The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival announces its Summer 2021 Living Room Tour, Thursday, July 15-Saturday, July 17, 2021.
This summer, the Festival’s annual fundraiser will tour to intimate outdoor spaces at eclectic private residences in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, suburban Glencoe, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where audiences will enjoy unique food and drink alongside diverse new works of contemporary puppetry performed by a trio of nationally acclaimed artists – Chicago's Mark Blashford, New York's Maria Camia (MARACAMA) and Grammy winner Ty Defoe of the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations of Wisconsin.
Join a diverse group of Chicago arts and culture fans for a delicious meal and an intimate evening of cutting-edge contemporary puppetry set against a beautiful, architecturally significant backdrop. Summer 2021 Living Room Tour dates and locations are:
Thursday, July 15, 5:30 p.m.
At an eclectic artisan’s home and garden ideal for intimate outdoor performances in Chicago’s Pilsen community. Hosted by Kim Ohms and Joe Novelli. Co-hosted by Maureen Mizwicki.
Friday, July 16, 5:30 p.m.
In a historic traditional English garden on the grounds of a vintage Tudor on a wooded oasis off of Sheridan Road. Hosted by Nina and Steve Schroeder.
Saturday, July 17, 5:30 p.m.
Nestled in the Southeastern farmlands outside Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, this rustic dairy barn turned puppet studio welcomes all not allergic to goats and chickens. Hosted by Blair Thomas and Sheri Doyel. Co-hosted by Elizabeth Basile, Jackie Zydeck and Ted Phillips.
Tickets to each Tour stop are $150, including unique food and drink and the performance. Benefactor tickets are $250 and come with a special goodie bag upon departure for the additional contribution. Purchase tickets online at chicagopuppetfest.org.
Reserve early as space is limited. Street addresses will be emailed to ticket buyers only and are not shared publicly otherwise. Proceeds benefit The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival and are tax deductible.
Meet the artists pulling strings at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival’s Summer Living Room Tour
Each Living Room Tour stop will showcase three nationally known, professional puppeteers, each performing a unique show representing diverse contemporary puppetry styles:
Mark Blashford
Mark Blashford, a Logan Square-based puppeteer and the Chicago Puppet Festival’s popular Pop-Up Puppet Gram performer, will perform an excerpt from TIMBER!, his new show about a forest, its wild inhabitants, its enemies, and the artist who defends it. Blashford’s production features hand-carved marionettes and original music. For more, visit rootstockpuppet.com.
Maria Camia
Maria Camia (MARICAMA) is a Brooklyn-based visual theater artist and writer who creates spiritual/sci-fi plays, puppets, and performances with the intention to globally inspire play and healing. Camia will perform The Aricama Herstory, which uses theater, comics and spiritual clothing to tell the story of a young girl named Allimah who dreams about the herstory of the Aricama world. Audiences will be introduced to the Potato Gods and the first flower Humanoid, and learn how Aricama became a spiritual theater for the masses. maricama.com
Ty Defoe
Grammy Award winner Ty Defoe is a writer, actor and interdisciplinary artist of the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations of Wisconsin. Defoe co-created with IBEX Puppetry the unforgettable 2019 Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival opening production, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, an eco-focused, First Nation origin story and spectacle that featured giant animal puppets and performers of the Ojibwe, Lakota, and Cherokee Nations. Defoe will perform an excerpt from an exciting new work TBA. tydefoe.com
About the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival
Founded in 2014 by master puppeteer Blair Thomas, the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is a non-profit organization with a mission to establish Chicago as a prominent center for the art of puppetry and advance the form.
To date, the festival has presented three multi-week, citywide festivals in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Chicago’s puppet festival has quickly grown to be the largest of its kind in North America, attracting more than 14,000 audience members biannually to dozens of Chicago venues large and small to enjoy an entertaining and eclectic array of puppet styles from around the world.
In addition to planning the fourth Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival (dates to be announced), Chicago Puppet Fest programs include its new Pop-Up Puppet-Gram delivery service, educational programs for novices to professional puppeteers, an ongoing series of Free Neighborhood Tours, and the Chicago Puppet Studio, the festival’s in-house puppet design and fabrication workshop.
Fittingly, the offices of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival and the Chicago Puppet Studio are located in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, where, many argue was the birthplace of contemporary puppetry more than 100 years ago. The festival is led by founder and Artistic Director Blair Thomas, Managing Director Sandy Gerding, an Advisory Board and a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors.
The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival’s 2021 Summer Living Room Tour Co-Chairs are Maureen Mizwicki*, Kimberly L. Ohms* and Jackie Zydeck*. The Living Room Tour Committee includes Silvia Barrios, Elizabeth Basile, Leah Bohannon, Sarah Donovan and Jordan Shields*, Joanie Friedman, Caitlin McLeod, Maureen Mizwicki*, Klára Moldová, Julie Moller*, Kimberly L. Ohms* and Joe Novelli, Jackie Zydeck and Theodore Phillips, Anna Seifert*, Eva Silverman, Rick Stoneham and Steven Widerman. *Board Member
For the latest updates, visit chicagopuppetfest.org, follow the festival on Facebook at facebook.com/ChicagoInternationalPuppetTheaterFestival, on Instagram at instagram.com/chipuppetfest and on Twitter @ChiPuppetFest.