Performers

Download our Performer Directory
last updated: 8/14/12  
 

Our Performer Directory includes names of slam performers provided by slam curators. This resource is something people have been asking for for a while.  Contact information (emails or websites) have been provided at the discretion of slam curators (only with the consent of performers). This is just an initial draft, we should have more of a complete listing later in the Fall after we receive 2013 Slam Surveys. Please contact the Puppet Slam Network Coordinator if you see any mistakes, or want to add or remove information. Slam Organizers can now search for performers by name, city, state, and slams performed to find performers. We also check out a sprinkling of interviews with featured Slam Artists and Curators below.

Interviews with Slam Performers & Curators

Alexander Winfield #London

Alexander Winfield is a Bermudian-born puppeteer and theatre maker who worked as a freelance puppeteer for six years in Canada. He recently made the move to London to complete an MA at the Central School of Speech and Drama and continues to perform at festivals, theatres, and puppet slams around Europe. With Cryptid Theatre he recently helped host the first Pirate Puppet Cabaret at the Battersea Barge. He has a fondness for dreams, nightmares, the surreal and the stranger corners of human life.

Alissa Hunnicut #Brooklyn

When she's not organizing New Brew, Alissa Hunnicutt performs at puppet slams in the tri-state area. Her original show,  “The Kid Inside”, has been seen at cabaret venues, Dixon Place , and at the Orlando Puppet Festival.  Alissa is the resident puppeteer at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital.  She has been a featured participant at the O’Neill National Puppetry Conference and has performed at Great Small Works’ InternationalToy Theater Festival.  Her short film, “Can’t Buy My Love”, was included in the Puppets on Film Festival at BAM.  Alissa’s puppet theater credits include Die Hard the Puppet Musical, David Michael Friend’s EGO, Cosmic Bicycle Theater’s “Edward Lear’s Absurd-Ditties”, and the UNIMA Award-winning Kevin Augustine’s “BRIDE”.

Andreas "Res" Krebs #Toronto

Andreas Krebs, also known as Res is a political junkie who co-hosts the Toronto Puppet Explosion, one of two puppet slams happening in Toronto. His background includes (as he puts it) "playing with things", crafts, and making voices.  Only recently his passions united in puppetry. He lives in Toronto, Ontario with his partner Suzanne Gallant and their cat, Panou.

Beau Brown #ATL

Beau Brown is the curator of Atlanta’s Puckin’ Fuppet Show, The Puppet Slam at DragonCon, and the 2012 National Puppet Slam.  Beau has been involved in Puppet Slams for the past decade. The Puckin’ Fuppet Show is one of PSN's more prolific slams. Recently, Beau curated the 2012 National Puppet Slam, showcasing some of the best Slam pieces from the PSN, at the  Center for Puppetry Arts.

Blainor McGough #Portland #ME

Blainor McGough is a puppeteer from Portland Maine and curator of King Friday's Dungeon. KFD had its first run in November 2011 with a killer local lineup, and a sold-out audience. Blainor is Director at Mayo Street Arts, an arts venue and community center housed in an old wooden church in Portland.  Portlanders are excited for the show, and to check out other Northeast artists participating in the Northeast circuit in Fall 2012. 
 
Carole D'Agostino  #NYC

CaroleD’Agostino is a seasoned Puppet Slam Artist, who has performed at over 50 puppet slams in 20 venues since 1999 and has worked in various forms of puppetry since 1986. Join PSN as we talk to her about hoarding, puppets and her life on the small stage.  Carole has performed on television in shows like See More's Playhouse and has fabricated puppets and costumes for Broadway shows like Avenue Q and Shrek! The Musical. Recently, Carole was a puppeteer in John Tartaglia's Imagin Ocean Off Broadway. Carole can be seen on the web in The Weekly Daily News, a puppet news parody show, on TheDaily.com. Her work has been seen on Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, PBS, IFC, Noggin and MTV2.  

Cathy Shaw #NYC

Jane Catherine (Cathy) Shaw is the curator of the now biennial Voice4Vision Festival, which hosts the wildly successful Puppet Art Attacks Slam and HellzaPoppinPuppets in New York City.

Christine Papalexis #LosAngeles 

Christine Papalexis is the president of the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry and curator of Puppetzilla Puppet Slam in Los Angeles. Christine works in the film industry with special effects and puppetry.

Deborah Hunt #SanJuan

Deborah Hunt, curator of Sobre La Mesa Puppet Slam and co-curator of Noches de Cabaret has been performing with masks and puppets for the last 35 years. Originally from New Zealand, she has had the privilege of performing and leading workshops in many parts of the world. For the last two decades she has lived in Puerto Rico.

  

Dylan Shelton #Cincinnati 

Dylan Shelton curates Strung Out Puppet Cabaret in Cincinnati with Irina Niculescu. Dylan graduated from Wilmington College with a BA in Theatre and then earned an MFA in Acting from Ohio University.  Dylan began his career at Madcap Productions Puppet Theatre as an actor in 2002 and spent a year as the interim Artistic Director in 2005.  Since then, Dylan has been Madcap's Creative Director writing, directing, acting, and designing shows.  

