Puppetry Pathways
Why Rough House Puppet Arts Created The Puppetry Pathways Project.
Puppetry is a wide and wondrous art form, but for many artists—whether they are just beginning or have years of experience—it can be difficult to know where to start, how to grow, or what opportunities exist to share their work. Rough House Puppet Arts has created the Puppetry Pathways project to help bridge that gap.
This project maps out the many routes an artist can take in puppetry, connecting Rough House’s programs—like Nasty, Brutish, and Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Puppets in Progress (PiPs), and our hands-on workshops—with other key opportunities in Chicago’s vibrant puppetry community. By showing how performances, training, collaborations, and festivals connect, we aim to give artists a clearer picture of the creative possibilities ahead of them.
Our goal is to make the puppetry world more navigable, equitable, and inspiring—so that no matter where someone is in their artistic journey, they can see a path forward, find collaborators, and keep building their craft.
Entry Points (Beginner / Early Career/ Development of New Work)
Hands-on training in performance, fabrication, and storytelling.
Ideal for beginners or cross-disciplinary artists entering puppetry.
Build foundational skills and relationships.
Informal, in-process showings for works-in-progress.
Feedback-centered; encourages experimentation.
Entry point for both performers and builders to test ideas.
** Denotes Rough House Program
Development & Visibility (Emerging Artists)
**Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret
Curated performances of short-form adult puppetry.
Great for debuting polished short works or new aesthetics.
Can lead to press exposure, future commissions, and connections.
Sea Beast Puppetry Presents “Puppet Meltdown”
Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival
Collaboration with Chicago Puppet Studios / Manual Cinema / Etc.
Shoestring’s Insane Puppet Posse Cabaret
Physical Theater Festival - Scratch Night
** Denotes Rough House Program
Professional / Career Advancement
Build a Touring Show
Artists who gain traction from **NBS or other Slams can build evening-length works.
Touring options: colleges, art festivals, puppet-specific venues.
Examples: Artists who began at NBS have gone on to national tours.
Apply for Puppet/Puppet Friendly Residency Programs
National: La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (NYC), Puppet Showplace Theater (Boston), Heather Henson’s IBEX puppetry initiatives.
Local: Chicago Puppet Lab, High Concept Labs, Elastic Arts Dark Matter Residency, Ragdale,
**Rough House Expansion Residency (Next RFP 2027)
Rough House Puppet Arts invites applications for a three-month residency designed for puppeteers who have strong short-form work and are ready to expand it into a medium-length piece (approximately 20 minutes).Residents will receive:
Rehearsal access at the Rough House headquarters
Artistic mentorship throughout the residency
A culminating public showcase performance
Get Your Name and Work Out There
Perform in a Professional Show