Seattle's adult puppetry scene is having a moment
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Shadow stories unfold. Photo: Jen Ben Media/Courtesy of Shadow Girls Cult
If your idea of puppetry begins and ends with "Sesame Street," Seattle has a surprise for you.
Why it matters: Seattle's adult puppetry scene is drawing new audiences as more people seek live performances that feel distinctly human in an era dominated by streaming and AI.
Driving the news: Two consecutive weekends of adult-oriented puppet shows are coming to Theatre Off Jackson, giving audiences a chance to experience experimental puppetry.
Zoom in: The shows are produced by Seattle puppeteers Zane Exactly and Cass Bray, who have helped build the local puppetry scene through Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam, which has presented performances since 2011, and their newer project, Shadow Girls Cult.
- "We're experiencing a resurgence of puppetry in Seattle," Bray tells Axios. "Audiences are looking for ways to connect on a more tactile level."
What's happening: Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam presents two full-length performances from visiting artists Happy Accident of Portland and Brooklyn-based Ow Wow Meow on Friday and Saturday.
The following weekend, Shadow Girls Cult brings its touring production, "Unraveling," to Seattle for three shadow puppet shows July 16–18.
- Shadow puppetry uses light and shadow to create stories — (think of the bird shadows you may have made with your hands as a kid but more sophisticated) — though the narratives are intentionally more abstract than traditional, Exactly says.
What they're saying: Exactly tells Axios that audiences have become more selective about leaving home since the pandemic, gravitating toward experiences they can only have in person.
- "People only want to leave their houses for experiences they can't get from a screen," Exactly says.
- They also see growing appreciation for handcrafted performance as audiences push back against increasingly digital entertainment.
- "People want things that are human-made ... where you can feel the touch of the human," Exactly said.
Bray said every Puppet Slam attracts dozens of first-time attendees, alongside longtime puppetry fans, theatergoers and artists from Seattle's drag, burlesque and fringe theater communities.
The bottom line: Whether it's surreal shadow theater or DIY puppet punk, Seattle's adult puppetry community is betting audiences are ready to trade another night on the couch for something different.
If you go: The pay-what-you-want shows begin at 7:30pm at Theatre Off Jackson at 409 Seventh Ave. S. in the Chinatown-International District.
- Masks will be required at the July 18 performance.