A Puppet Slam is an evening of short puppet acts that can range from outrageous to quietly touching. A little vaudeville, a bit of burlesque, part festival “potpourri,” and a dash or two of performance art – welcome to the world of Puppet Slams. Over the past decade, Puppet Slams have popped up everywhere. And I’ve performed in a whole lot of them!
I’m drawn to short form puppetry with a connection to music. I usually base a piece on a song and in addition to singing live, I am telling the story visually through whatever medium of puppetry does that best. I have pieces of table top, marionette, toy theater, miniature object puppetry, and shadow puppetry. It’s an opportunity to develop a new act and share the wide range of this art form with new audiences.
Most, if not all, the puppet slams I’ve had the pleasure of performing in were made possible in part by a grant from the Puppet Slam Network. By providing an outlet for short form puppetry, slams support puppetry overall and its continued evolution in this country.
