4:00pm
Extended to March 27th!
Intended as a fairytale for grown-ups, ONCE UPON A WINTER NIGHT explores the merriment and menace of winter through a child’s eyes, while meditating on the profound mystery which accompanies seasonal change. Audiences will watch the story unfold within a meticulously designed snow globe, where crows take roost, icicles grow, and the moon sings above the forest and the fields. Smoke curls from the bell tower where a lone child sleeps, dreaming of a sister made of snow. Up on the mountaintop, Sister Winter looks down, wishing to steal the little girl’s warmth, so she may melt into the sea and transition into something new. The ensuing adventure–both playful and perilous–begins when Sister Winter sends a mischievous snow fox to lead the girl away from the bell tower and deep into the woods….
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Production Grant (2022)
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Jim Henson: Commercials & Experiments
Hosted by Craig Shemin, President of The Jim Henson Legacy
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March 12-25
Saturday March 12 - 1:00pm
Friday March 25 - 3:00pm
This mind-blowing collection of shorts, crazy commercials, and other rarities from the Henson vault was one of The Jim Henson Legacy’s first compilation screenings, and now, it is even better: remastered in high definition from original film elements and revised with newly discovered material—some of which has not been seen in 50 years. Highlights include an industrial film for Wilson’s Meat that must be seen to be believed; excerpts from experimental TV programs The Cube and Youth '68; and a stunning 4K restoration of Time Piece, the eight-minute Oscar-nominated experimental masterpiece directed by (and starring) Jim Henson himself.
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Joan of Arc! A Night of Performances Inspired by the Patron Saint of Revolution
Boxcutter Collective & All Saints Theater Company
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March 14
Doors 7:00pm, Show 7:30pm
Presented in 3 Acts
ACT 1: The Passion of Joan of Arc (excerpt), With live score by Sunder Ganglani (viola), Eleonore Weill (recorder/hurdy gurdy) and Ali Dineen (accordion/keyboard).
ACT 2: Saint Joan (Act I): A new work by Ali Dineen
ACT 3: Lil Lamberta (All The Saints Theater Company, Richmond VA) Presents: "The True Afterlife of Joan"
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Wolf Play * - by Hansol Jung, directed by Dustin Wills
in association with Ma-Yi Theater Company
Soho Rep - 46 Walker Street New York, NY
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February 2 - March 20
Extended to March 20th!
“What if I said I am not what you think you see. And you believed me? Does that change anything?”
The gray wolf is a social animal, travelling in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair, accompanied by offspring. Wolf packs rarely adopt other wolves into their fold, and typically kill them. In the rare cases where wolves are adopted, the adoptee is invariably an immature animal unlikely to compete for breeding rights with the mated pair. - Wikipedia
A mischievous and affecting new play about the families we choose and unchoose.
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Presenter's Grant (2020)
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Space Dogs - Nick Blaemire & Van Hughes
Puppetry Design - Amanada Villalobos
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February 11- March 20
Extended to March 20th!
SPACE DOGS is an epic new musical that tells the mind-blowing true story of Laika and the Chief Designer — a stray dog and the top-secret Russian scientist who sent her to space during the Cold War. Written and performed by Van Hughes and Nick Blaemire, it is a sweeping, kaleidoscopic tale of invention, betrayal, international political intrigue, and the immortal friendship that exists between man and dog, as they journey together to the stars. Puppets and props were designed and fabricated by Amanda Villalobos with assistance from Puppet Associate Rowan Magee. Additional fabrication from Eric Dyer, Joseph Silovsky, Patrice Escandon, and Matt Leabo.
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Puppets Come Home! at Coney Island: Worldwide!
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March 20 - 9pm
Help us celebrate WORLD PUPPETRY DAY with an online puppet slam dedicated to puppeteers from around the globe! All of the pieces in this slam are inspired by this year's UNIMA theme, "Aquatic Life".
LINE-UP: Cookie Tongue, Lynn Jeffries and Paul Zaloom, Lyssa Troemel, Puppetomime, S.Rackal Productions, Studio Nada Nadatheatre, Ta Lent Show, ...And more!
