The Left Hand of Darkness
Bios:
Daphne Agosin (she/her) is a theater lighting designer. Some of her works include Circus Quixote (Lookinglass, ’25), Dead as a Dodo (Baruch NYC ‘25), Albert Herring (Athenaeum ‘23), and Tebas Land (Chicago Dramatists ‘22). She holds a Stage Design MFA from Northwestern University and is the recipient of a Non-Equity JEFF Award.
Chris Carcione is a multidisciplinary theater artist and educator. As a Projection Designer, he has worked with such puppet artists as Tom Lee, Dan Hurlin, Josh Rice, and Koryū Nishikawa V on national and international productions at LaMama ETC, Chicago International Puppet Festival, The NYS Puppet Festival, Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo, and Bard Summerscape, among others. Chris is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Towson University. www.christopherjcarcione.com
Chih-Jou Cheng (程之柔) is a Taiwanese movement artist and puppeteer. Chicago credits include Rhynoceron (by KT Shivak), The King and I (Drury Lane), and A Chorus Line as Connie (Metropolis), also worked with Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Teatro Vista. Her work has been supported by the Ragdale Foundation, DCASE, YNPN and Chicago Cultural Center Dance Residency. AWARDS: Princess Grace and 3 Arts Award. www.chihjou-cheng.com
Edward Einhorn is the Artistic Director of Untitled Theater Company No. 61. Previous puppet theater work includes The God Projekt (La MaMa), Fairy Tales of the Absurd (Theater 80/Off-Broadway), Unauthorized Magic (St. Ann’s Warehouse/Toy theater festival). He also has adapted Do Androids Dream of Electrice Sheep (3LD), The Lathe of Heaven (3LD), and Cat’s Cradle (Walkerspace). His work received positive reviews and Critic’s Picks from The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, The Atlantic, Asimov’s, and elsewhere. (edwardeinhorn.com)
Berit Johnson has been working in Indie Theater in NYC since 1996 as a stage manager and prop designer. They are a member of Untitled Theater Company No. 61, and co-director of Gemini CollisionWorks with their partner, Ian W. Hill. They are also the showrunner and head writer for GCW’s sci-fi audio sitcom, Life with Althaar, which is available wherever podcasts are streamed.
Winter Jones has starred in film and television alongside Hugh Grant (American Dreamz), Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback) and Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends). His former band, The Hollabacks, won a national competition, became the face of Slurpee for a campaign and opened for N*E*R*D. Musically he is mentored/produced by Michael Bland (drummer for Prince) and John Fields (producer for Jonas Bros/Demi Lovato). Winter is currently recording a solo album as well as writing for and fronting Bland’s current project, Quiet Rebellion.
Jacky Kelsey is a nonbinary soft sculptor, costume designer, and puppeteer based in Chicago. They are active in the local physical theater and puppetry scene, working with theaters such as Roughhouse, Hedwig Dances, and the Chicago International Puppet Studio. Their work deals with themes of identity as layers of costume: playful, protective, and transformative.
Tom Lee is a puppet artist, designer and director. He began his career at La MaMa Experimental Theater and is a student of Koryū Nishikawa V. In February, Tom will premiere Mirrored Pool with Lisa Kaplan and Matthew Duvall at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts, in conjunction with Child of Wood, an exhibit of 20 years of his puppetry work. He is co-director of the Chicago Puppet Studio and Chicago Puppet Lab and is a recipient of a 2025 3Arts Teaching Award. www.tomleeprojects.com
Miguel Long (he/him) is a Chicago native theater artist. He was last seen as Belize in Angels in America (Invictus theater) Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as the best show of 2025. You can currently hear him as Pan, Ganymede, & Orpheus, in the radio play Psychopompos, streaming on all podcast platforms. He is an ensemble member and resident choreographer at Trap Door Theatre. Recent acting credits include Guys and Dolls (Music Theater Works), Monsieur d’Eon is a Woman, Medea Material, and Bowie in Warsaw (Trap Door Theatre). As a director, his credits include The Mannequins’ Ball, Nana, and The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey (Trap Door Theatre), as well as The Buttcracker: A Nutcracker Burlesque and Sex and the Windy City: A Parody Musical. Miguel is passionate about creating innovative, boundary-pushing performances that blend theater, dance, and visual storytelling.
Grace Needlman (they/them) is a Chicago-based theater artist and facilitator. They create visuals and performing objects that inspire collective imagination and bring stories to life. Grace is co-director of the Chicago Puppet Lab, and co-creator of the Puppet Wonder Wagon and The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party. Grace is pursuing an MFA in Stage Design at Northwestern University.
Justin Otaki Perkins is a puppeteer, director, and designer. Theater puppetry: Becoming Eve (NYTW), Madama Butterfly (Met Opera cover), Florencia en el Amazonas (Met Opera cover), See What I Wanna See (O-B puppetry director/puppeteer), Alaxsxa|Alaska (Ping Chong + Co, LaMama, tour), Shank’s Mare (Lee & Nishikawa, LaMama, tour), Hansel and Gretel (Michigan Opera).
Averly Sheltraw is an artist and fabricator for the Chicago Puppet Studio. Recently she made her favorite type of puppets (bugs!) for Terraria, co-created with Tom Lee for La Mama’s Creatures. Other past projects include Mirrored Pool (The Athenaeum Center), The Little Mermaid (Drury Lane), The Matchbox Magic Flute (Goodman Theater), and Florencia en el Amazonas (The Metropolitan Opera).
Linda Wingerter is a third generation puppetry artist performing and building puppets and kinetic art as The Stringpullers Puppet Co. in Ithaca, NY. Her short film Misophonia is part of the Handmade Puppet Dreams film series. She teaches shadow puppet mechanics for the Chicago Puppet Fest workshops.
Emma Wiseman specializes in puppetry and object theater. As a performer, puppet designer, and/or puppetry director, she has collaborated with artists and organizations in NYC and nationally and toured around the world. Emma’s original work highlights human relationships with the spaces and objects we traditionally overlook. emmawiseman.me.
Michael Zerang was born in Chicago and is a first-generation American of Assyrian decent. He has been a professional musician, composer and producer since 1976, focusing extensively on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms. Michael has received three Joseph Jefferson Awards for Original Music Composition for Theater in 1996, 1998 and 2000.