The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the UConn Puppet Arts Program will present the 2018 UConn Fall Puppet Slam on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 at 8 p.m. in UConn’s von der Mehden Recital Hall located at 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, Conn. 06269. The UConn Fall Puppet Slam will feature short works by professional puppeteers and performers from around New England, including Hilary Chaplain, Kali Therrien, Mindy Escobar-Leanse, and Anatar Marmol-Gagné, as well as new works by Puppet Arts students and puppet animation films by students from UConn’s School of Fine Arts.
The 2018 UConn Fall Puppet Slam will showcase the work of women puppeteers from New York City and Connecticut. Multi-talented performer Hilary Chaplain, together with Ariel Lauryn and Mindy Escobar-Leanse, performing The Last Rat of Theresienstadt, the story of a rat, a cook, and survival in a Czech concentration camp; Mindy Escobar-Leanse will perform A Genteel Jaunte, a tale of two drunken knights based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night; Kali Therrien will present The Sock Project, about what happens when everyday objects take on a life of their own; and Anatar Marmol-Gagné will present Degas Nightmare, a story that demonstrates things aren’t always what they seem, especially when no one is looking. The UConn Fall Puppet Slam will also feature new works by UConn graduate and undergraduate students studying puppetry, and stop-motion filmmaking. Funding for the UConn Fall Puppet Slam is made possible in part by the Puppet Slam Network.
The UConn Fall Puppet Slam is free and open to the public; donations are greatly appreciated. Seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. The event will take place in UConn’s von der Mehden Recital Hall located at 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, Conn. For directions to the von der Mehden Recital Hall, visit vdm.uconn.edu. These performances are recommended for mature audiences. For more information about these performances or if you require an accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.