REVIEW: Skeleton Canoe at the 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

ChiIL Mama's Chi, IL Picks List 

Skeleton Canoe

By Ty Defoe

an All My Relations Collaboration

New York City

REVIEW

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

Here at ChiIL Mama we love to learn about the First People or First Nations of our country. As modern Americans, we have so much to improve on when it comes to sustainable practices, how to steward natural resources, respect for our elders, and more. It was a joy to learn more traditional Anishinaabe lifeways through Skeleton Canoe, via puppetry, projection work, drumming, and dance. This creative show captivated our imaginations and inspired us to do better.

Of course this production is nowhere near as elaborate as Ajijaak on Turtle Island, Chicago Puppet Festival’s unforgettable opening production in 2019, that Ty Defoe wrote and co-created with Heather Henson. We were absolutely blown away by that show! Skeleton Canoe has a lower budget and plays more like an edutainment show for schools to book. Still, there's something to say for a much more intimate production. 

This one plays out more like myth and storytelling directly to the audience, rather than a large scale performance. I caught a work-in-progress version of Skeleton Canoe two years ago as part of the Chicago Puppet Festival, so it was interesting to see its evoloution. Defoe will take the now-finished puppet play on a national tour after this Chicago run. Don't miss this visual delight with a strong eco friendly message. Recommended. 

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).

The Biograph's Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Lincoln Park

Thursday, January 23 at 6 p.m.; Friday, January 24 at 6 p.m.; Saturday, January 25 at 2 p.m.; Sunday, January 26 at 4 p.m.

50 minutes

All ages

Tickets: $25-$33

Note: The Great Lakes Lifeways Institute will offer free birch bark carving workshops two hours before three of the four performances: Friday, January 24 at 4 p.m., Saturday, January 25 at 12 p.m. (noon), and Sunday, January 26 at 2 p.m.

allmyrelations.earth/collective

Young Nawbin leaves home and sets out on a rite of passage. They journey along the water to discover their truth and find a way back to reconnect to themselves and ancestral knowledge. Along the way they discover unexpected friends, weather storms, and gain a canoe! Through the use of puppetry, traditional Anishinaabe lifeways, and multimedia design, Skeleton Canoe makes known what is just below the water’s surface.

Skeleton Canoe marks the Chicago return of Ty Defoe, a Grammy-winning writer, actor and interdisciplinary artist of the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations of Wisconsin, who wrote and co-created Ajijaak on Turtle Island with Heather Henson, the festival’s unforgettable opening production in 2019. Defoe also workshopped Skeleton Canoe two years ago as part of the Chicago Puppet Festival, and will take the now-finished puppet play on a national tour after this Chicago run. 

Defoe learned to hoop dance, eagle dance and play a variety of wooden flutes during visits in community. Credits include Off Broadway: Masculinity Max (Public Studio); Broadway: Straight White Men (Second Stage). Tours: writer/co-director, Ajijaak On Turtle Island  (New Victory Theater/New York); Call for Peace Drum and Dance Company (Egypt); Ankara International Music Festival (Greece, Japan, Turkey). tydefoe.com  allmyrelations.earth/collective



Skeleton Crew is one of more than 120 shows and special events that are part of the 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, January 15-26, 2025. The 2025 Chicago Puppet Fest is the largest event of its kind in North America, spanning 12 days and dozens of Chicago venues, presenting  an international pageant of puppet artists in all-ages spectacle shows in landmark theaters, intimate works on smaller stages, and late night puppet cabarets. Last year’s festival attracted nearly 20,000 fans of puppetry, a record, from Chicago and around the world. This year, see puppet artists from Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Norway, Puerto Rico, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, the U.S. and Chicago performing the full range of contemporary and traditional puppetry styles. 

For tickets and information, visit chicagopuppetfest.org, sign up for the festival’s e-news, and follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram or Vimeo, hashtag #ChiPuppetFest.