The Ballard Institute of Puppetry and the University of Connecticut Puppet Arts Program put on their first puppet slam of the 2024-2025 school year on Friday, Sept. 20, at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theater. The 2024 Fall Puppet Slam not only showcased new works from UConn students, but also featured performances from UConn alumni Ray Dondero and Esme Roszel, as well as professional puppeteer Harry LaCoste. The performers and their puppets were accompanied by Waldron’s Studio 88 as the puppet slam’s house band.
The Fall Puppet Slam itself consisted of a series of independent performances, each with their own style and tone. Not every showcase can switch wildly from an upbeat song about the importance of pressing on (“A Brief Song from Jerry Harney & Friend” by Jerry Harney) to a dramatic yet comedic portrayal of what may be the most painful IUD insertion “conducted” (“Some Slight Pressure” by Mel Carter), but the puppeteers do so with ease. Each display is a self-contained story with the potential to make you laugh, jump or reflect, and there’s no way of predicting it.
The unpredictability of the performances is perhaps what makes the twice-yearly puppet slam so special. The night begins with Harry LaCoste’s “Bean Brain,” which immediately subverted the greatest audience expectation of all — the idea that the audience must remain quiet. LaCoste’s puppet, amid an anxious spiral, calls out to the audience for help. Although there is initially a hesitancy to respond, it isn’t long before people begin to shout out suggestions — “breathe” and “name five things you can see” among them. The puppet responds as well, commenting on what the audience says and even acting on a few. Therein lies the beauty of the event: The audience is not separate from the performance.
The puppeteers appear to take that message to heart. Even when the current act does not rely on the input of the audience, there is still a relationship established. Beep Siegel’s “Snooty’s One Dream” immediately begins with both Siegel and their puppet talking to the audience directly, as said puppet (a long, sparkling blue dragon-like creature) bursts into a rendition of “Part of Your World,” from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Siegel acts as the puppet’s translator, playing the part of both characters in a clever ventriloquist act.
Aside from the audience interaction, the 2024 Fall Puppet Slam also allows for a diverse set of styles. One key example of this is Lily Mindenhall’s “Cheshire Moon,” which involves no dialogue at all. Instead, the performance is a showcase of Mindenhall’s craftsmanship, as she expertly dances around a highly dexterous purple cat-like puppet, with music playing in the background. Esme Roszel and Ray Dondero’s “Bingo Street” is almost equally as silent, and yet it is a completely different performance — instead, the pair perform a comedic skit about a stray cat getting bullied by a rat in a trash can. They’re two of the most opposite performances in terms of tone, but they still perform in succession.
This variability is present in the puppets as well. Sol Ramirez’s “Fire Burn” features only cutouts, which are held above a table and swapped out as needed, whereas Sadie Aiken talks to a much larger puppet, complete with a mouth and eyes in their performance of “I Puke When I’m Nervous.” Conversely, Mel Carter’s “Some Slight Pressure” is limited only to shadow puppets, held between a light and a white sheet in the darkened auditorium.
This freedom to experiment is perhaps one of the most exciting parts about being a performer in this show. When interviewed, UConn Puppet Arts major Mindenhall noted that the annual puppet slams are “more independent,” allowing for more experimentation, as there was “this vision in my head” that translated into “Cheshire Moon.”
The puppet slam also speaks to the reality of being a college student — which, considering the people performing in it, is no surprise. Many of the performances include themes of burnout or the struggle to find ways to carry on, such as Thomas John Tuke’s “The Farm” — although it’s a comedic performance, it still includes a struggling teenager as a focal point (even if said teenager is a chicken). “Fire Burn” speaks to an America that faces an upcoming election and “I Puke When I’m Nervous” tackles the simple difficulty of stage fright. It’s both intensely relatable and deeply sobering.
However, the most sobering performance of the night is easily LaCoste’s second act, called “Cheers!”, which marks the end of the puppet slam. LaCoste takes the audience through a story about his family — specifically an uncle who he would never get to meet. The lights shut on LaCoste after he finishes his act and the show ends.
The 2024 Fall Puppet Slam is easily one of the most remarkable aspects of UConn. The university is one of very few in the country to offer a major in puppetry and puppet arts, and the puppet slam speaks to that. The performers of the slam put on a show as exciting and as interesting as puppetry itself. For those interested, there will be a second showcase in the form of the Spring Puppet Slam, which takes the stage this March.