BILL'S 44TH to Return To Dixon Place This January
The streamers are hung, the punch has been spiked, and the cake is just begging to be eaten! Now all Bill has to do is wait for his guests to arrive.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 15, 2021
Bill's 44th (a 55-minute comedic puppet show for adults) created by Dorothy James and Andy Manjuck, returns for 9 live performances at Dixon Place in New York City, January 11-15, 2022.
The streamers are hung, the punch has been spiked, and the cake is just begging to be eaten! Now all Bill has to do is wait for his guests to arrive. Bill's 44th is an original comedic show created by puppeteers Dorothy James & Andy Manjuck who come together to bring to life one very worried leading man - Bill. Many styles of puppetry, raucous balloons, and a cheeky piece of crudité collide to examine the pitfalls of impatience, the wonder of loneliness, and the universal passage of time.
The show is a New York Times' Critics' pick and will be part of the UTR Professional Symposium at The Public Theater on January 13th.
Performance Details:
Bill's 44th returns for 9 performances January 11th - 15th, 2022:
January 11th - 9pm
January 12th - 1pm & 9pm
January 13th - 4pm & 9pm
January 14th - 2pm & 9pm
January 15th - 11am & 7pm
Created by: Andy Manjuck & Dorothy James
Puppeteers: Andy Manjuck, Dorothy James, and Jon Riddleberger
Puppeteer Swing: Jenny Hann
Original Score: Eamon Fogarty
Creative Collaborator: Jon Riddleberger
Lighting: M. Jordan Wiggins
Production Coordinator: Taryn Uhe
Tech Director: Peter Russo
Dramaturg: Helena Pennington
Consulting Director: Nick O'Leary
Creative Producer: Leigh Walter
Exclusive Representation: Laura Colby, President, Elsie Management
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased online at http://dixonplace.org/performances/bills-44th-2022/
Dixon Place is located at 161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY
Ticket prices are:
General Admission:
$16 Early bird (ends 12/21)
$19 in advance
$24 at the door
Seniors/ Students:
$16 in advance
$20 at the door
Bill's 44th was first conceived as a 5-minute proposal for the 'Puppet Homecoming' festival in 2016. The proposal was accepted, but Dorothy & Andy were ultimately unable to attend. Two years later at Dixon Place's 'Puppet Blok' curated by Rowan Magee, Bill's 44th had its first 10-minute workshop performance. In 2019, Bill came back for a 20-minute work-in-progress showing at Dixon Place. The show was then commissioned by Dixon Place for a full-run in its 2020 season. Bill's 44th received support from The Jim Henson Foundation, and created the show with help from The New York State Puppet Festival, and Puppet Lab at St. Ann's Warehouse.
The 2020 COVID shutdowns put Bill's birthday plans back a bit. The New York State Puppet Festival commissioned a 30-minute 'ZOOM' version of Bill's 44th that was performed live twice for streaming audiences October 2 & 3, 2020.
With the re-opening of NYC theaters with limited seating in 2021, Bill's 44th premiered June 2-5, 2021 with four performances at Dixon Place to (then) capacity masked & vaxed live audiences of 31 in a space that seats 118! We are thrilled that Bill will have this opportunity to be seen by more audiences this coming New Year.
Bill's 44th will have its first tour date as part of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival with 3 performances, Tues - Th, January 25-27, 2022: https://chicagopuppetfest.org/event/andy-manjuck-and-dorothy-james/
Dorothy James and Andy Manjuck have been working in puppetry for the past decade collaborating with many artists including the award-winning Wakka Wakka, Robin Frohardt, and Nick Lehane. Bill's 44th is their first full-length show together.
Dorothy James is a Brooklyn based puppeteer, educator, and maker of tiny things. She has puppeteered for Basil Twist, Wakka Wakka, Nick Lehane, Radio City, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, BBC, Amazon, and Apple TV+. As a creator, Dorothy uses table top, shadow, rod, and paper cut puppetry to create otherworldly narratives that meld the grotesque with a sense of innocence. She recently collaborated with banjoist Hilary Hawke, creating shadow imagery for her new concept album Open the Doors. Her paper cut stop-motion film Lethologica was an official selection of Chicago's Big Teeth Small Shorts Film Festival and the Upstate NY Horror Festival. Dorothy is co-creator/intern of the Late Night Puppet Talk Show With Special Guest on Twitch. For more on Dorothy, visit www.dorothy-james.com and find her on Instagram @instadeej.
Andy Manjuck is a Brooklyn-based puppeteer, director, and voiceover artist. Recent work: Puppetry: Chimpanzee; Fly Away (Nick Lehane); The Plastic Bag Store; The Pigeoning (Robin Frohardt); Made in China; Baby Universe; Saga (Wakka Wakka); UAE 48th National Day (Betty Productions); Petrushka (NY Philharmonic Orchestra, Giants Are Small); Nine Years to Neptune (BYUtv), VO: Adam Ruins Everything (TruTV); Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games); Whispers of a Machine (Clifftop Games); MooseTube (GoNoodle). Most Saturday nights, Andy is an intern on the Late Night Puppet Talk Show with Special Guest, a 100% live, 100% improvised puppet catastrophe on Saturday nights at 10pm on Twitch. For more on Andy, visit www.andymanjuck.com and find him on Instagram @andymanjuck.
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