Submit Your Show
The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival accepts submissions for performance consideration on a rolling basis. Submissions are reviewed by festival staff and our Curatorial Advisory Committee (CAC).
Please complete as much of the application as possible — thorough submissions receive fuller consideration. Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we are not able to respond individually to every applicant, nor can we provide feedback on submitted work. Do not expect to receive a response to your submission.
Because of our annual planning cycle, we are often programming more than one edition at the same time. Review of submissions is therefore ongoing. Submitting your show enters it into our pipeline for future consideration — it does not tie your work to a specific festival or deadline. There is no submission deadline; you’re welcome to apply at any time.
The Curatorial Advisory Committee
The purpose of the Curatorial Advisory Committee is to seek out, review, and recommend exceptional puppetry performances for presentation in future Festivals. The review process for selecting shows has several steps and this Committee serves a pivotal role in guiding the Festival’s artistic, administrative and production staff in the curatorial decision making process. The Committee is made up of professional presenters, scholars, and artists who each serve a 3 year term. They meet regularly to review work that has come to our attention, been discovered through research or has been sent to us as a cold submission directly via our website.
Andrew Kim
Puppet maker and performer; co-artistic director of Thingumajig Theatre (England)
Andrew Kim creates touring giant puppet and street theater acts, builds puppets for commissions and teaches giant puppet making and performing. Andrew was born in Korea, raised and educated in the USA and emigrated to the UK in 2006. He started as a puppeteer with In the Heart of the Beast Theatre, Bread & Puppet Theater and Horse and Bamboo before starting Thingumajig Theatre with his wife Kathy in 2006. Andrew has created puppets and performances for 30 years in 21 countries throughout Europe, Asia and North America, in several television shows and a Disney feature film.
Pam Arciero
Pam Arciero is a multi-ethnic, multicultural director, born and raised in Hawaii. She directs for live theater, television, film, as well as being a performer and producer. Pam choreographs and directs live walk-around (the big versions of the puppets) shows for Sesame Workshop in such far flung places as Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Barcelona, and Saudi Arabia, Sesame Place, PA and Sea World, USA. She performs for film, television and theater, notably as a puppeteer with Sesame Street (Grundgetta Grouch, Oscar’s girlfriend, and assorted characters) and for the Muppets for over 30 years. Pam has taught puppetry all over the world, from New York to Hong Kong, Hawaii to South Africa. Her love and joy of Puppetry is contagious. She is the Artistic Director of the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.
Paulette Richards
Independent Researcher
Independent researcher, Dr. Paulette Richards has taught at Georgetown University, Tulane University, and Georgia Tech. During her time as a 2013/ 2014 Fulbright Scholar in Senegal, she began to focus her multi-disciplinary interest in African Diasporan cultural studies on puppets, masks, and performing objects.
Co-curator of the Living Objects: African American Puppetry exhibit at the University of Connecticut’s Ballard Institute and Museum with Dr. John Bell, she holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Subsequently she curated a traveling exhibit on The Wonderland Puppet Theater. Her book, Object Performance in the Black Atlantic: The United States is available from Routledge.
Samuel J. Lewis, II
Puppeteer, Teaching Artist, and Arts Administrator
Sam is a puppeteer, teaching artist, and arts administrator whose work bridges tradition, innovation, and community. With a background in theater, Sam discovered puppetry by accident as a performer but quickly realized that it is a powerful medium for storytelling—one that merges craft, performance, and imagination in ways that engage audiences of all ages. Sam’s artistry spans multiple puppetry forms in ways that explore themes of identity, history, and
resilience. His performances have been featured in festivals, cabarets, and community events, where he brings a bold visual style and a deep sense of play to the stage. Beyond performance, Sam is dedicated to creating spaces where puppeteers can connect, collaborate, and grow. As an arts administrator, he has worked to grow and develop programs that support emerging artists, expand access to puppetry education, and celebrate the diversity of voices within the field. He has been closely involved with Rough House Puppet Arts, and the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, organizations that nurture new works and showcase the breadth of contemporary puppetry. Sam’s puppetry practice is grounded in collaboration. He frequently partners with artists in a variety of disciplines. His vision of puppetry is expansive: one that honors its deep history while pushing into new realms of artistic possibility. Through his performances, leadership, and advocacy, Sam continues to help shape puppetry as an evolving art form and a vital tool for connection.
Eduardo Felix
Theatrical sculptor, working as a puppeteer, sculptor, painter, set designer, director, playwright, actor-manipulator, costume designer, and composer of soundtracks
Eduardo Felix holds a degree in Sculpture from the School of Fine Arts at UFMG and has been working professionally in theater since 2001. Eduardo is the founder and artistic director of Pigmalião Escultura que Mexe, where he develops his research and teaches his practices. He has conducted workshops and participated in artistic residencies in several countries and Brazilian cities.
He wrote and directed the plays: O Presente (2007), Mendigo Marrom (2008), Seu Geraldo, voz e violão (2009), Bira e Bedé (2009), A Filosofia na Alcova (2011) – an adaptation of Marquis de Sade –, O Quadro de Todos Juntos (2014), Mordaz (2015), Macunaïma Gourmet (2017), Brasil (2018), Fábulas Antropofágicas para Dias Fascistas (2023), and Elefanteatro (2023).
Dr. Anna Ivanova-Brashinskaya
More info coming soon