The Ballard Institute And Museum Of Puppetry Presents Its 2019 Spring Puppet Forum Series

For its 2019 Spring Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host four free, captivating discussions with puppeteers, scholars, and artists on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. in Feb. through May in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. These forums will provide new perspectives on the creation, history, aesthetics, and performance of puppetry today. The Spring Puppet Forum schedule will include the following talks:

Feb. 20: "Art and Life of the Independent Theater Maker," with Yael Rasooly
Drawing from her own exceptional career and artistic path, Israeli puppeteer and singer Yael Rasooly will look with a candid eye at the liberation of the imagination, and at the practical and mundane aspects of a challenging and rewarding profession and life style. The focus of the talk will tune into the intricate and rich medium of visual theater and puppetry, as a source of self-expression and inner development of an artist.

March 27: "The Royal de Luxe Giants in Montreal: Poetics and Logistics in the Animation of Urban Space," with Mark Sussman
A presentation by Dr. Mark Sussman of Concordia University in Montreal about a rare 2017 appearance of the world-famous Royal de Luxe company in North America. Based in Nantes, France, Royal de Luxe is comprised of engineers, builders, and engineers who are also storytellers, performers, and community artists. The company tours the globe with giant, marionette-like figures in a series of monumental and architectural interventions in the fabric of daily life.

April 10: "Holy Puppets: Performing Objects in the Middle Ages," with Michelle Oing
>From puppets of Christ to fire-breathing dragons, the medieval world was full of performing objects. In this talk, Yale University art historian Michelle Oing explores the way in which puppets were used in late medieval European culture to understand humanity's place in the cosmos.

May 1: " Wayang Puppet Theatre of Indonesia: Collective Creativity and Individual Agency," with Matthew Cohen
Traditions of puppet theatre in western Indonesia - wayang kulit, wayang golek, and wayang klithik- were once inseparable from communal rites and spirit beliefs and flourished in situations of collective creativity. This talk, illustrated by puppets from the unmatched Dr. Walter Angst and Sir Henry Angest Collection of Indonesian Puppets at Yale University Art Gallery, explores the dynamics of collective and individual agency in wayang during the colonial and postcolonial periods as a reflex of the changing world.

Admission to these events is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. Come early, and experience our puppet exhibitions, as well as the video resources in our library nook. Forums will be broadcast via Facebook Live. For more information or if you require an accommodation to attend a forum, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860.486.8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.

The Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry
1 Royce Circle, Suite 101B
Storrs, CT 06268
860-486-8580
bimp.uconn.edu