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Wake Up Daisy! A Modern Take on Sleeping Beauty - FAMILY
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Currently Running
This modern spin on Sleeping Beauty set on the Upper West Side celebrates friendship, courage and female empowerment. Perfect for families with young children, Wake Up, Daisy! tells the story of Daisy, a lively girl living in the heart of New York City in an apartment overlooking Central Park. At Daisy’s much-anticipated birthday party, she encounters three special guests, known as her “Squad-parents”, from Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, who grant her the gifts of courage, knowledge, and a second chance. When an unwelcome guest shows up and puts a curse on her, Daisy’s life is forever changed. Through the support of her friends and an adventure around the city, Daisy’s strong self-determination and vivid imagination may be all she needs to break the curse.
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Beauty & the Beast - Puppetworks - FAMILY
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January 29 - April 3
The French Fantasy with a "live" Beast, adapted for Marionettes by Nicolas Coppola (suggested for ages 3 and up)
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Currently Running
Be there when the world’s most ravenous plant returns to its acclaimed, sold-out run at the Westside Theatre! Winner of the 2020 Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is “wildly exuberant” (The Hollywood Reporter), and a New York Times Critic’s Pick.
This smash-hit production stars Emmy® winner and Grammy® nominee Tammy Blanchard (“Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows”), Tony® nominee Jeremy Jordan (Newsies), and two-time Tony winner Christian Borle (Something Rotten!), who won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards for his performance in LITTLE SHOP. Together they bring succulent new life to a true musical landmark. Get tickets now and enjoy a taste of what we’ve all been craving: live theater!
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LIVE PERFORMANCES - NATIONAL |
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Milo the Magnificient *- Alex and Olmsted
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March 12
7:00pm
Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation Grant awarded Milo the Magnificent is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. This wordless comedy, inspired by turn of the century vaudeville entertainers, is as highly physical as it is charming. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned. Great for all ages!
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Workshop Grant (2017)
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Oma * - Sandglass Theater, Winter Sunshine Series
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March 19
11:00am & 2:00pm
Oma says that knitting is not just pom pom hats and sweaters. Oma's knitting contains whole stories! This new family show by Shoshana Bass and Jana Zeller is an intergenerational tale that revolves around Grandma or “Oma." It is her birthday and all are preparing for the celebration. While the grown-ups manage work phone calls, playdate logistics and other such tasks, the children get into mischief with party decorating, present wrapping, cake baking. Finally they all gather around for one of Oma's stories told in yarn. One character emerges from the tangle of wool and nearly ruins the party. But not to worry, all ends well at Oma's house.
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Family Grant (2020)
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VIRTUAL PERFORMANCES & FILMS |
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Plastic Bag Store: The Film - Robin Frohardt
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March 11 - 6:30pm CST
A dynamic series of stories that traverse ancient history, the present day and a future dystopia, employing inventive puppetry, humor and craft to explore how the hordes of plastic waste we leave behind today might be misinterpreted by future generations.
Recommended for ages 12+ general audiences.
The feature film will be preceded by the stop-motion, 1.5-minute film Plastic Ecosystem by Stefie Gan, an Official Selection from the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest
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Segal Center Film Festival, Spotlight: Puppetry
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March 1-15
Watch over 80 films free, On Demand
The global film/screen festival presents experimental, emerging, and established theatre and performance artists who created work for the screen in the difficult Time of Corona.
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WORKSHOPS / LECTURES / MEETINGS - VIRTUAL & IN-PERSON |
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Film Festivals for Puppetry Films: A Roundtable Discussion - VIRTUAL
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March 13 7pm ET
Join award-winning filmmakers Christine Papalexis, Angelica Robinson, Jamie Shannon and Handmade Puppet Dreams producer Alex U. Griffin for a roundtable discussion about the challenges and benefits of live-performance puppetry films in film festivals. The hope is that attending puppetry filmmakers can get an idea of what awaits in the rapidly-changing world of film festivals!
