WORKSHOP: Stop-Motion Puppet Lab
Stop-Motion Puppet Lab
Led by: Pablo Monterrubio
Where: bim bom studios, 5226 W Belmont
When: Saturday, August 9 @ 12pm - 3pm CT
Join artist and filmmaker Pablo Monterrubio for a special Stop Motion Puppet Building Workshop!
In this hands-on class, you’ll dive into the world of stop motion animation by constructing your own posable puppet from scratch. Using aluminum wire, foam, and simple materials, we’ll build strong, flexible armatures and create expressive characters ready for animation.
Whether you’re an artist, animator, filmmaker, or just curious about the magic of puppets and stop motion, this workshop offers a fun, approachable way to explore the craft. No experience necessary, just bring your creativity and a willingness to get experimental!
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Pablo Monterrubio is a Mexican-American media artist and filmmaker currently based in Chicago. He earned his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016, focusing on filmmaking and interactive media art, and received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2011. Pablo's work has been recognized with several awards, including the New Artist Society Scholarship, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Scholarship, F. Grainger Marburg Scholarship, and the National Arts Recognition Award. His work has been exhibited internationally, with showcases in the United States, Mexico, Spain, South Korea, Germany, and Romania.
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House of the Exquisite Corpse V – Theme Reveal Party
…and the theme of House of the Exquisite Corpse V is……YOU could be the first to know!
HOUSE OF THE EXQUISITE CORPSE V
Theme Reveal Party • Ice Cream Social • Fundraiser
Sunday, July 27th, 2025 • 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Garden Party in Albany Park*
*Exact address shared in ticket confirmation email
Featuring:
Frightfully delicious artisanal ice creams!
Guest appearances by previous Exquisite Corpse puppet stars!
Tamales & other lunch-time fare from El Capitan!
Early-edition Exquisite Corpse V wearables!
Delectable N/A and boozy sippables!
A theatrically spectacular reveal of the much-anticipated Exquisite Corpse V *Theme*!
*Theme Reveal Announcement at 2pm!*
WORKSHOP: Make Your Own Solo Puppet Show
Itching to make your very own piece of puppet theater but not quite sure how? Let’s do it together! Over the course of this three-hour workshop, we’ll walk you through the process of inception, development, rehearsal, and presentation. You’ll walk away from the class with an original piece of short-form devised puppetry. Materials provided, so no need to bring a puppet. You are also welcome to BYO puppet!
Out With It
In the languages of clown, found-object puppetry, and visual poetry, Claire Saxe’s Out With It tells a playful and lyrical tale about holding things in and letting things go. Our fastidious protagonist seeks to keep her space in order, while “wildness” creeps in at every turn. In a relentless –and often messy– battle of wills, our tenacious clown comes head to head with her own chaos. Will order prevail? Will wildness win? One thing is certain: There’s only room on this stage for one of them…
Best suited for audiences ages 10+
Creator/Performer Claire Saxe
Movement Direction Chih-Jou Cheng
Original Music Lia Kohl
Creative Consultation Michael Brown
Puppets-in-Progress
PiPs is an informal gathering for testing out new puppet and object-based performances. Bring whatever you’re working on and get encouragement and feedback from other puppet-folks!
PUPPETEER’S MOVEMENT LAB: EXPLORING MOTION & MANIPULATION
This workshop is for puppeteers who want to move, and movers who want to puppeteer! The workshop will blend physical training with creative exploration, preparing your body to engage with the art of puppetry.
We’ll start with guided movement training to condition and strengthen your body, transforming it into a more effective tool for puppet manipulation and expressive performance. Explore and refine how your body moves and reacts while puppeteering to enhance your control and expressiveness. Plus, have fun interacting with objects!
* Please wear clothes you are comfortable moving in!
* Please bring 2-3 objects that you would like to play with, and are comfortable with other people using as well. We will also have plenty of spares available at the workshop.
This workshop is facilitated by Chih-Jou Cheng and is hosted at the Narrow Bridge Arts Club.
Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret
Links Hall and Rough House present:
Nasty, Brutish & Short
Nasty, Brutish & Short is a late night cabaret packed with contemporary short-form puppet and object based theater. Providing a low-risk environment for artists to perform new and experimental work, this puppet slam fosters an artistic exchange between puppet artists of different generations and mediums.
This performance is for adult audiences.
