Chicago Puppet Fest presents:
With live music by Jeb Cowell
Spend some time with The Ambassador of Joy and award-winning puppeteer, Joshua Holden. The Joshua Show, could cheer up even the grumpiest grump, like Joshua’s right-hand man, Mr. Nicholas, who is planning an escape to outer space. With singing, tap dancing, and a cast of zany puppets, Joshua sets out to convince Mr. Nicholas to stay, and in doing so, he brings glee to the masses. Relax your smile muscles now because The Joshua Show will have you smiling from ear to ear with contagious joy. 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.
Joshua Holden (Creator & host) an award-winning international puppeteer, actor, and joymaker based in Brooklyn and was named one of “20 Theatre Workers You should Know” by American Theatre Magazine. Joshua performed on the Broadway national tour of Avenue Q, was the Lead Puppeteer in Peter Pan 360 (ThreeSixty Entertainment), and garnered an Arts Impulse award as well as an IRNE nomination for “Best Actor In a Musical” as Bill Snibson in Me & My Girl (Reagle Music Theatre). Joshua once worked with international street artist Banksy on his controversial piece Sirens of the Lambs, was the puppet wrangler for the offbroadway company of Avenue Q and currently works for The Jim Henson Company as one of the puppet wranglers on Sesame Street! A proud Massachusetts native and an alumnus of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, he earned a B.F.A. in Acting from The Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University.
Jeb Colwell (Musician) is a New York City based singer-songwriter. He was the frontman for Hector On Stilts, a pop-rock band whose music was featured on on ABC’s Brothers And Sisters. Jeb writes, records and performs with his band Colwell. While performing as the house band and co-writing for a People’s Improv Theatre sketch comedy team, Jeb directed the troupe in a video spoof of the Wham! classic “Last Christmas” (“four-and-a-half minutes of toe-curling hilarity” – Huffington Post). Along with Grammy Award winner Andres Levin, Jeb cowrote, and performed the lead vocal, on Cuba En Mi Corazon, a recording produced for Up With People. Fun fact: Jeb’s grandfather was Academy Award winning actor, Anthony Quinn (from whom he derives the uncanny resemblance!). jebcolwell.com
Chopin Theatre Productions is a 501(c)3 art presenter and producer at the historic Chopin Theatre building, 1543 W. Division St. in Chicago. Its 500+annual theater, literary, music, film and social events are often avante garde or international. Its mission is to promote enlightened civic discourse through a diverse range of artistic offerings. Chopin has presented over 120 of its own productions, mostly Eastern and Central European. It has hosted performers from each American state and from over 40 countries. It produced I-Fest, an international festival of solo performances bringing 17 international artists from Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine to Chicago. chopintheatre.com
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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.
Fine Arts Building
410 S Michigan Ave, Studio 310
Chicago, IL 60605
Administrative Office:
312 753 3234
info@chicagopuppetfest.org
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