Master puppeteer to perform at Oakton
Redmoon Theater co-founder Blair Thomas will give a display of puppeteer showmanship in “Hard Headed Heart” at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, at Oakton’s Footlik Theater, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines. The performance includes three stories — “The Puppet Show of Don Cristobal,” “St. James Infirmary,” and “The Blackbird” — told using traditional hand puppets, rod marionettes, and shadow puppetry. The interconnected vignettes are based on a script by Federico GarcÃa Lorca, a New Orleans folk song, and a Wallace Stevens poem.
Blair, who received the international Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA) award for excellence in the art of puppetry and an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship Award, was the first entertainer to fill the Jim Henson Artist-in-Residence position at the University of Maryland. He teaches puppetry at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Best for ages 14 and up, this show is intended for adults. Tickets are $12 for general admission; $10 students and seniors; and $8 for groups of 15 or more. Call (847) 635-1900 to purchase.