TICKETS
$19 General Admission
$16 Student/Industry Admission
$5 Recommended Donation for Livestream
NASTY, BRUTISH & SHORT: A Puppet Retrospective
Rough House and Links Hall present:
Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Retrospective
Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, is (almost) 15 and we’re throwing a special retrospective show and party to celebrate!
For those not in-the-know, NBS is a platform for experimental short-form puppet works for adults. This show will feature fan-favorite puppetry acts throughout our (almost) 15-year history!
Join us beforehand, 6:30-7:30pm, for a PUPPET & PIZZA PRE-PARTY!
Buy a $40 ticket to join our pizza party before the show! We’ll have pizza, a photobooth, music, vibes, and Jameson’s entire repertoire of puppets on display for folks to play with.
TICKETS
Regular tickets to the show are $20
Tickets to the show AND our special pre-show pizza party are $40
We’ll be using the entire building, so come on out and celebrate this special space and these special puppets on a Tuesday.
Nasty, Brutish & Short is a late night cabaret packed with contemporary short-form puppet and object based theater. Providing a low-risk environment for artists to perform new and experimental work, this puppet slam fosters an artistic exchange between puppet artists of different generations and mediums.
This performance is for adult audiences.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Featuring fan-favorite puppetry acts throughout our (almost) 15-year history
TECH, PRODUCTION, AND DESIGN CREDITS
Curated by: Myra Su & Caitlin McLeod
Hosted by: Noah Ginex Puppet
Co-Produced by: Mike Oleon
Technical Direction by: Giau Minh Truong
Presented by: Rough House & Links Hall
This event is supported in part by a grant from the Puppet Slam Network.
Puppets-in-Progress
A FREE puppet community meeting for you! Join us to see cool puppets-in-process of creation; all stages of development are invited to share a community space for experimentation.
HOW TO WIN AT DETAILS: PROJECT PLANNING FOR PUPPETRY ARTISTS
HOW TO WIN AT DETAILS: PROJECT PLANNING FOR PUPPETRY ARTISTS
Led by: Caitlin McLeod (Rough House Artist & Curator, Chicago Puppet Studio Project Manager, & Freelance Designer)
When: Saturday, Mar 29, 1pm - 4pm (3 hours)
Where: Virtual (Zoom)
Fee: Sliding scale: $0-$90
What goes into a puppet-budget anyhow? Where do we find that speciality material? How do you help everyone stay sane during project crunch time? How much should this project pay?
Insights on these questions and more in this three-hour crash-course on the dirty details of puppet project management! Caitlin McLeod –Puppet, Costume, Scenic Designer and Project Manager of the Chicago Puppet Studio– will walk participants through best practices, example scenarios, practice budget activities, and more to help equip you with the tools to manage your puppetry projects with confidence!
Enrollment for this class operates on a sliding scale!
In order to help us cover the costs, there are a set number of tickets available at each tier. If you run into trouble, holler at us: classes@roughhousetheater.com
How much should I pay?
This class costs money to make happen! But your life has costs too! We know you have mouths to feed, debt, bills, etc… so take the table below as loose guidance.
Suggested Ticket Prices by Income
$ N/A - For those who identify as part of a historically marginalized community(-ies) - Equity Access Scholarship
$20-$30,000/year - Super Discount
$30-$40,000/year - Discount
$40,000+ Regular enrollment
$65,000+ - Patron Level covers yourself and makes sliding-scale enrollment options possible for others. Thank you!
*Free* NBS Work-in-Progress Workshop Day!
Test out performance works-in-progress ahead of upcoming puppet slams. Free for all!
Puppets-in-Progress
PIPs is an informal gathering for testing out new puppet and object-based performances. Bring whatever you’re working on and get encouragement and feedback from other puppet-folks!
House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstition
House of the Exquisite Corpse returns with an all-new program of immersive acts of puppet horror that are guaranteed to shock, scare, astonish and delight this Halloween season.
Don’t step on a crack on the way in, because six teams of multidisciplinary puppet artists have joined to create six different puppet horror experiences, each built around a different SUPERSTITION, and you don’t want to miss them!
Rough House Halloween Party!
Celebrate Halloween, Rough House style! Spooky cocktails, music, special puppet appearances, and crafty fun, all exclusively inside 2024’s House of the Exquisite Corpse: Superstitions. Support and celebrate puppetry with us! 21+. Costume welcome!
House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstition
House of the Exquisite Corpse returns with an all-new program of immersive acts of puppet horror that are guaranteed to shock, scare, astonish and delight this Halloween season.
