SPECIAL EVENTS

In Bobbindoctrin’s Sixth Annual Puppet Festival, local and national artists convene to show their latest short works or for the puppet stage and screen! Thursday through Saturday January 7-9 at 8PM and the FESTIVAL FAMBLY DAY Sunday January 10 at 4PM. At Midtown Arts Center, 3414 La Branch Street, Houston TX.

In our ongoing effort to introduce artists and audiences alike to the most daring contemporary puppetry for adults, Bobbindoctrin is proud to present its Sixth Annual Puppet Festival! This year, Bobbindoctrin company members and local artists will present new live works of puppetry, along with short films from national and international puppetry artists, distributed by Heather Henson’s Handmade Puppet Dreams. Artists will use a variety of puppetry traditions, including rod, hand and shadow puppets, while exploring a wide range of emotions, including fear, alienation, and remorse!

Also, for the first time ever, Bobbindoctrin will host a Sunday matinee FESTIVAL FAMBLY DAY, for audiences of all ages. At FESTIVAL FAMBLY DAY, appropriate shows from the festival will be selected and presented with younger audiences in mind. After the presentation, festival artists will host a puppet building and manipulation workshop for all to enjoy. 

LIVE WORKS:

Accomplished teen puppeteers Ciaran Chelloveck and Rachel George present LA NINA QUE FUE GOLPEADA POR UN RAYO: A DAY OF THE DEAD PUPPET SHOW, in which a young girl’s first move towards independence is met with tragic results.

Bobbindoctrin veteran Katie Jackson puts a contemporary satirical spin on Indonesian wayang kulit (traditional shadow puppetry) in THE DALANG MOCKERY, with music by Space City Gamelan.

Master puppeteer Kevin Taylor continues the exploits of the intrepid mentalist Mesmo with THE MAN WHO KNOWS PRESENTS: THE BEASTS OF INDIA, where the dangers are no illusions!

In Joel Orr’s THE SUPPLICANT, a menacing robot lifts specimens from a wounded soldier, offering platitudes and comfort along the way.

Plus, a new shadow puppet work by Bits n’ Pieces!

FILMED WORKS from HANDMADE PUPPET DREAMS:

In Genevieve Anderson’s film OLA’S BOX OF CLOVERS follows a young woman’s journey to understand her grandmother’s unfulfilled dreams.

Mike Mitchell’s HERD is the story of a lowly fry cook who becomes the unwitting accomplice to an alien who instructs him to build a nefarious mysterious black box.

Shot entirely underwater, Steve Johnson’s EVERLOVING takes viewers on a meditative journey in landscapes inspired by Beksinki paintings.

In Laura Heit’s MARY ANNING AND HER MONSTERS, young Mary has an eye for the unexplainable, and her monstrous discoveries prove more than she bargained for.

Bobbindoctrin's 6th Annual Puppet Festival is funded in part by a grant from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Support also in part by The Rockefeller Foundation, through a trust managed by Heather Henson.