making objects to connect artists and audiences through live storytelling and play
The Wonder Wagon, a mobile performance platform made from a converted trailer, brings puppets to Chicago Parks, connecting communities through collective imagination and wonder.
More at wonderwagon.org
Chicago Children’s Theatre, 2015 - ongoing
Puppet design and fabrication
The stories of Helen Beatrix Potter, featuring iconic animal characters like Peter Rabbit and celebrating British country life, are told through a series of mechanical suitcase sculptures, which invite visitors to pull levers and turn cranks, revealing images that surprise and delight. This interactive, four-dimensional winter fairy tale promises to be a popular new entertainment option for Chicago-area families this holiday season.
Reader Review:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/a-snowy-day-with-beatrix-potter/Event?oid=20301419
Projection illustration and puppet design
2022
Teatro Vista
Book, Lyrics and Music by Emmy-Nominated Artist Brian Quijada, directed by Denise Yvette Serna.
Inspired by the real life journey of the author’s mother (Reina Quijada) from El Salvador to the US and by L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Somewhere Over the Border embraces the factual and the fantastical in its depiction of one young girl’s pursuit of the American dream. As Reina travels north to the Mexican border, she gathers friends, faces down dangers, and holds tight to the memory of the little boy she left behind. Set in the 1970s and propelled by Cumbia, Mexican Mariachi Boleros, American Rock and Hip Hop, this new musical is both fable and family history—and a testament to the determination born of love.
Puppet and Production Designer
Steppenwolf Theater Company , 2021
A filmed vignette, inhabited by puppets
Written by Tracy Letts
Directed by Patrick Zakem
Featuring ensemble members William Petersen and Karen Rodriguez with Mike Nussbaum
Run time: 10 minutes.
Two men in a diner drain the last drops of their coffees and think about ordering dessert. In the denouement of their (physical, intellectual, and sexual) lives, they wax nostalgic and try to communicate across a wide divide.
Puppet design, construction, and performance
Chicago Children’s Theatre, 2020
video release
Director Brian Selznick
“Directed by the writer-illustrator Brian Selznick (“The Invention of Hugo Cabret”) and based on his book with Pam Conrad, “Doll Face Has a Party!” is a whimsical show about making the most of what’s in your house. The 12-minute Chicago Children’s Theater production is narrated by James Lecesne and features low-tech, inventive puppetry by Will Bishop and Grace Needlman.” - New York Times
A low-fi puppet version of the Caldecott Award-winning picture book by Leo Lionni narrated by Michael Shannon
Chicago Children’s Theatre, 2020
A Chicago Premiere
Written by Janet Stanford & Kathryn Chase Bryer
Music by Katie Chambers
Directed by Jamie Abelson
Co-scenic design with Will Bishop, Scenic painting, Puppet design
Wake Up, Brother Bear! is a highly interactive show that will take you and your cubs on a fun-filled journey through the four seasons with a playful pair of bears. Full of music and physical activity, this intimate theatrical experience is the perfect way to see out the waning months of your family’s winter hibernation.
The Silence in Harrow House
Rough House Theater, 2019
Lead Puppet Designer
The Walls of Harrow House
Rough House Theater, 2018
Lead Puppet Designer
Photos by Evan Barr
Produced by Rough House Theater 2016
Performed by: David Gordezky, Charlotte Long, Claire Saxe*, Sarah Stockdale, and Nick Strauss
Adapted and Directed by Mike Oleon*, with Shelley Geiszler in collaboration with the Rough House ensemble; Grace Needlman (Lead Puppet Design & Construction), Kathryn Shivak (Puppet Construction), Will Rudolph* (Lighting & Set Design and Construction), Maddy Low (Costume Design) Niki Dreistadt (Puppetry Assistant), Nicole Nienow (Puppetry Assistant), Sean Hughes (Music) Claire Saxe* (Dramaturg & Production Assistant), Fletcher Pierson (Stage Management/Assistant Director)
Photo Credit Joe Mazza
RECOMMENDED -Chicago Reader
“[Alfred] Jarry himself performed a version of it with marionettes, but I think he’d have been more impressed with this bunraku-esque treatment from Rough House Theater. Cunning and Hilarious.””
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -Chicago Stage Standard
“4 stars out 4! A magnificent and moving retelling of this story. A fast moving, entertaining yet sobering and provocative evening. Don’t miss this show.”
RECOMMENDED -Newcity Stage
“‘Ubu’ may have found the perfect medium. The cast of five puppeteers stay on the tips of their fingers and the tops of their games.”
Red Kite Green Mountain, Chicago Children’s Theatre, directed by Jacqui Russell
Puppet designer and fabricator, 2018
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been keeping busy at home making toy theater shows for kids stuck at home. Here’s a mini toy theater show we performed via video chat for a class of preschool students in New York City.
FORT is a comforting, playful environment for confronting uncomfortable realities. Pillow forts are imaginative and nostalgic, evoking the first places where we, as kids, experienced agency, where we ruled. At the same time, forts represent exclusion, sovereignty, and the desire to hide from conflict. FORT asks us to explore this contradiction. This interactive performance invites participants to first build and then inhabit a massive pillow fort overtaking an average Pilsen apartment.
FORT was produced by John Harness & Grace Needlman for 2nd Floor Rear 2016. Performers included Chris Barboi, Jessie Brett, John Harness, Lyra Hill, Scott Merchant, Ray Rehberg, Leanna Savoie, and Brianna VanSchoyck.
