Catapult Artist Intensive
The Catapult: For Artists of all Disciplines
The Catapult Artist Intensive returns with two professional development weekends designed to advance the form and expand understanding of the field of puppetry in the United States. Each weekend, artists of all disciplines are taken on a three-day, curated, guided experience of festival programming. Join an intimate cohort, escorted by a professional leader, for discussions, backstage access to the shows, and more. Each immersive weekend includes at least eight performances, with symposiums and local transportation. Registration is $595 per weekend, including some meals. Limited capacity. Scholarships available. No application required. Hotel is not included in the price, but a hotel discount is available at the Festival’s partner hotel with discount code.
Program Details
Ages: 18 and up
Who: Artists from any discipline and those seeking to deepen their puppetry experience
When:
Weekend 1
Friday, January 17, 2025 at around 2 pm through Sunday, January 19 at around 5 pm
Weekend 2
Friday, January 24, 2025 at around 2 pm through Sunday, January 26 at around 5 pm
Location & Transportation: Cohort travels together to venues throughout Chicago. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to/from airport as needed.
Cost: $595 ($297.50 deposit due upon registration, $297.50 remaining balance due before January 6, 2025)
Scholarships: To apply for a scholarship, submit a statement of interest and need to info@chicagopuppetfest.org. Please specify if you identify as BIPOC as well as which session you would like to attend. Priority deadline for scholarship application is December 1st. Applicants will be notified shortly after that date.
Lodging: Hotel discount code available to participants so they can get a low rate which they book and pay for themselves. For more information please email info@chicagopuppetfest.org
Please Note: This program requires a good amount of travel from place to place, including stepping up into a passenger van and walking place to place. If you have accessibility or mobility needs, please reach out to us at info@chicagopuppetfest.org to discuss how we can accommodate and support your participation.
Session I: Led by Grace Needlman
Friday, January 17, 2025 at around 1 pm through Sunday, January 19 at around 5 pm
Friday, January 17:
- 1:00pm: Orientation and Skill Share
- 5:00pm: Performance of Concerned Others by Tortoise in a Nutshell
- 6:00pm: Meal Provided
- 7:00pm: Performance of Aanika’s Elephants by Feisty Elephant, Pam Arciero Productions, and Little Shadow Productions
- 9:00pm: Performance of I Killed the Monster by RoiZIZO théâtre
- following I Killed the Monster: Social time in the Warwick Allerton Lounge
Saturday, January 18:
- 10:00am: Symposium No 1
- 12:15pm: Meal Provided
- 2:00pm: Performance of Dracula: Lucy’s Dream by Plexus Polaire
- 5:00pm: Performance of Made in Macau by Rolling Puppet Alternative Theatre
- 8:00pm: Performance of House by the Lake by Yael Rasooly
- 10:30pm: Performance of Nasty, Brutish & Short, late-night puppet cabaret
Sunday, January 19:
- 10:00am: Symposium No 2
- 12:15pm: Meal Provided
- 1:00pm: Catapult Alumni Party
- 3:00pm: Performance of The Cabinet by Cabinet of Curiosity
Session II: Led by Samuel J. Lewis, II
Friday, January 24, 2025 at around 2 pm through Sunday, January 26 at around 5 pm
Friday, January 24:
- 1:00pm: Orientation and Skill Share
- 5:00pm: Performance of Birdheart by Julian Crouch & Saskia Lane
- 6:00pm: Meal Provided
- 7:30pm: Performance of Edith and Me by Yael Rasooly
- following Edith and Me: Social time in the Warwick Allerton Lounge
Saturday, January 25:
- 10:00am: Symposium No 3
- 12:15pm: Meal Provided
- 1:00pm: Performance of Kayfabe by Josh Rice
- 4:00pm: Performance of Organismo by Maraña
- 6:00pm: Catapult Alumni Party
- 7:30pm: Performance of J.M. Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K by Baxter Theatre & Handspring Puppet Co.
- 10:30pm: Performance of Nasty, Brutish & Short, late-night puppet cabaret
Sunday, January 26:
- 10:00am: Symposium No 4
- 12:15pm: Meal Provided
- 2:00pm: Performance of The Scarecrow by Anthony Michael Stokes
- 4:00pm: Performance of Skeleton Canoe by Ty Defo
Lead Artists
Grace Needlman (leading Weekend 1)
Grace Needlman (they/she) is a cultural worker and maker preoccupied with questions of collective imagination and agency. Grace’s puppet designs have appeared in theatrical productions across Chicago. As a company member at Rough House and Co-Director of the Chicago Puppet Lab, Grace works to create equitable pathways for puppeteers in Chicago. Grace is also the Manager of Studio Programs at Marwen, supporting artists and youth in building inspiring learning communities through art. Previously, Grace managed family and youth programs at the MCA where they worked to put museum resources in the hands of Chicago youth and fostered connections between artists and intergenerational publics. They publish and present on youth agency, collaboration, and queering museums. Grace graduated with a BA in fine art from Yale University and an MA in Contemporary Art Theory from Goldsmiths University of London.
Samuel J. Lewis, II (leading Weekend 2)
Sam Lewis is an actor, poet, vocalist, and recently a puppeteer. He calls himself an accidental puppeteer because, in the early 2000s, he came across a vintage Black Americana marionette in an attic, which started him on an unexpected puppetry journey. Sam explores racial issues and negative iconography with that marionette, whom he renamed Jus Hambone.
In late 2018, Sam learned of an incredible family history that has taken him back over 200 years. That revelation redirected his practice. He commissioned the creation of puppets to unpack these histories. Since then, he has been workshopping new work in a fulfilling collaboration with his two sons while continuing his family research, writing a collection of stories for a full-length puppetry and performance piece titled Finding My Place.
