[Caption: Heather Henson, Brenna Ross, and Anatar Marmol-Gagné will discuss Puppet Slams: Short-Form Puppetry for the 21st Century in a UConn Puppet Forum Wednesday, September 18 at 7 p.m. at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry.]

As part of its 2024 Fall Puppet Forum Series and in conjunction with the 2024 UConn Fall Puppet Slam on Sept. 20, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry is pleased to host Puppet Slams: Short-Form Puppetry for the 21st Century, a discussion with Puppet Slam Network (PSN) founder Heather Henson; Brenna Ross, the Producer & General Manager for Green Feather Foundation, which oversees the PSN; and Anatar Marmol-Gagné, director of the Pinned and Sewtered Puppet Slam in New Haven, Connecticut; on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 at 7 p.m. at the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. This forum, moderated by Ballard Institute director (and puppet slam performer) John Bell, will also be broadcast via Ballard Institute Facebook Live (facebook.com/BallardInstitute).

This forum will explore puppet slams, which are live performances of curated, short-form puppetry acts for adult audiences that emerged from avant-garde puppet performance practices in the 1980s, with older roots in vaudeville and other popular practices. The Puppet Slam Network, founded by Heather Henson and IBEX Puppetry in 2005, encourages the growth and diversity of the puppet slam scene, and currently supports over 50 slams in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Heather Henson is a producer, puppet artist, and founder of the Green Feather Foundation (formerly IBEX Puppetry), an organization that promotes healing for the planet through immersive experiences. In 2005 Henson began the Puppet Slam Network to support the burgeoning underground community of adult short-form puppetry presenters, and through the Network has continued to fund and support Puppet Slams across North America. Henson also produces her own theatrical works, including Ajijaak on Turtle Island and Panther and Crane, and supports the work of other independent artists through the Handmade Puppet Dreams film series.

Brooklyn-based Brenna Ross is the Producer and General Manager of Green Feather Foundation and has overseen the Puppet Slam Network since 2017. She recently represented PSN in the Czech Republic as part of the International Puppet Slam partnership; produced the online National Puppetry Slamdemic in 2020; and is producing the upcoming International Puppet Slam in NYC in October 2023. A Midwestern ex-pat, Brenna holds degrees in physics and theater from Grinnell College and a certificate in Arts & Culture Strategy from University of Pennsylvania.

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Anatar Marmol-Gagné earned an MFA degree from the University of Connecticut’s renowned Puppet Arts Program, and a BA in English/Creative Writing from Hunter College. Anatar trained at the National Puppetry Conference at the O’Neill Theater Center, has taught children’s puppet workshops and performed in puppet slams and festivals at venues such as Dixon Place in NYC; and founded and curates the Pinned & Sewtured Puppet Slam in New Haven.

Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. For more information or if you require accommodation to attend a forum, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860.486.8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.

The Ballard Institute and the UConn Puppet Arts Program will present the 2024 UConn Fall Puppet Slam on Friday, September 20, 2024 at 8 p.m. in UConn’s Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, on the lower level of the Jorgensen Performing Arts Center at 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs, Conn. 06269. The UConn Fall Puppet Slam will feature new and experimental short works by professional puppeteers and performers from around the Northeast, including UConn Puppet Arts alumnus Esme Roszel and Boston-area puppeteer Harry LaCoste, as well as new works by UConn Puppet Arts students. Mansfield’s Waldron’s Studios 88 will return once more as the Puppet Slam house band.

Harry LaCoste will perform slam pieces: Bean Brain, about a boy acting out his mental health struggles; and Cheers!, a found-object show about the uncle that Harry never got to meet. UConn Puppet Arts alumni Esme Roszel and Ray Dondero will perform their new production Bingo Street. The UConn Fall Puppet Slam also features new works by graduate and undergraduate students from the UConn Puppet Arts Program. Funding for the 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 Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, located at 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs, Conn. 06269, on the lower level. (use rear entrance). For directions to the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, visit crt.uconn.edu. For more information about these performances or if you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.