About This Show
The popular Dixon Place annual program, Puppet BloK, presents groundbreaking new and developing works of puppet theater and features artists working in myriad forms including Shadow Puppetry, Object Theater, Bunraku, Hand and Rod, Toy Theater, Kurama Ningyo, Marionettes, Stop Motion Animation, finger to full-size puppets, and more!
The evening includes an enlightening (brief!) post-show artist talkback. And conversation continues after in DP’s cocktail lounge!
Fin-Tastic Encounters by Eva Lansberry
Fin-Tastic Encounters: Seeking a catch? “Fin-tastic Encounters” lures you into the deep, where romance has a decidedly… carnivorous twist. Witness dates that redefine “appetite,” where charm and seduction meet a crunch you won’t forget. Is it love, or something far hungrier? Prepare for a plunge into the unknown. This deep-sea dating scene is guaranteed to leave you hooked.
EVA M. LANSBERRY Brooklyn-based, juggles design, clowning, and puppet theater. Her solo acts pop up in NYC and Baltimore’s variety scenes. Puppeteering credits include Inkfish Arts, Jane Catherin Shaw, and Theodora Skipitaris. Clown training spans Spy Monkey’s Aitor Basauri, Hilary Chaplain, and Red Bastard. O’Neill National Conference alum ’22 & ’23.
Credits: Photo Credit to Richard Terrmine; KEVIN P. HALE – Actor, assisted writing and direction JENNIFER LINN WILCOX – Puppeteer and lighting design Jim Freeman – Technical Advisor and wizardry.
Untitled [“i don’t have the right words for it yet”] by Madeline Shuron
An investigation into artistic hustle/gig culture, self worth, and the potentiality of lifecycles, i don’t have the right words for it yet examines the nature of performance through the world’s greatest shapeshifter: the frog. Using puppetry, text, movement, and song, this thesis statement is a window into a longer exploration premiering in Philadelphia this fall.
Madeline Shuron (they/she) works at the intersection of scholarship and performance, attempting to break down the audience-performer relationship through movement, text, puppetry, clowning, and film.
Credits: Created & performed by Madeline Shuron.
The Big Shadow, and How I Met You There by Bonnie Duncan & Meg Rotzel
This is a collaboration between Bonnie Duncan of the Gottabees and Meg Rotzel, a visual artist & curator. The materials of the set are re-assembled sculptures by Meg that are animated in shadow by Bonnie. The piece explores the physical and emotional struggles that came from separate but profound illnesses related to vision, the brain and cognition.
Bonnie Duncan is a theater maker who creates work grounded in joy, truth, and magic. Her puppetry & physical theater work with The Gottabees has toured internationally and been awarded an UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence. Meg Rotzel is an artist & curator who creates drawings and assembles artworks that explore seeing, sensing & making sense. She is curator of exhibitions at Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
Credits: Performed by Bonnie Duncan & Meg Rotzel; Shadow puppetry by Bonnie Duncan; Sculptures by Meg Rotzel; Music by Brendan Burns & Tony Leva; with feedback & guidance from Dan Milstein; photo credit courtesy of the artist.
Garbanzo The Gentle Caveman by Yanniv Frank
Through glove puppetry and song, we tell the story of Garbanzo, a gentle caveman who’d rather forage for berries than hunt animals. When his brothers reject him, Garbanzo discovers his creativity through cave painting, shadow shows, & music. Ultimately, Garbanzo’s brothers come to appreciate his unique contribution to their pack. No matter how tough you are, we all need gentleness sometimes.
Yanniv Frank is an artistic creative focused on inspiring young minds through puppetry. Yanniv holds an MFA in Puppet Arts and a BA in Performing & Visual Arts. He has performed as a puppeteer Off-Broadway and in cities across the country; and has written for puppetry on stage & screen, including Feel Your Best Self and Boyish Charms. Yanniv has released two solo albums & composed for various puppet projects.
Credits: Music Production by Edmund Song & Yanniv Frank; Photo Credit to Richard Termine; Puppets, Music and Lyrics by Yanniv Frank; Performed by Yanniv Frank, Julia Feinberg, Connor Marsh, and Emaley Rose.
Stone Baby by Justin Perkins
The Stone Baby is a solo puppet- a big head on legs- an ancient creature with the innocence and wisdom of the newly born, its whole being dedicated to exploration and discovery. In this piece, the Stone Baby finds itself in a mysterious location and dances a duet with a housefly.
Justin Otaki Perkins is a puppeteer and designer. Theater puppetry: Becoming Eve (O-B puppeteer), See What I Wanna See (O-B puppetry director/puppeteer), Madama Butterfly (Met Opera cover), Florencia en el Amazonas (Met Opera cover), Alaxsxa|Alaska (Ping Chong + Co, LaMama, tour), Shank’s Mare (Lee & Nishikawa, LaMama, tour), Hansel and Gretel (Michigan Opera).
Credits: Photo Credit to Holly Richmond; Projection Design by Gabriel Aronson
Check out the other three nights:
DP’s puppetry programs are supported, in part, by the Jim Henson Foundation
