46 Great Things to Do This Winter - Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

Join us for the next Festival: January 15-26, 2025

46 Great Things to Do This Winter: How To’s For the aspiring comedians, storytellers, and puppeteers

Blair Thomas, artistic director of the inaugural Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival (January 14 to 25) and cofounder of Redmoon, shares three easy steps for silhouette fun.

1. Trace a photo of someone onto a thin piece of cardboard and cut out the shape.

Illustrations: David Preiss

2. Detach one of the arms at the shoulder and reattach with a string.

3. Glue a Popsicle stick onto the back, attach another with a string to the end of the arm, and—presto!—you’ve got a shadow puppet. Make a few more, hang a bed sheet in a doorway, and use a flashlight or bare light bulb to stage a show.

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About the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival advances the art of puppetry by presenting sophisticated programs vital to the cultural life of Chicago. Engaging and inspiring the largest and most diverse audiences for puppetry possible, the Festival is the biggest event dedicated to puppetry in North America and traditionally offers more than 100 activities annually including performances, workshops, artist instensives, free neighborhood events and symposia to audiences up to 14,000 over 11 days each January. The organization is also home to other key initiatives, including the Chicago Puppet Studio and Chicago Puppet Lab, that nurture the development of puppeteers and deepen the field locally, nationally and internationally with the ultimate goal of promoting peace, equality, mutual understanding, and justice locally and globally.

Contact

Administrative Office:
312-753-3234
info@chicagopuppetfest.org

Mailing Address:
Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival
410 S Michigan Ave, Studio 310
Chicago, IL 60605