A puppet wrestling entertainment and a surreal video game world, on a double bill of work-in-progress puppetry performances.

KAYFABE by Josh Rice & HELICOPTER by Emma Wiseman

Kayfabe by Josh Rice is the title of this absurdist wrestling puppet show-in progress, but "kayfabe" is also the term used in professional wrestling of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic.  Philosopher and critic Roland Barthes wrote “The function of the wrestler is not to win; it is to go exactly through the motions that are expected of him.” Drawing from Barthes and the work of Samuel Beckett, Kayfabe explores fantasy, reality, and the spaces in-between, using bunraku-style puppetry, projection, dance, and the very real world of professional wrestling. Josh/Kayfabe is the recipient of an Individual Artist Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. More at joshriceprojects.com

Approx. Running Time: 45 minutes

Remember When They Told You This Was A Helicopter by Emma Wiseman & directed by Rowan Magee, is the story of a puppet trapped in a manipulative skyscraper with video game-like rules. This work-in-progress is the recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Workshop Grant, and uses bunraku-style puppetry and projection. More at emmawiseman.me or on Instagram @emma_wiseman

Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Approx. running time: 30 minutes