Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival 2017
The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival will take place January 19-29, 2017.
Join us for Links Hall’s contributions to the second edition of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival! Founded to establish Chicago as a center for the advancement of the art of puppetry, the 10 day city-wide festival is a mission driven program of Chicago-based theater company Blair Thomas & Co. Founded in 2002, Blair Thomas & Co. is recognized as an international contributor to contemporary puppetry and a creator of uniquely expressive spectacle theater.
In addition to public performances, visiting artists from around the globe will lead free, hands on workshops, panel discussions, family drop in events, late night Puppet Slams and special presentations on the history and craft of puppetry. The festival also will host a concurrent scholarly conference for international artists and scholars devoted to advancing scholarship and research in the field of puppetry. New this year will be the “Catapult Fellowship Program,” a special initiative catering to visiting artists and presenters who will come to Chicago and enjoy a curated, four day experience including performances, workshops, meals and special events.
Click here for more information about the festival.
Click here for information about other Nasty, Brutish & Short events.
Co-Produced by Rough House Theater, Anna Trier and Brett Swinney

Rough House & Links Hall’s Nasty, Brutish & Short: a Puppet CabaretFriday-Saturday January 20-28, 2017 @ 11:00 pmTickets: $15, $12 students/seniorsHit Links Hallfor late night cabarets featuring short works by international festival artists, regional puppeteers, and local talent. End your evening with a tasty selection of the raucous, raunchy, dark, sassy, sad, and hilarious! The program provides a late-night hang out spot for the whole Festival, an opportunity for out of town talent to bring shorter works, and a space for local artists. Each show features at least two mainstage Festival artists bringing secondary short works, and at least two Nasty, Brutish, and Short contributors.
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Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet CabaretFriday-Saturday, January 20-21 & January 27-28 2017 @ 7pm
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7ways
Saturday – Sunday, January 21-22, 2017 @ 7:30pm
Price: $15; $12 students/seniors
Where lies the boundary between the body and the machine? In an empty space, illuminated by cold light,Geumhyng Jeongcombines dance, puppetry, and a mastery of visual theatrica to explore the potential of the human: the sensuality, power, and mutability of the body. In seven peculiar “duets” with mundane objects ranging from household appliances to mannequins, Jeong bestows a bizarre and disconcerting life to the inanimate through an intense and risky interaction with her own body.
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Immaculate, Poignant, & Medium Length In this sister show toNasty, Brutish, and Short, four respected local innovators present medium-length puppet productions including:
Vanessa Valliere performing The Life and Times of Terry The Life and Times of Terry
is a whimsical multi-media journey of romance, parenthood, and success. A woman’s search for love has hilarious consequences told through clowning, puppetry, audience participation, drawings, photos and projections.
Myra Su’s An Inter-Dimensional Love Story An Inter-Dimensional Love Story tells of an unrequited love between a 2D square, a2, and a 4D tesseract, Caroline. Each dimension is interpreted through a different style of puppetry: 1D and 2D by shadow puppetry; 3D by tabletop puppetry; 4D by digitally animated projections. Protagonist a2 travels between the second and third dimensions with pop-up book techniques.
Christopher Knowlton’s Hay in Hard Times Hay in Hard Times stars a charming and somewhat bumbling character created by Knowlton’s butt disguised with a fake nose, glasses and other costuming. Using comedy, self-referential performance, puppetry, props, movement, imagery puns and abbreviated monologues, the work touches on identity, isolation, humor and self-criticism.
Liz Schachterle performing Music Box Music Box is a poetic piece about love and loneliness within a mechanical imaginative world. A Little Girl cranks a music box. Within the box, a shadow puppet show plays out where the little girl finds a playmate, a magical birdman. Their story is told through music and shadows.
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