Don’t step on a crack on the way in, because six teams of multidisciplinary puppet artists have joined to create six different puppet horror experiences, each built around a different SUPERSTITION, and you don’t want to miss them!
House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstition
House of the Exquisite Corpse returns with an all-new program of immersive acts of puppet horror that are guaranteed to shock, scare, astonish and delight this Halloween season.
Don’t step on a crack on the way in, because six teams of multidisciplinary puppet artists have joined to create six different puppet horror experiences, each built around a different SUPERSTITION, and you don’t want to miss them!
House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstition
House of the Exquisite Corpse returns with an all-new program of immersive acts of puppet horror that are guaranteed to shock, scare, astonish and delight this Halloween season.
Don’t step on a crack on the way in, because six teams of multidisciplinary puppet artists have joined to create six different puppet horror experiences, each built around a different SUPERSTITION, and you don’t want to miss them!
Puppets-in-Progress
PIPs is an informal gathering for testing out new puppet and object-based performances. Bring whatever you’re working on and get encouragement and feedback from other puppet-folks!
Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret
Nasty, Brutish & Short is a late night cabaret packed with contemporary short-form puppet and object based theater. Providing a low-risk environment for artists to perform new and experimental work, this puppet slam fosters an artistic exchange between puppet artists of different generations and mediums.
This performance is for adult audiences.
Found Object Puppetry Workshop
Anything can be a puppet! Learn the fundamentals of puppetry and create your very own short performance piece using found objects. This workshop, led by Claire Saxe, will cover the basics of puppet manipulation, and give you the tools to bring to life the extraordinary stories hidden within common objects.
Out With It
A new work of dance-object-theater by Rough House Co-Artistic Director Claire Saxe, Within Without tells a wild and lyrical tale about holding things in and letting things go. Order and chaos come head to head, and a new balance must be found. Interweaving mime, found-object puppetry, and visual poetry, Within Without unfolds in playfulness and poignancy. Suitable for adult and youth audiences.
Puppets-in-Progress in the Park!
PIPs is an informal gathering for testing out new puppet and object-based performances. Bring whatever you’re working on and get encouragement and feedback from other puppet-folks!
A Workshop Performance of The Life Uncanny: A Puppet Séance
The Life Uncanny invites you to a real-life confluence of the curious, where the unseen becomes seen, and dreams and stories find a fleeting, tangible home. Join us for a night of wonder, inquiry, and the thrill of the inexplicable.
A Workshop Performance of The Life Uncanny: A Puppet Séance
The Life Uncanny invites you to a real-life confluence of the curious, where the unseen becomes seen, and dreams and stories find a fleeting, tangible home. Join us for a night of wonder, inquiry, and the thrill of the inexplicable.
The Life Uncanny: A Puppet Séance
The Life Uncanny invites you to a real-life confluence of the curious, where the unseen becomes seen, and dreams and stories find a fleeting, tangible home. Join us for a night of wonder, inquiry, and the thrill of the inexplicable.
Build a Puppet Picture Book, Your Very Own Crankie!
Crankie is a form of puppet storytelling told through a mechanical box and an illustrated scroll crank, creating an animated picture book! In this workshop, you'll build your very own crankie out of cardboard and make shadow puppets to accompany it. You will also learn pointers on scroll composition and layout to make the most out of the unique storytelling opportunities that the crankie offers.
Puppets-in-Progress
PIPs is an informal gathering for testing out new puppet and object-based performances. Bring whatever you’re working on and get encouragement and feedback from other puppet-folks!
Nasty, Brutish & Short
Watch artists perform live on stage in-person or virtually. Rough House and Links Hall are pulling out all the stops to create a multi-camera puppet variety show. Combining the polish of network variety show and the rough magic of an experimental cabaret, we welcome you to the new abnormal!
Learn to Build Reed Puppets with Grace Needlman
Learn to build giant reed puppets in this hands-on workshop offered live in person in Chicago. All material included with enrollment.
Puppets-in-Progress
PIPs is an informal gathering for testing out new puppet and object-based performances. Bring whatever you’re working on and get encouragement and feedback from other puppet-folks!
The Joy of Puppet Mechanisms LIVE
Join Rough House Co-Artistic Director Mike Oleon to learn how to make a mechanized puppet! We’ll equip you with a prefab kit of puppet parts and teach you the secrets of building a puppet incorporating several basic mechanisms, including moving mouth, head, and limbs.