On July 29th, 2011 I performed Web of Mystery at the Warehouse (a secret location) in San Diego where Animal Cracker Conspiracy held it’s Adult Puppet Cabaret. In Web of Mystery, a spider dances with it’s puppeteers before overtaking one of them. Melissa Dunphy composed original music.
Web of Mystery was developed at Rachel Rosenthal Company in Culver City, Los Angeles and at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center as part of the National Puppetry Conference. Assisting with the puppeteering during the San Diego performance were Iain Gunn and Bridget Rountree.
The Adult Puppet Cabaret is an all-encompassing night of creativity, camraderie, and fun, focussing on short form puppetry. Not for the faint of heart, Adult Puppet Cabaret addresses religion, death, gender, and silliness. We actively foster artistic development in the creation of adult puppetry with a view to avant garde and american puppet traditions.
The July 29th, 2011, Adult Puppet Cabaret included puppet making, and “Puppet-E-Oke” (similar to kareoke only with puppets). Local San Diego performers included Animal Cracker Conspiracy with “Journey into the Unknown”, Mister Moustache and his Punch and Judy Show, The Night Rocker, Klaus, Rococo, Gaston Morineau, JJJ, Paris, Babyteeth. Also from Los Angeles was Strings and Things Puppet Theatre. The evening was curated by Iain Gunn and Bridgette Roudtree, the masterminds behind, Animal Cracker Conspiracy.
Bridget Rountree is a native of San Diego, California and Iain Gunn is from Vancouver, British Columbia. They have been collaborating under the name Animal Cracker Conspiracy since 2006. Their shared interest and investigation of where fine art, puppetry, performance art, physical theater, and mixed media intersect is a continued source of inspiration for their work.
They have performed and exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego, and Art Power at UCSD. Animal Cracker Conspiracy has participated in both national and international artist residencies and workshops with Bread and Puppet, North American Creative Laboratories, La Pocha Nostra, RosenClaire, and the Old Trouts Puppet Workshop. They have received support from the Jim Henson Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Sator Arts Foundation, Synergy Arts Foundation, and The Puppet Slam Network.