The UConn Puppet Arts Program and Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry present B*tch Eat Dog, a puppet-y sketch show exploring girl bosses, tradwives, and the existential abyss, by UConn Puppet Arts MFA candidate Mel Carter on April 3, 4, 10, and 11 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

Through grotesque fantasy, irreverent satire, and adaptations of classical texts, B*tch Eat Dog offers a frenetic and pungent interrogation of the gendered ethics of pursuit. B*tch Eat Dog is a puppet-filled sketch show that marries classical texts, feminist theory, and singing dicks. Punch and Judy puppets perform a gender-swapped adaptation of Moby Dick that explores the fallacies of girlboss feminism. A tradwife named Felicity Groundwater hawks her questionable raw milk wares and ultimately breastfeeds a member of the audience with one of her nine pendulous burlap boobs. A new kind of IUD insertion escalates until rats are being shoved down a woman’s cervix.  The evening is hosted by a hapless, well-intentioned white man who flails wildly as his misguided attempts at allyship lead to a painful realization. The show runs for 90 minutes, with a question-and-answer session to follow. Content warning: violence, sexual content, sexual assault, puppet nudity. Recommended for ages 17+.

Tickets are free but seating is limited, so reservations are required: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/bimp-0/b-tch-eat-dog. Visitors can park in the Downtown Storrs Garage located at 33 Royce Circle. 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.

About Mel Carter

Mel Carter began her professional career in Washington, D.C., where she was a resident artist with the 4615 Theatre Company. While there, she performed with Imagination Stage, Spooky Action Theatre, and Pointless Theatre Co, among others. while simultaneously creating visual art. Her work has been featured in multiple publications, including the Washington Post. Mel has been awarded an Arts and Humanities Fellowship and a Color the Curb grant by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Since discovering puppetry, she has built and/or performed puppets with Pilobolus Dance Theater, Bread and Puppet Theater, Mosaic Theatre, Paloma Puppet Theatre, and the OddFellows Playhouse, among others. Mel is currently a graduate student at the University of Connecticut where she is on track to receive her MFA in Puppet Arts.