Philadelphia's Puppet Uprising hosts performances by puppeteers from all over the world. Some events are full-length theatrical works, others are cabarets of several short puppet shows. Below is a year-by-year history of how Puppet Uprising came to be and what we've done. We are currently cataloguing synopses of past shows with poster images, photos, reviews and links, as well as some audio and video content. So far we've archived all the shows from 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Hit one of the year buttons above or scroll down to find an event and click on the link. You can also use our search feature (on the right side on the top of this page) to find a particular artist or event.

2000: Puppet Uprising began when several puppeteers living in West Philadelphia started up a bi-monthly cabaret at the Community Education Center (CEC). The first cabarets ran for either one or two nights and were made up of 5 to 7 short puppet shows by local and touring puppeteers including Beth Nixon, Dramaton Theater, Legends Walk The Streets, The Insurrection Landscapers, and Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Our first Cheap Art Bazaar unfurled its clotheslines at the December show.
• Puppet Uprising #1 - June 2000, CEC
• Puppet Uprising #2 - August 2000, CEC
• Puppet Uprising #3 - October 2000, CEC
• Puppet Uprising #4 - December 2000, CEC

2001: Puppet Uprising hosted events at spaces around Philadelphia, with some full-length shows by touring companies from Texas, Vermont and Chicago. The September Cabaret was part of the Philly Fringe Festival. Xander Marro, Ben Matchstick and the Bikes Across Borders Cycle Circus made their debut appearances at our events.
• Trash Dragons - March 2001, Space 1026 & The CEC
• Puppet Uprising #5 - March 2001, Killtime
• Puppet Uprising #6 - June 2001, CEC
• Faustina - August 2001, Clark Park
• Puppet Uprising #7 - September 2001, Mum Puppettheatre
• Puppet Uprising #8 - November 2001, CEC

2002: Puppet Uprising erected the Bumpin' Big Top on the fringes the Fringe Festival with puppets splitting stage time with dancers, musicians and films. Roby Newton, Erin Rosenthal and Black Cherry Puppet Theater came to play at our cabarets for the first time.
• Degenerate Cardboard Cabaret - February 2002, Killtime
• Puppet Uprising #9 - March 2002, CEC
• Puppet Uprising #10 - June 2002, CEC
• $5 or Less - August 2002, Space 1026
• Puppet Uprising #11 - September 2002, Bumpin' Big Top
• Puppet Uprising #12 - December 2002, Calvary Center

2003: Puppet Uprising's most ambitious year to date with 10 months of events including 10 different hour-long programs of puppetry at the Fringe Festival. We brought Le Petit Théâtre de L'Absolu, Liberty Cabbage Theater, Clare Dolan, Erik Ruin, Great Small Works and The Bread & Puppet Theater to Philadelphia, and began to host free shows at The Rotunda.
• Demolition Polka & La Commune - January 2003, The Rotunda
• Cooking With Gas - March 2003, Calvary Church
• Puppet Uprising #13 - April 2003, The Rotunda
• Puppet Uprising #14 - June 2003, The Rotunda
• Flying Rutabaga Cycle Circus - July 2003, Clark Park
• Bird Songs of the Bauharoque - August 2003, Space 1026
• Puppet Uprising #15 with full-length programs by:
— Black Cherry Puppet Theater
— Clare Dolan
— Drama of Works/Steve Abrams
— Great Small Works
— Le Petit Théâtre de L'Absolu
— Liberty Cabbage Theater
— Our Poor Neighbors
— Puppets Revenge
— Up To No Good
...and a cabaret of local talent - September 2003, Bumpin' Big Top
• Bread & Puppet - October 2003, The Rotunda
• Bumpin' Benefit Bash - November 2003, The Rotunda
• Puppet Uprising #16 - December 2003, The Rotunda

2004: Puppet Uprising hosted its first open-call Puppet Slam and we began to make room for more live music, DJs and dance numbers between cabaret acts. Kelly Nesbitt, Yours Truly and Puppets Revenge were among some of the participants before we stopped counting our cabarets at Puppet Uprising #20.
• Puppet Uprising #17 - March 2004, the Rotunda
• An Olive on the Seder Plate - April 2004, The Painted Bride
• Puppet Uprising #18 - June 2004, The Rotunda
• Puppet Uprising #19 - August 2004, The Rotunda
• Puppet Uprising #20 - December 2004, The Rotunda
• Kafka @ Kaffa - December 2004, Kaffa Crossing

2005: After a few months off, Puppet Uprising reopened shop with a semiannual cabaret schedule and continued to provide venues for full-length shows that packed The Rotunda to its peak for groups like the Ramshackle Enterprises, Stranger Theatre and the Stick & Rag Village Orchestra
• May Cabaret - May 2005, The Rotunda
• The Counterfeit Marquise - August 2005, The Rotunda
• Where Do Things Belong? - October 2005, The Rotunda
• 6th Annual Year-End Cabaret - December 2005, The Rotunda

