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| Torry Bend (Durham, NC)
If My Feet Have Lost the Ground
A woman finds a beating heart in an envelope on an airplane. With only a return address she begins the search for its owner; in the process finds that she should really be in search of herself. A puppet show with video, this performance investigates being rooted and rootless in search of love and identity. Photo: Nick Graetz |
| Center for Puppetry Arts (Atlanta, GA)
1001 Nights: A Love Story about Loving Stories
1001 Nights: A Love Story About Loving Stories celebrates the power of storytelling in a family-friendly adaptation of the beloved Arabian Nights tales co-produced by the Center for Puppetry Arts and Flying Carpet Theatre Co. of New York featuring early songs by Tony winner Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, Book of Mormon). |
| Aaron Cromie & Mary Tuomanen (Philadelphia, PA)
The Body Lautrec
The Body Lautrec is a meditation on the life, work and maladies of French painter, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. The iconic artist suffered from from the rare genetic disease of pycnodysostosis, discovered in his youth, and syphilis, contracted later in his life, forever influencing his unique perspective on the world. Photo: Mary Tuomanen |
| Emily DeCola (New York, NY)
Remote Sensing
Remote Sensing is a collision of stories between a father and daughter struggling to negotiate the durability of secrets, memories and history twenty years after the end of the Cold War. Back in her childhood home after a long estrangement, Rachel has returned to care for her father, who is lost in the past. In order to do so, of course, she must look for him there. |
| Andy Gaukel (Louisville, KY)
Schweinhund
Inspired by the life of, Pierre Seel – who was arrested and imprisoned in a concentration camp by the Nazis on suspicion of being gay – Schweinehund is a meditation on Seel’s real-life tragedy during this dark time. Photo: Michael Collin |
| Leila Ghaznavi & Pantea Prdouctions (Brooklyn, NY)
Beyond the Light
Beyond the Light combines puppetry, dance, aerial acrobatics and the poetry of Walt Whitman, Emma Lazarus and Paul Eluard. In this one hour story one soul split into two must find its way back to completeness by journeying through a treacherous path of lost love, rebirth, and magic. Photo: William Haas |
| Glass Half Full Theatre (Austin, TX)
Once There Were Six Seasons
Puppeteers manipulate vast miniature landscapes to address the impact of climate change on subsistence societies around the world. It is many stories in one: an Indian farming community torn apart by bickering over water rites, a family of polar bears faces devastating habitat loss; a Bangladeshi island provides fleeting shelter for a displaced family, a Philippine fishing village rebuilds after cyclones, and a Texas farm that rediscovers its roots. |
| Little Shadow Productions (Brooklyn, NY)
Zwerge
Zwerge (formerly The Seven Dwarves: A Survival Story) is an immersive theater piece inspired by the lives of Ovitz family. This family, comprised in part of seven dwarves, survived the holocaust after enduring horrific medical experimentation at the hands of the infamous Nazi doctor, Joseph Mengele. The interactive show will incorporate actors, Toy Theater, shadow puppetry, projection and installation. Photo: Richard Termine |
| Amanda Maddock (Milford, NH)
Do Elephants Dream of Eclectic Sheep?
