Performing Crisis: Puppetry and Activist Theater

John Bell

Lecture | Performing Crisis: Puppetry and Activist Theater

Friday, April 29th, 4pm, Elvehjem L140

A consistent element of community expression in public space, from medieval processional theater to the recent Black Lives Matter and "Je Suis Charlie" demonstrations, is the use of puppets, masks, and performing objects, either in an improvised or well-preconceived manner.  This presentation will consider the nature of objects in public demonstrations as the material performance of political ideas.  What are the dynamics of material, design, movement, chorus, and scale in the context of community expression in the massive spaces of streets, parks, and public squares?

Workshop | Toy Theater

Saturday, April 30th, 9am - 3pm

Apply here

John Bell will lead workshop participants in the creation of their own toy theater project based on current events and stories they want to tell through the simple but powerful medium of the miniature.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, April 30th, in the Humanities building, room 6111, from 9am to 3pm with an hour break for lunch. No previous experience in art or puppetry is needed. Preference will be given to those who see a use for this in their activism, education or art practice and are committed to fully participating in the workshop. Groups who want to develop a piece together are encouraged and should indicate that.

John Bell is a puppeteer, scholar, and director of the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry. He was a member of the renowned Bread and Puppet Theater for more than a dozen years. He is recognized as one of the preeminent scholars on puppets and performing objects and has written and edited several books on the subject. He has taught at New York University, Rhode Island School of Design, Emerson College, MIT and other institutions. Drawing on folk, avant-garde, and popular theater traditions to address contemporary issues, his Brooklyn-based theater collective, Great Small Works, performs in theaters, schools, galleries, and the streets. Their original toy theater production, entitled “Terror as Usual,” was developed as a portable way to engage the public in the deconstruction of the daily culture of fear promoted by the news after 9/11.

For more information on John Bell's visit, please see the CVC website