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Puppet Building Workshop with Ines Zeller Bass - VIRTUAL
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Multi-Session Virtual Workshop
March 21-26
Join master builder and company co-founder, Ines Zeller Bass, for a puppet building workshop that will be held via a private Facebook group. Throughout the week, participants will build a rod puppet particular to Sandglass’ style and teaching, with easy-to-follow demonstration videos and written explanations. Instructions will be posted daily and remain active for the duration of the course. Participants can work on their own time, and ask questions and connect with the cohort of puppet builders and instructors through the comments section on the group page.
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Puppetry Explorations for Teens & Adults with Unique Abilities - VIRTUAL
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Multi-Session Zoom Workshop April 4-May 23
Deadline to Register: March 14
The art of puppetry opens new avenues of communication and self-expression. You’ll love this carefully designed curriculum for teens and adults with unique abilities! Participants each create a puppet, then they work together to write and perform an original script.
All classes take place on Zoom, and include a final performance, which is recorded on video. The final class features a zoom preview party in which participants enjoy watching their final production together. Classes are presented in 6-week sessions and a PARENT, BUDDIE, or GUARDIAN is invited to participate for FREE! Space is limited. Contact: [email protected]
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Shadow Puppetry I - Chinese Theatre Works - VIRTUAL
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April 4-10
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat, and Sun:
7 – 9pm CST
Shadow Puppetry 1 (Level 1) is an introduction to the form for the beginning puppeteer. Students will create a desktop shadow theater, build and create basic shadow figures and environments and devise their own short pieces with music or text. An overview of world shadow puppetry traditions is included as well as an introduction to light sources and fabrication. The course makes use of basic materials including home recyclables.
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Toy Theater I - Roberto Rossi - VIRTUAL
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April 4-10
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat, and Sun:
7 – 9pm CST
Toy Theater 1 (Level 1) is an introduction to the form and the basic skills concluding with a showing. Make your first toy theater stage using recyclable materials. Learn conceptual and design approaches in building an original work. Build basic jointed 2D puppets and moveable set pieces and discover the unique theatrical language of the Toy Theater.
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Puppetry and Technology: Live Feed Video, Projection and the Isadora MultiMedia Interface
Level 3 - Tom Lee - VIRTUAL
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April 5 - May 18
April 5 – April 12 and April 26 – May 18, 2022*
*no class on April 19 (6 weeks)
Tuesdays: 7 – 9pm CST
Puppetry and Technology (Level 3) is an introduction to the use of cameras, video and digital performance techniques for puppetry. Director/designer Tom Lee will lead the class in examples of digital performance forms, including his own work that combines live puppetry, miniatures and projection. In addition, the instructor will teach fundamentals of the Isadora digital interface, software essential to creating his stage work.
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Creating a Solo Act with Puppets
Level 3 - Vanessa Valliere - VIRTUAL
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April 6 - May 11
(6 weeks) Wednesdays: 6 – 8pm CST
Creating a Solo Act with Puppets (Level 3) is for people who want to make a solo act with puppets. It is intended both for people who have a zygote of an idea already and for those who are looking for a way into the process of generating something new. The focus will be on creating work as well as fine tuning presentation and performance. Over the course of 6 weeks, students will create a three to five minute piece that will be suitable for presentation, or will simply be the stepping stone to longer works. There will be an emphasis on pursuing the elements of the work that bring you joy.
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History of Object Performance in the Black Atlantic
Level 1 - Paulette Richards - VIRTUAL
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April 7 - May 26
(8 weeks) Thursdays: 6 – 7:30pm CST
History of Object Performance in the Black Atlantic (Level 1), taught by Dr. Paulette Richards (co-curator of the “Living Objects: African American Puppetry” exhibit), is an 8-week journey through “Selected Topics in African American Object Performance.” Beginning in the Jim Crow era with African American puppetry in schools, libraries, and churches, we will examine object performance as a powerful tool Black people have used effectively for education and community building. Academics will receive resources to enhance their teaching and research with information about a little known aspect of American Theater History. Practitioners will find plentiful opportunities to draw creative inspiration from contemporary African American puppet theater artists, filmmakers, visual artists, and spectacle dramas associated with New Orleans Mardi Gras traditions. Lifelong learners are invited to engage with a unique perspective on current discussions of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the theater industry by exploring the careers of African American artists who have used object performance as a strategy of resistance to the objectification of Black bodies.
