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Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium

The 2026 Festival

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The Ellen Van Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium
and Book Talk Series

The Ellen Van Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium brings together practicing Festival artists with scholars to consider the intersection of puppetry with other disciplines and ideas. Before 1912, the year the Little Theater of Chicago was founded in the historic Fine Arts Building, the term “puppeteer” did not even exist. Little Theater director Ellen Van Volkenburg needed a program credit for the actors she had trained to manipulate marionettes while speaking the text of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and she coined the word “puppeteer.” That marked the dawn of the movement that has brought us to the rich art form now practiced around the world. This year’s educational programming also includes a free Book Talk Series presenting three moderated discussions with leading national puppet scholars, discussing books and topics including race, gender and disability in puppetry.

Artist Panel Discussions

Today

  • Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium Session 1 – The Labor of Gratitude

    Fine Arts Building Little Studio, 7th Floor 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

    Moderator:
    Paulette Richards

    Panelists:
    Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller (The 4th Witch)
    Ashe Winkfield and Alva Rodgers (Harlem Doll Palace)
    Laura Heit (The Matchbox Shows

    Free

  • Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium Session 4 – The Art of Asking

    Fine Arts Building Little Studio, 7th Floor 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

    Moderator:
    Paulette Richards

    Panelists:
    Anurupa Roy (About Ram)
    Geumhyung Jeong (Oil Pressure Vibrator)
    Tom Lee and Edward Einhorn (The Left Hand of Darkness)

    Free

Book Talks

This year’s free Book Talks series presents three moderated discussions with leading national puppet scholars. All talks will be held at Fine Arts Building Little Studio (7th Floor),
410 S. Michigan Ave.

 

Monday, January 26, 5:30 p.m.
Making Meaning in Puppetry, Materials, Practice, Perception
Edited By Dassia N. Posner, Claudia Orenstein, Alissa Mello

Moderator Paulette Richards interviews Dassia Posner and Claudia Orenstein

Tuesday, January 27, 5:30 p.m.
Race, Gender, and Disability in Puppetry and Material Performance
Edited By Paulette Richards, Hazel Briar, Alissa Mello, Laura Purcell-Gates/Associate Editor Katherine Kipkiss

Moderator Claudia Orenstein interviews Paulette Richards

Wednesday, January 28, 5:30 p.m.
A Practical Guide to Puppetry
By Mark Down of Blind Summit

Moderator Ana Díaz Barriga interviews Author Mark Down