From February 10th, 2012 – April 6th, 2013 I published a series of interviews with artists and curators from the Puppet Slam Network.
The Puppet Slam Network ran for a decade from 2005-2016. It’s focus was on cataloguing, connecting, supporting, and generating awareness for evenings of short-form puppetry for adults.
Nick Hubbard
Seattle
Tommy Cannon
Phoenix
Nancy Smith
Phoenix
Res
Toronto
Dylan Shelton
Cincinnati
Christine Papalexis
Los Angeles
Blainor McGough
Portland, Maine
Vanessa Gilbert
Providence
Evan O’Television
Boston
Alexander Winfield
London
Kat Pleviak
Chicago
Jess Simon
Chicago
Deborah Hunt
San Juan
Enda O. Breadon
Honolulu
Lana Schwarcz
Melbourne
Alissa Hunnicutt
Brooklyn
Geppetta
Philadelphia
Carole D’Agostino
New Jersey
Cathy Shaw
NYC
Roxie Myhrum
Brookline
Valeska Populoh
Baltimore
Beau Brown
Atlanta
Valerie Meiss
Asheville
Nick Hubbard
Seattle
April 6, 2013
“slams are shaking up the conventions of puppetry, in particular around who can make work. They are making the form more accessible” (More)
Tommy Cannon
Phoenix
July 4, 2012
Puppet Slams provide a short form of visual theater that is satisfying in a way that no other entertainment is. They fill the gap of giving grown up audiences the same fun visuals you can get with children’s TV or an art museum visit in a live show. (More)
Nancy Smith
Phoenix
June 27, 2012
Turtle Talk is about an angst ridden turtle who talks about sexual identity and loneliness. (More)
Dylan Shelton
Cincinnati
May 30, 2012
“The growing popularity of puppet slams has given puppeteers license to showcase some of the most brilliant and innovative and sometimes absurd and bizarre pieces of theatre you will ever see.” (More)
Christine Papalexis
Los Angeles
May 27, 2012
Christine works in the film industry with special effects and puppetry.(More)
Blainor McGough
Portland, Maine
May 25, 2012
King Friday is living in squalor – the castle is now a dilapidated vaudeville house and occasional flop-house for traveling puppets and exotic dancers. We recreated it in cardboard for the slam. (More)
Vanessa Gilbert
Providence
Blood from a Turnip would be a salon, not a slam. Slam connotes competition and we wanted there to be only winners at the end of the evening (More)
Evan O’Television
Boston
May 8, 2012 -May 10, 2012
As a live performer I had my head in a cardboard “TV-Shaped” box, directly across from the actual TV, and as a live performer claimed to be an animatronic puppet. The piece consisted mainly of the TV and I arguing about when the actual live performer was going to show up. (More)
Alexander Winfield
London
April 24, 2012 – April 25, 2012
At no other slam I’ve attended were the acts interrupted by the actions of waves against the barge. Our sea-legs were sorely tested. (More)
Kat Pleviak
Chicago
April 20, 2012
A note to producers: Your slam performers are your guests and it should be your number one goal to help them succeed and have a great experience. (More)
Deborah Hunt
San Juan
April 18, 2012
slams are “breeding grounds” for further work. They give me a chance to experiment with a new technique, mechanism, or personal challenge. Read More
Enda O. Breadon
Honolulu
April 16, 2012 – April 17, 2012
Enda O. Breadon curates the Kolohe Puppet Slam in Honolulu and has worked as an actor, director, movement coach and playwright across the United States and Europe.
Lana Schwarcz
Melbourne
April 10, 2012
Most of our slams are no tech, and we ask the audience to bring torches to light the artists. It’s slightly shambolic but a really great way to present the night and the audience stays engaged and interactive. (More)
Alissa Hunnicutt
Brooklyn
March 14, 2012
I couldn’t have gotten the pieces ready without using puppet slams as my development sandbox. (More)
Roxie Myhrum
Brookline
March 9, 2012
“slam” is a great word to describe this: a puppet slam is a high-impact event. (More)
Jess Simon
Chicago
February 16, 2012
a great way to introduce audiences to many different styles of puppetry (More)
Valeska Populoh
Baltimore
February 14, 2012
Go watch a lot of performers. See what makes people laugh and respond. See what works and what doesn’t. Don’t be discouraged if your first performances flop or have flaws. Keep performing and making more work and seeing more work and talking to other performers in order to learn and grow! (More)
Beau Brown
Atlanta
February 14, 2012
The structure of the slams gives me the kick in the pants and I need to write something. Since puppetry is the synthesis of all art forms (visual art, voice, and movement), it opens so many doors to so many different kinds of artists. (More)
Valerie Meiss
Asheville
February 13, 2012
beauty, chaos, unfinished stories in my head, songs, friends of mine, relationships, odd facts I recall from history class (More)
Carole D’Agostino
New Jersey
February 11, 2012
there MUST be some attempt on the part of the performers to grow, rehearse, develop, refine. (More)
Cathy Shaw
NYC
February 10, 2012
It’s important to me that artists earn something for their work. (More)
The Puppet Slam Network fostered connections between independently produced puppet cabarets, so that puppet artists knew where they could perform, venues could find puppet artists, and audiences could enjoy an intimate, tactile, and compelling form of entertainment.
Ibex Puppetry (the parent company of the Puppet Slam Network) was dedicated to promoting the fine art of puppetry in all of its mediums. Founded in 2000 and receiving multiple UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionette) awards, Ibex Puppetry supported puppet art in the mediums of film, stage, gallery exhibits, workshops and artist presentations.
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