Do Elephants Dream of Eclectic Sheep is lucid dreams, recurring dreams, meaningful and meaningless dreams. Nighttime, and a grand elephant sleeps and wakes, drinks water, is visited by the Sandman, and ponders what is real, what is not, and what is the difference between the two. |
| Susan Simpson (Los Angeles, CA)
Death of a Salesman
A puppet adaptation of Death of A Salesman, by Arthur Miller. This classic play about a family’s epic fight to deny their own wreckage will be the grounds for a dissection of the sensation of failure and the uncomfortable machinations Americans perform to defend against it. |
| James Oritz / Strangemen & Co. (Astoria, NY)
The Woodsman
The Woodsman tells the story of Nick Chopper, a mortal woodsman who falls in love with the servant girl, Nimmie, who’s under the guardianship of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Woodsman delves deeper into the beloved character’s history and offers a unique, heartbreaking, and adult perspective on this classic story. Photo: Matthew Murphy |
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| Anne L. Berlin (New York, NY)
The Pigeon Boys
The Pigeon Boys tells the story of the forgotten pigeoneers and pigeons of World War II and explores the lives of three soldiers — an American, a Brit, and a German. As the boys face the harsh realities of war and one life-or-death mission, they reveal the mysteries of the 50,000 pigeons used to save the lives of soldiers and airmen. |
| Margarita Blush (Mansfield, CT)
Unfolding
Unfolding is an international project in which a diverse group of artists create an original puppet theatre production. Inspiration for the show comes from all things female – from goddess myths and world folklore to daily prejudices that women still have to overcome. Photo: Richard Termine |
| Chris Green Kinetics (Brooklyn, NY)
American Weather
American Weather is a new evening length work of puppetry, movement, object theater, and original songs about the pop-iconography of empire and America’s ceaseless quest to find itself. |
| Cripps Puppets & Toybox Theatre (Asheville, NC)
The Mysterious Metamorphosis of Mr. Krank
The Mysterious Metamorphosis of Mr. Krank focuses on a central character, Mr. Krank, as he embarks on a bizarre journey full of fantastic transformations. The play is open to interpretation from the viewer as to whether Mr.Krank is an aged man suffering from dementia, experiencing the final moments before his death, or merely dreaming. Photo: Indulge Images |
| Marsian De Lellis (Los Angeles, CA)
Object of Her Affection
What is love? Are we ever really in love or is it just a made up fairy tale in our heads that we project onto the objects of our desire? Object Of Her Affection is an unconventional love story about a woman who falls in love with inanimate objects, and her lifelong search for love that is just beyond her reach. Photo: Steve Gunther |
| James Godwin (Brooklyn, NY)
The Flatiron Hex
The Flatiron Hex is a surreal-noir, occult, horror-comedy that tells the tale of a disgraced contract sorcerer as he tries to defend an alternate reality New York from an impending apocalyptic super storm. On top of that, his sister is having an affair with a thumb drive she found in the nursing home bathroom. Photo: Richard Termine |
| Honey Goodenough (Brooklyn, NY)
Handle with Care
Handle with Care unpacks the story of a family in the process of moving, by using toys and objects from childhood. Set in a children’s nursery, the show presents a series of vignettes representing special moments in a family’s life – the excitement and anticipation of a child’s arrival; the delight of a child learning to play; the sentimental reflection of a growing family. Photo: Michael Samaripa |
| Laura Heit (Portland, OR)
The Letting Go
The Letting Go is an examination of the Illusive, the sublime, and it’s many incarnations. Based on a true story the piece chronicles the hauntings of an apparition who steals souls with breath halting kisses. A performance incorporating puppetry, live video, and animation that is constantly transforming our perceptions between live/recorded and the living/departed to create new perpetually shifting in-betweens. |
| In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)
CROW BOY
We will explore the courageous and intriguing work of Japanese-American artist Taro Yashima gleaned from his graphic autobiographies and his soulfully beautiful children’s books. The legacy of Yashima’s work offers a critical model for survival, countering institutionalized brutality with compassionate insight, poetic visual art, and ultimately—with joy. Photo: Bruce Silcox |
| David Lane (North Adams, MA)
The Chronicles of Rose
Rose is the story of Rose Valland, the curator of the Jeu de Paume Museum in occupied Paris which was commandeered by the Nazis and used as a clearing house for priceless stollen art, and Jewish cultural and religious artifacts. |
| LOCO7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company (New York, NY)
Undefined Fraction
Undefined Fraction traces inequality and reflects on the notion between good and evil, using the short story from Franz Kafka The Hunger Artist. The absurdity which Kafka depicts in his stories was, to him, the embodiment of the human condition – the incompatibility of the “divine law” and the human law. Photo: John Jairo Ruiz |
| Jonothon Lyons (Brooklyn, NY)
Ensō
