The next Festival is coming right up: January 19-29, 2023
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Over 100 performances at dozens of venues across Chicago
A guided experience of the Festival programming
In-person workshops at the Festival's new studio space
Civic partnerships make the Festival possible
Festival artists and scholars in conversation
Family-friendly shows around the city
Don't miss The Plastic Bag Store, an immersive experience
View show-specific program PDFs
Semi-annual benefit event series offering intimate performances, dinner, and conversation in private homes
Monthly series which offers direct access to local artists through performances and hands-on demonstrations
Providing puppeteers structured support and community context for the development of their work
Providing high-quality puppetry design, fabrication and innovation for the local and national theater community
A series of videos sharing insights from local, national, and international puppeteers and puppet builders
Navy Pier & Chicago Puppet Fest present:
The Festival Neighborhood Tour fosters an appreciation for puppetry throughout the city by bringing free, family-friendly performances to locations outside of Chicago’s theaters, but areas in the city where people may not have the chance to see puppetry very often. The tour offers a range of high-quality puppetry styles in order to create moments of community enjoyment while expanding the base of puppet enthusiasts. This year, three nationally acclaimed puppet artists – Ty Defoe, Jerrell L. Henderson, and Joshua Holden – will tour to five locations around the city to present short works.
The Free Neighborhood Tour is supported by The Marshall Frankel Foundation.
Ty Defoe (Wisconsin)
Grammy Award winner Ty Defoe is a writer, actor and interdisciplinary artist of the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations of Wisconsin. Defoe co-created with IBEX Puppetry the unforgettable 2019 Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival opening production, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, an eco-focused, First Nation origin story and spectacle that featured giant animal puppets and performers of the Ojibwe, Lakota, and Cherokee Nations. tydefoe.com
I Am the Bear by Jerrell L. Henderson (Chicago)
A wintery morning. A walk to work. A curious encounter. A terrifying exchange. An allegory of what it means to be Black in America. Chicago’s Jerrell L. Henderson performs I Am the Bear, based on his experience being racially profiled by police on Chicago’s North Shore. Henderson is a director, puppeteer, and an assistant professor of performance studies. Directing credits include Mlima’s Tale with Griffin Theatre (Jeff Award Nominations, Direction and Best Play, Thurgood with Walnut Street Theatre and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show at Chicago Children’s Theatre. jerrell-henderson.com
The Joshua Show by Joshua Holden (New York)
With live music by Jeb Cowell
Joshua Holden debuted The Joshua Show at Nasty Brutish and Short in Chicago in 2012. He then took it to the Puppeteers of America’s National Festival, where it was awarded “Best Performance” and “Fan Favorite.” He has been touring the show internationally ever since. “An unabashed ambassador of joy” (New York Times), Holden also performed in the national tour of Avenue Q, was lead puppeteer in Peter Pan 360, and worked with Banksy on Sirens of the Lambs. He currently lives in Brooklyn and works for The Jim Henson Company as a puppet wrangler on Sesame Street. joshuashow.com
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Fine Arts Building
410 S Michigan Ave
Studio 310
Chicago, IL 60605
Administrative Office:
312 753 3234
info@chicagopuppetfest.org