2006: Puppet Uprising was among the few groups to hold events at the West Philadelphia Magic Cinema before its demolition, featuring the work of Tom Sarver, Eric Cupo and the Indicator Species.
• The Hardest Question Ever - July 2006, The Magic Cinema
• The Cooler Cabaret - August 2006, The Magic Cinema
• Alice & Frank - October 2006, The Rotunda
• 7th Annual Year-End Cabaret - December 2006, The Rotunda

2007: Puppet Uprising picked up its pace and presented puppeteers from Italy and Japan, two full-length plays by The Misooula Oblongata, a shadow theater rock opera by Erik Ruin and Reid Books, plus the five-company production of William Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST.
• The Wonders of the World: Recite - January 2007, The Rotunda
• The Spring Thing Cabaret - March 2007, The Rotunda
• The Tempest - May 2007, (Secret Location)
• The Most Myterious Day of the Year - June 2007, The Rotunda
• Our Eyes Need Art - July 2007, The A-Space
• Puppets, Films & Puppet-Films - September 2007, Vox Populi
• An Evening of Picture Theater - September 2007, The Rotunda
• The Barnstormers - November 2007, Bartram's Garden
• 8th Annual Year-End Cabaret - December 2007, The Rotunda

2008: Puppet Uprising's busiest year ushered in the Obie Award-winning theater collective Great Small Works and a new big show by Ramshackle Enterprises, plus our first forays into performances in Kensington/Fishtown and the ICA. We conituned the 5-company Shakespeare tradition with a sold-out run of KING LEAR at Studio 34.
• Great Small Works Toy Theater Spaghetti Dinner - January 2008, The Rotunda
• The Most Mysterious Day of the Year - January 2008, Circle of Hope
• Mite We? - February 2008, The Rotunda
• The Boxcutter Cabaret - March 2008, Walking Fish Theatre
• Cardboard, Shadows, Sheets & Suitcases - March 2008, The ICA
• Handmade Puppet Dreams - April 2008, International House
• The 2008 May-Day Cabaret - May 2008, The Rotunda
• 3 Musical Narratives - July 2008, Space 1026
• The Last Hurrah of the Clementines - July 2008, Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival
• King Lear - September 2008, (Secret Location)
• The Nothing Factory CD/Book Party - October 2008, The Rotunda
• The Pair of Plays Studio 34 Benefit - November 2008, Studio 34
• 9th Annual Year-End Cabaret - December 2008, The Rotunda

2009: Puppet Uprising's 10th season brought several classic tales to the puppet stages, reworked by the Annex Theater from Baltimore, Bedlam Theatre from Minneapolis, The Royal Frog Ballet from Massachusetts, and Reckoning Motions from Alaska. We also had a near lawsuit from the Kurt Weil foundation and a pair of puppeteers who made a pilgrimage from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to tour America's puppet underground.
• Bread & Puppet's Dirt-Cheap Opera - January 2009, The Rotunda
• The Nonsense Company - February 2009, The Rotunda
• The Moon, The Raccoon, The Hot Air Balloon - March 2009, Little Berlin
• The Lubberland National Dance Company - March/April 2009, The Rotunda/Mascher Space Co-op
• The 2009 May-Day Cabaret - May 2009, The Rotunda
• Dali's Liquid Ladies - May 2009, The Rotunda
• The Suitcase Showcase - May 2009, Phila. Community Acupuncture
• The Unbroken Circle of Broken Things - May 2009, Space 1026
• The 50 Greatest Ladies & Gentlemen - July 2009, Studio 34
• Beowulf - September 2009, The Rotunda
• Flight - October 2009, The Rotunda
• The Great Ziggurat - October 2009, The Rotunda
• Hurrah for the Mysterious Wonder Balloon - November 2009, The Rotunda
• 10th Annual Year-End Cabaret - December 2009, The Rotunda

2010: This year Puppet Uprising thus far presented its third 5-Company Shakespreare Dessert Theater production and has a special event to commemorate our decade of dedication to the puppet underground—stay tuned for details!
• A Dozen Things I Want To Do On Stage - January 2010, Studio 34
• Julius Caesar - March 2010, (Secret Location)
• Fantastic Planet - April 2010, The Ox
• Teeth, Tents & Time - June 2010, Calvary & Cha-Cha 'Razzi
• Fanciness & Goatlegs - June 2010, Emerald Street Park.

SEE footage from past Puppet Uprising events:
Shoddy Puppet Company • Peter Glantz • Maple Rabbit
Roger Peet • Die Leipsiger Zwei • Xander Marro • Beth Nixon
Erik Ruin • Mark Dixon • Flora Y Fauna •King Lear

HEAR sounds from Puppet Uprising's musical guests:
Mite We • Rock/Paper/Scissors • West Philadelphia Orchestra
Lavender Diamond • Boxcutter Brass Band • Jack Ohly
Rebecca Tennison • Prince Myshkins •Nonsense Company
Mr. Marcus & The Hollow Sisters • Reid Books • Katt Hernandez