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.