Enda O'Breadon #Honolulu
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.  As a teaching artist in creative drama, Enda employs both clowning and puppetry.  His lifelong love of puppets has led him to include them in a number of shows that he’s written and directed.  While living in Atlanta, he was mentored by Clint Thornton and Spencer Stephens, who he met at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Enda briefly studied puppetry at the University of Hawai’i. 

Evan O'Television #Boston

For the last 15 years, the performer known as Evan O'Television has hit the slam circuit as both sides of his comedy act with his television alter ego.   Evan frequently performs at puppet slams in Providence and Boston. For a decade, he produced  PAN 9, a multi-genre variety show event out of an artist's loft in Allston, which hosted one of the earliest Boston area puppet slams. Recently, Evan has been co-hosting Blood From a Turnip. Evan's  feature-length show "Evan O'Television in Double Negatives" traveled to the New York International Fringe Festival.

Gepetta #Valencia #Philadelphia

Adelaide Windsome is a Philadelphia based multimedia fabulist, artist, and organizer, who performs under the moniker, Geppetta.  Her puppet shows and film, which she describes as “dark and whimsical”, have been featured nationally with Fresh Meat Productions, Heels on Wheels Glitter Roadshow, and Painted Bride Art Center's Lets Make a Ruckus Festival. She has led workshops on gender studies, multimedia art, and social activism at James Madison and Harvard Law.

Honey Goodenough #NYC

When she’s not clowning around as a children’s party entertainer, or cheering up kids as a pediatric clown, Honey Goodenough produces PuppetPandemic, a touring showcase of works developed at the O’Neill National Puppetry Conference.  Since 2009 Puppet Pandemic has raised funds for alumni scholarships at the conference.  Honey has a BA in Theater and Dance with a focus in costume design and technology from the University of Texas, and a Masters in Educational Theater from NYU.  Currently, she is a NYC Teaching Artist, developing literacy based puppetry programs for Shadow Box Theater. 

Jessica Simon #Chicago

Jessica's work has been seen at the Austin Puppet Incident, Toy Theatre After Dark Festival in Minneapolis, the National Slam in Atlanta, Puppet Playlist in NYC, and Nasty, Brutish & Short Puppet Cabaret (NB&S) in Chicago.  She co-curates NB&S and serves on the Artistic Direction Committee for PuppetFestival (r)Evolution.

Kat Pleviak #Chicago
Kat Pleviak, curator of Puppet Meltdown, lives in Chicago where she is also the founder and artistic director of Sea Beast Puppet Company.  Under Kat's direction, Sea Beast has initiated a number of exciting puppetry projects including a series of touring family friendly puppet productions, the Gorilla Puppetry Project, and Puppet Meltdown Puppet Slam. Kat has an MFA In Youth Theatre and Puppetry from the University of Hawaii Manoa.  

Lana Schwarcz #Melbourne

Lana Schwarcz is a Melbourne-based multi-disciplinary performance artist who prefers the medium of puppetry. She is one half of the Slam Noir team and the current secretary for UNIMA-Australia.  In her work, Lana straddles the line between comedy and "narrative that can challenge", all the while embracing the love of the utter stupid.  Her signature piece, Minute Exhibit Boxes are one minute shows for audiences of one.  She often combines character work with her puppetry in her longer stage shows, so is rarely seen in puppeteer’s hood (although she did admit to owning a couple during this interview).

Roxie Mhyrum #Brookline

Roxanna (Roxie) Myhrum is the Artistic Director at Puppet Showplace Theatre (PST) where she curates year-round programming for adult and family audiences, including six Puppet Showplace Slams each year. She regularly provides support, guidance, snacks, and firm-but-loving critique to Boston's community of emerging puppetry artists. When not working at PST, Roxie is a freelance theatre and opera director and puppet coach in the Greater Boston Area.   

Valerie Meiss  #Asheville

Valerie Meiss is the curator of the Wham Bam! PuppetSlam in Asheville. When not hosting Puppet Slams, Valerie tours the country with a band of musicians and puppet shows. Valerie plays accordion and novelty instruments such as the saw, ukulele, or toy piano. She lives and works in her studio known as “The Vaudeville House” in downtown Asheville.

Valeska Populoh #Baltimore

German-born curator, Valeska Populoh, serves up Baltimore flavor with Puppet Slamwich! When Valeska isn’t curating Slamwich or teaching in the Fiber Department at the MICA, she is busy as a cultural organizer and performing artist, herself. In 2011, Valeska co-curated Transmodern Festival. She has also collaborated with Black Cherry Puppet Theater, Nanaprojects, Bread and Puppet Theater and GreatSmall Works.

Vanessa Gilbert #Providence 

Vanessa Gilbert is a collaborative theatre artist based in Providence, where she hosts Blood from A Turnip – Rhode Island’s only late night puppet salon.  Vanessa produces and directs theatrical works of varying scales, from miniature puppet theatre to multi-day performance festivals, and opera.  In her 17 years with Perishable Theatre, Vanessa has directed and produced scores of plays and events. At Perishable, she founded both Blood from a Turnip and the Resident Artist at Perishable Theatre program.   She instigated Magdalena USA, to date the only Magdalena Project event in the United States.  Vanessa is an associate artist with Sleeping Weazel, an expansive theatre company based in Boston and on the internet.