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Materials & Techniques: Constructing a Professional Puppet Head
Level 2 - Mark Blashford - IN-PERSON
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April 7 - May 12
(8 weeks) Thursdays: 6 – 8pm CST
Materials & Techniques (Level 2) is a design and fabrication course for the puppet craftsperson. Learn invaluable professional techniques in sculpture, mold-making, and casting through the process of creating expressive, stage-ready puppet heads. The price of this class includes materials.
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Creative Virtual Residency for Black Puppeteers
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DEADLINE: March 25, 2022
Puppet Showplace Theater is excited to announce the call for our 3rd cohort of grantees for our Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers. We’re seeking proposals from emerging and early-career artists interested in exploring the art of puppetry and/or finding their own voice through puppet theater. Inquiries from interested applicants across the U.S. are welcome. The deadline to apply is March 25th. Please help us spread the word!
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DEADLINE: March 31, 2022 11:59pm ET
We are excited to announce a call for two Creative Fellows: interdisciplinary artists of color from traditionally underrepresented communities. Fellows will be supported in the generation of a new work in response to Ping Chong and Company's archive and will join at a pivotal moment, as the Company marks the 50th Anniversary of Ping Chong’s career as an artist.
Early career artists who have a track record of at least two previously generated interdisciplinary works that have been shared publicly and created outside of an undergraduate program are encouraged to apply for the fellowship, which will run from May 1 to December 31, 2022. Learn More/Apply
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DEADLINE: March 22, 2022
Are you an emerging artist working in puppetry, dance, theatre, or music, looking for a space to realize your new adventurous show? HERE is now taking applications for SubletSeries: Co-Op, our curated rental series hitting the stages August 2022. HERE provides space, equipment, and box office services for a box office split.
This hybrid performance series offers bold artists working in Dance, Music, and Theatre space for up to one week for 1-2 technical rehearsals and 4-6 performances in our 98 seat Mainstage and 69 seat Dorothy B. Williams Theater (DOT). This program aims to support the artistic process by providing artists with much-needed resources to put practice into action.
* There will be an ONLINE INFO-SESSION on Thursday, Mar 3 at 6PM for anyone who would like to learn more about the program. RSVP here.
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American Puppet Theatre Today
The Photography of Richard Termine, and the Art of Basil Twist
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March 3 - April 3
Galerie d’Outremont hosts two exceptional exhibits that showcase the work of New York-based photographer Richard Termine who has documented American Puppet Theatre for over 30 years. Termine’s work uniquely captures the animated gesture of the puppet in still images.
Over 120 images and objects illustrate the dynamic range of puppet theatre being created by a vibrant community of artists across the United States, and celebrate the exceptional work of one of the United States’ most prolific and versatile puppeteers, Basil Twist. A special section, “Puppetry During the Pandemic”, features resilient artists who continued to create and perform new work through the past year.
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The Art & Craft of Puppetry
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February 1 - July 29
The exhibit explores how puppets have captured our imagination by examining specific puppets, universal characteristics, international aesthetics, and local puppet companies. It also asks a playfully provocative question: What makes a puppet? The diversity of puppet styles and techniques displayed provides the opportunity for visitors to think more broadly about an artform that transcends cultural boundaries, while also demonstrating how puppets work.
Six puppets, including a character from the original Fraggle Rock series on loan from The Jim Henson Company and others on loan from the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, will be on view. Images from Division of Cultural and Community Life, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution will help exemplify different types of puppets as well.
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Storytellers: Puppets By Artists
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January 22 - March 26
Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm
STORY TELLERS: Puppets by Artists was inspired by photographs of a collection of wonderful hand puppets made by Paul Klee for his family. Puppets take us back to a passionate period in our childhood when they were everything: the mediators between worlds, the tellers of stories that did not have to be logical or linear, the incarnations of tribal and cultural myths from the global human unconscious. As children, we were obsessed with the performance of Davey Jones Locker with the incredibly beautiful Bill Baird puppets when it premiered at Town Hall in New York, Baird created an entire underwater alternate universe. Those puppets were as magical and mysterious to us as the dioramas at the Museum of Natural History. They were literally ‘Hands On’.
