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Black Sheep Puppet Festival

People may be surprised to learn that Pittsburgh is home to the country’s longest running yearly puppet festival. Now in its 9th year, The Black Sheep Puppet Festival Local No. 9 shines a spotlight on homegrown talent.

Known for bringing cutting-edge puppetry artists from around the globe to Pittsburgh, the ninth annual Black Sheep Puppet Festival is now underway at the Brew House Association. This year, festival curator Tom Sarver has put together a program that boasts a dozen Pittsburgh-based artists, free workshops for puppeteers and children, two performance-packed nights, an exhibition, and two family-friendly matinees.

Championing bold experimentation and pushing the boundaries of an ancient art form and performance medium, Black Sheep showcases contemporary innovations in puppetry. On stage at Black Sheep, food talks, paintings tell stories and trash cans start conversations. Performances feature the adventures of a 30-foot girl, new twists on Indian folktales and life-size puppets that resemble Greek pottery figures. Highlights include a tragicomic opera conducted by pickle puppets, a multi-media televisual performance and Puppet Olympics. During Ubu Roi is Here and Alive, audiences will be transported to a zany world populated by drag queens, a hot air balloon, a marimba player, shadow puppets, and miniature townspeople.
 
Don’t miss the festival's main events on Oct. 26 and 27, four-hour puppet extravanganzas featuring seven performances by Pittsburgh’s most pioneering puppeteers. Free all-ages matinees are set for Oct. 27 and 28. For a behind-the-scenes glimpse, sign up for one of the festival’s workshops, lectures or demonstrations. The festival also provides networking opportunities and resources for artists looking to pursue puppetry careers.

For a schedule of events, go here.