Puppet slam ‘rated PG-13,’ says curator

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This article was published 29/10/2021 (1526 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Puppet Slam, an annual showcase dedicated to puppets and puppeteers, will be hosting its first in-person performance since the COVID-19 pandemic moved the event online.

“The thing that’s different about a puppet slam is it’s meant to be by grown-ups for grown-ups,” Curtis Wiebe, local puppeteer and curator of the slam, told The Sou’Wester.

“When it was started, it was thought that puppets have a stigma as being mostly for kids, but adults can play, too.”

However, this doesn’t mean the subject matter is too inappropriate, Wiebe added.

“The door is open for that stuff to happen, but what we’re really doing is giving the chance for adults to express adult themes using puppetry in whatever ways they want,” he said.

Local and international puppeteers will perform alongside each other on Nov. 13 at the Gas Station Arts Centre in Osborne Village. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. and will follow a “pay-what-you-can” model, although organizers suggest a donation of $10 to $15.

For those unable or unwilling to attend in-person, the event will also be streamed for free on Facebook.

“We’ve asked for video submissions, or short puppet films, so it’s going to have some live puppetry and some film screenings,” Wiebe said. “We’ve gotten about 10 or more submissions from puppeteers all over North America. We got some from Hawaii, New York, Calgary and Winnipeg.”

Wiebe said he’s always been interested in puppetry. He makes short films, went to art school and is a creative person by nature.

In 2010, Wiebe attended an animations festival in Winnipeg where he met Heather Hensen, a famous puppeteer and daughter of Muppets creator Jim Hensen.

“There were two other guys that brought puppets and were puppet fans, as well. We went and talked with Heather after the show and she said, ‘There’s a puppet community here in Winnipeg; you need to set up a puppet slam,” Wiebe said.

“She said if we set it up, she would come and perform for our first slam, and that’s what she did.”

Interest in the slam varies, Wiebe said. Sometimes, the show sells out and other times less than half the theatre is full.

Despite the range in ticket sales, Wiebe vouches for puppetry as a form of creative expression.

“I think really, more than anything else, puppetry invites a person to play,” Wiebe said. “Even if you’re the most cynical person, as soon as you put a puppet on your hand it becomes a character other than yourself. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t inhabit that character to some degree.”

Wiebe hopes those interested in seeing something new will attend the Nov. 13 slam.

“There’s not a lot of puppet shows for adults out there, and you’re going to see something you’ve never seen before,” Wiebe said. “It’s also a community that always welcomes more people to join.”

For more information about the Winnipeg Puppet Slam and the upcoming event, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WinnipegPuppetSlam