The participating artists in this showing are Abigail Brown, Larry Calkins, Maria Denjongpa, Jan Harrison, Juliet Lockhart, Jason Matherly, Kosmo Nauty, Brian Paccione, Elizabeth Rogers, Thomas Tait, Jean-François Veillard and Gregory Van Maanen.
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Hecho en Puerto Rico: Four Generations of Puerto Rican Puppetry
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November 18 - May 8
Curated by Dr. Manuel Morán and Deborah Hunt
Hecho en Puerto Rico invites the spectator to discover over fifty years of puppet productivity, by four distinct generations of builders and performers in and from Puerto Rico. Although puppetry first appeared on the island of Puerto Rico in the 19th century, this exhibit is divided into four periods of creation from the 1960s to current times, demonstrating a shift in focus from purely educational content, to culturally and politically relevant themes, to a focus on adult audiences, and now into the current generation of emerging puppeteers. A young but thriving puppet movement, despite economic and political turmoil as well as natural disasters, Puerto Rican puppetry continues to evolve and grow.
The exhibition highlights the work of such puppeteers and companies as Agua, Sol y Sereno; Brenda Plumey; Daniel y sus Muñecos; Deborah Hunt; Edward Cardenales; El Mundo de los Muñecos; José López; Luis Villafañe; Mario Donate; Mary Anne Hopgood; Papel Machete; Poncili Creación; Pura Belpré; Santin y sus Muñecos; Teatro SEA and Manuel Morán; Tere Marichal; Vueltabajo Teatro; and Y No Había Luz.
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Living Abstraction: Sophie Taeuber-Arp
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November 21, 2021-March 12, 2022
Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943) was one of the most multitalented of modern artists, creating profoundly innovative work across many disciplines. This exhibition traces her career’s trajectory: from applied arts teacher, participant in the Dada movement, and maker of textiles and objects; to designer of murals, stained glass windows, furniture, interiors, and buildings; to painter-sculptor, magazine editor, and early champion of geometric abstraction. For Taeuber-Arp, abstraction was always connected to an everyday lived reality in which objects were to be used and manipulated, spaces to be moved about in, and artworks to be looked at and experienced. Her creations responded to their time and place of making, in keeping with Taeuber-Arp’s expressed ambition to make “living things” in “a new style that is fitting for us.” Her fluid movement between genres, disciplines, and creative roles makes her especially relevant for contemporary artists, while her work proposes a more open-ended and inclusive way of thinking about the history of modern art.
Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Living Abstraction is the first exhibition in the United States in nearly 40 years to chart the full sweep of the artist’s multifaceted career. It features some 400 works, including textiles, applied arts objects, marionettes, interior and architectural designs, furniture, paintings and relief sculptures, works on paper, photographs, and a selection of printed matter. The exhibition aims to advance our understanding of Taeuber-Arp’s distinctive cross-pollinating approach to abstraction, and to explore the different ways in which her work challenged the boundaries separating fine art from craft and design.
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August 13 - April 3
Puppets of New York explores the extraordinary, surprising, and diverse history of New York City’s quirkiest residents. Puppets traveled with migrant communities from across the globe as they made their way to the city. Like other New Yorkers, they both enriched the metropolis and were transformed by it, as they encountered the heady mix of other puppetry traditions, practices, and languages that also made New York City home. From Punch and Judy to Oscar the Grouch; from Lamb Chop to the Lion King; from Lunar New Year to the Thanksgiving Day parade, the marionettes, shadow figures, and rod and hand puppets of New York have regaled our stages, studios, and streets. They have been broadcast all across the globe, and over time have reshaped the puppetry traditions of many cultures. Jim Henson and Julie Taymor, Basil Twist and Theodora Skipitares, Ralph Lee and Pura Belpré, Great Small Works and Teatro SEA are just some the influential puppeteers featured in Puppets of New York, an exhibition poised to bring joy and awe, live performances and panels, workshops and movies to people of all ages.
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PUPPET HAPPENINGS - COMPLETE LISTINGS |
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The Jim Henson Foundation's Puppet Happenings Listings are updated every Friday.
Puppet Happenings Submission Form:
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