Puppetry pretty much perfectly combines the art of performance with making. It is theatre and tactile fabrication, two of my greatest loves. As someone who grew up in the theatre, I approach each project as a stage, as is the world, is it not? You might even find me on small stages around Chicago.
Handmade Puppets
Toy theatre is an exceptionally fun form of puppetry. I interpreted composer Susan Labarr’s choral arrangement and crafted a miniature theatrical production called “Will You Sing to Me Still?” This piece was featured in the Great Small Works Toy Theatre Festival in 2023.You can watch the four minute show here.
Ines is a 10 inch tall model who acted as the model for all the miniature clothes made for the ‘Skeleton in the Closet’ costume.
Ines now has a closet of 18 wearable garments and a whole array of flat pieces. The collection of fashion essentials ranges from pajama sets to button downs to a leather jacket.
These painted cardboard heads came to life in Jacquline Wade’s production of “Consuewella: Triptych in MOVE”. The moving puppet performance was produced in June 2023 as part of the Puppet Lab Residency with the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival and presented at Trap Door Theatre Open Door Series.
As part of the Chicago Puppet Studio, I collaborated with an amazing team, led by the brilliant Tom Lee (pictured to the left), to create a series of large puppets for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Florencia. I spent most of my efforts crafting three massive alligators designed to swim across the stage.
When the Chicago Puppet Studio heard that Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a Syrian refugee child, would be walking across America, the studio wanted to not only welcome her to Chicago, but bring its puppet community together to tell her story. I sat down with Blair Thomas, the founder of the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, to illustrate the show we hoped to create in collaboration with Little Amal’s team. The drawings were presented to her team, and the production was approved! It was absolutely magical to see all the hard work of so many individuals come together to captivate the hearts of a huge outdoor audience.
see my blog and social media sites for more on puppets
