Poster by Aaron Birk. Curated by Aaron Birk, Jamie Schilling, Morgan F.P. Andrews, and Rose Levine.

Clare Dolan performing "The Sin of Jesus," a story by Isaac Babel.

On November 16, 17 and 18, 2007 Puppet Uprising held a benefit event that brought three pairs of puppeteers from Vermont, Canada and Philadelphia to perform in an old barn at Bartram's Garden: THE BARNSTORMERS. The event raised money for Bartram's Garden and the Morris Park Restoration Association, two organizations that work to preserve native horticulture and urban green spaces in Philadelphia.

Audiences came to Bartram's Garden by trolley, car and bicycle, and were greeted by a glowing path of paper lanterns. They followed these to the enormous wooden doors that swung open to reveal the barn built by American botanist John Bartram in 1775. People left the cold November air to sit cozily on benches and watch a series of provocative puppet shows.

THE MUSEUM OF EVERYDAY LIFE: Clare Dolan (formerly of Bread & Puppet and Redmoon Theater) and Gabriel Levine (founding member of the avant-Yiddish quartet Black Ox Orkestar and puppet collective Le Petit Théâtre de l'Absolu) came from Vermont and Canada with The Babel Cabaret—three stories by Russian Jewish author Isaac Babel presented in three different styles. "Line and Color," the tale of a man who refused to wear glasses, was performed with two ragged little handpuppets; "The Sin of Jesus," about a washer woman and the men in her life, used banners and large flat cardboard puppets; "The Road to Brody" was a toy theater show about the the death of bees and men. Clare Dolan and Gabriel Levine brought Babel's vibrant characters to life through their puppetry along with live action and beutiful music played on accordion, clarinet, mandolin and other devices. The development of their show was partially supported by the Jim Henson Foundation and the Bread and Puppet Theater.

THE BARNSTORMERS also featured the debut performance of FOUR DAYS APART: Jamie Schilling and Rose Levine played the part of two kindly grandmas who ushered patrons to their seats, spread handmade quilts across their laps, and gave them freshly baked cookies. BLACK WILLOW PRODUCTIONS (Harper Nelson and Aaron Birk) also performed a piece that melded masks and handpuppets with a post-apocalyptic narrative based on folktales of various origins.

Find out more about The Babel Cabaret here.
Find out more about Bartram's Garden here.
Find out more about Morris Park here.