Ensō is a story of love, grief, and the struggle for free will. In Japan in the 18th century, a puppeteer honors his departed wife in the form of a puppet he performs alongside his twin sons. When her spirit returns to him in an unexpected way, he soon discovers the world around him is not what it seems. |
| Kimi Maeda (Columbia, SC)
Bend
Akari, the third piece in a shadow-puppet trilogy dealing with my bicultural identity as a Japanese American, will explore this question by examining the lives of two men interned in a Japanese American Relocation Camp during World War II: my father, an Asian Art historian, and the subject of his research, Isamu Noguchi, a half-Japanese-half-American sculptor. Photo: Jonathan Sharpe |
| Maria Pugnetti (Putney, VT)
The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes weaves a series of interconnected stories through a landscape threatened by an expanding civilization that’s reaching it’s inevitable collapse. With intricate stylized shadow figures, lush projections, table-top puppets, and an original score sung live, this is a piece about the search to restore balance in a world of excess, disparity and disconnection. |
| Sarah Provost (Brooklyn, NY)
Electric Bathing
Two garment workers escape respectability and factory work into the fantastical world of Coney Island, circa 1910, where hankies become sails, fans transform into seagulls, hatboxes are carnival rides, spools of thread are anchors, and ropes are the ocean tide. Electric Bathing is a collaboration between Sarah Provost and Lake Simons. Using silent film as a metaphor, it is performed without text. Photo: Jordan Provost |
| Rogue Artists Ensemble (Los Angeles, CA)
Fantasmagorico
Rogue Artists Ensemble’s Fantasmagórico a dual language tale of hope and horror set during the Mexican revolution and told using masks, puppetry, and sophisticated image mapping and audio manipulation. Image: Al Guerrero |
| Unitards (Brooklyn, NY)
Point Pleasant
On November 15, 1966, two young couples driving down a quiet road encountered; what they described as a large winged man with glowing red eyes. This would be the first of many sightings of the creature that would be dubbed the “Mothman” by local papers, and ushered in a year of terror, confusion and tragedy for the small town. Photo: Sandra Gunderson |
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| Foreign Landscapes Productions / Faye Dupras (Somerville, MA)
The Great Red Ball Rescue
Red alert! A family trip to the beach goes awry when a young boy’s favorite Red Ball whisked away by the tides. Can he summon the courage to get it back? Join Jasper, a timid kid with a big imagination, as he sets out on an adventure across the ocean, under the waves, and up into the clouds. |
| Elizabeth Hara and Marta Mozelle MacRostie (Brooklyn, NY)
Help Save the Monkey!
Lillian’s monkey was sent into space 46 years ago on a top secret mission, and it’s finally about to land! She is the only one who knows where to find him, but she needs the help of 8-year-old Howard to get to Monkey before the space pod sinks to the bottom of the ocean. An epic journey under the ground, through the air, and over the sea. |
| Paul Mesner Puppets (Kansas City, MO)
Ragtime to Bebop: The Story of Kansas City Jazz
Ragtime to Bebop tells the story of a pivotal moment in jazz history that emerged from Kansas City and includes history about the city between the World Wars, prohibition, and racial & social inequalities. The work has two versions, one for adults based on the life of Charlie Parker and one for families illustrating the history of jazz in Kansas City. Photo: Mike Horner |
| Public Works Theatre Company (Lafayette, CO)
Wanda & the Wave
Wanda & the Wave is a multilingual and interactive new work of puppet theatre for families featuring original live Foley/music. Adapted by Sondra Blanchard from the children’s book, The Old Woman and the Wave by Shelley Jackson, this tale is a whimsical allegory about appreciating the world around us. |
| Puppet Junction Productions (Brooklyn, NY)
Vrooom!
In Puppet Junction’s VROOOM!, a young spider goes on an accidental family vacation inside a vacuum cleaner—a vacation that turns into a great escape! |
| Strings & Things Puppet Theatre (San Pedro, CA)
The Seal Maiden
The Seal Maiden is a folktale with origins in Celtic mythology – a time when Selkies, mythical seal creatures, were able to transform themselves into human beauties. It is a universal story about the seasons within the life of a soul; youth, maturity, old age, and a deep understanding of the cyclical nature within. Photo: Robert Fu |
| Tears of Joy Theatre (Portland, OR)
Raven Stories
Raven Stories, a new puppetry production based on the trickster of Pacific Northwest Native American lore. Raven, like his cousin Coyote, uses his wits and cunning to get what he wants. He may be sneaky, but his tricks have given us the sun, moon and more! ‘Raven Stories’ is written by Shoshone-Bannock-Nez Perce poet and storyteller Ed Edmo and features original music by Marv Ross. Photo: Casey Campbell Photography |
| Society of Educational Arts (New York, NY)
Sueño
A Latino take on Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night Dream. A Magical production that combines actors, dancers, puppets, live music and much more!
Una versión Latinizada de la obra Sueño de una noche de Verano de Shakespeare. Una pieza mágica que incluye actores, bailarines, títeres, música en vivo y mucho más. |
