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The Mirrored Pool

#mapfund

So proud of my daughter Solvej on her graduation in LA.

It’s happening! Sensei is coming to Chicago!

Join Tom Lee, Tatsu Aoki and Rika Lin (aka Yoshinojo Fujima) for a special night of puppetry with one of the masters of traditional Japanese Puppetry.Evening with a Puppet Master features fifth generation puppeteer Koryū Nishikawa V, headmaster of the 160 year old puppet company Hachiōji Kuruma Ningyō.Nishikawa-san will perform and demonstrate the Kuruma ningyō (cart puppetry) form, one of the world’s most expressive solo puppetry styles. Audience members will be able to try the puppet carts in an intimate and beautiful setting at Asian Improv aRts Midwest wood-paneled studio.Join us for this once in a lifetime chance to interact with one of Japan’s most unique traditional artists.

Evening with a Puppet Master
Koryū Nishikawa V
Saturday, May 30, 2026 7:30pm
AIRMW : 4875 N Elston Ave Chicago, IL60630
$50 suggested donation

Register at the link in my bio or below:
https://tomleeprojects.com/evening-with-a-puppet-master-saturday-may-30-2026

Evening with a Puppet Master
is made possible by a collaboration between
Tom Lee/ Yara Arts Group and Asian Improv aRts Midwest/Shubukai in celebration of Shubukai’s 50th anniversary in Chicago.
Addditional support provided by Northwestern University Astere E. Claeyssens artist in residence 2025/2026 Tom Lee.
Photo by Yvette Dostatni

Koryū Nishikawa V is the fifth generation headmaster of the 160 year-old traditional puppet theatre company, Hachiōji Kuruma Ningyō (cart puppetry theatre of Hachioji), designated an Intangible Folk Custom Cultural Asset by the Japanese government. This unique solo puppetry form was developed by Koryū Nishikawa the First at the end of the Edo Era (1603-1868). As a child, Koryū Nishikawa V received instruction from his father and grandfather. Hachiōji Kuruma Ningyō has performed in over forty countries and regions, including the Union Internationale de la Marionette (UNIMA) festivals in the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, Belgium, India, Hungary and France.

FOR PUPPET NERDS Only. Building a new puppet cart for Kuruma-ningyō style.#八王子車人形

Location: deep underground La MaMa Experimental Theatre

—CLOSED—
OPEN CALLPUPPET CAMP for Pesta Boneka #10 .

Papermoon Puppet Theatre in collaboration with Tom Lee @tlee668 (USA), will hold a masterclass and Puppet Camp as part of #PestaBoneka10 ; an international biennale puppet festival that will happen in October 7 -11, 2026 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

We invite puppeteers, dancers, performers, theater makers to do a collaboration and training process in Japanese puppetry techniques (kuruma ningyō-style), and joining the performance of Shank’s Mare at PESTA BONEKA #10. Participants will take part in a puppet camp, rehearsal process, and performance, culminating in joining the performance of Shank’s Mare at PESTA BONEKA #10 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Limited only for 8 people

WHEN

Date : September 25 - October 11, 2026 ( 17 days )

WHERE

Location : Kampoeng Media/ RUANG PANA @ruang.pana , YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA

Facilitation :

1. Accommodation from September 24 - October 12, 2026 (with possible shared room arrangement to another participant by and with confirmation from festival’s team)
2. Meals 3 times per day
3. Experience Japanese puppet traditions and the contemporary puppetry rehearsal and devising process of Shank’s Mare (created by Tom Lee USA and Koryū Nishikawa V Japan)
4. Perform with US and Japanese artists in Shank’s Mare at PESTA BONEKA #10
5. ARTIST PASS, All access to join PestaBoneka10
6. VISA will be covered by PESTA BONEKA
Schedule of program :

September 25 - October 6, 2026 : Puppet Camp
October 7, 2026 : Performance of Shank’s Mare in PESTA BONEKA 10
October 8-11, 2026 : Attending Pesta Boneka 10
—
We will provide letter of invitation for you to apply for grants to join this program.

We will close the call as soon as the numbers of participants has achieved.

More information and Registration :
https://bit.ly/shanksmare
Or email pestaboneka@gmail.com

—CLOSED—
OPEN CALLPUPPET CAMP for Pesta Boneka #10 .

Papermoon Puppet Theatre in collaboration with Tom Lee @tlee668 (USA), will hold a masterclass and Puppet Camp as part of #PestaBoneka10 ; an international biennale puppet festival that will happen in October 7 -11, 2026 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

We invite puppeteers, dancers, performers, theater makers to do a collaboration and training process in Japanese puppetry techniques (kuruma ningyō-style), and joining the performance of Shank’s Mare at PESTA BONEKA #10. Participants will take part in a puppet camp, rehearsal process, and performance, culminating in joining the performance of Shank’s Mare at PESTA BONEKA #10 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Limited only for 8 people

WHEN

Date : September 25 - October 11, 2026 ( 17 days )

WHERE

Location : Kampoeng Media/ RUANG PANA @ruang.pana , YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA

Facilitation :

1. Accommodation from September 24 - October 12, 2026 (with possible shared room arrangement to another participant by and with confirmation from festival’s team)
2. Meals 3 times per day
3. Experience Japanese puppet traditions and the contemporary puppetry rehearsal and devising process of Shank’s Mare (created by Tom Lee USA and Koryū Nishikawa V Japan)
4. Perform with US and Japanese artists in Shank’s Mare at PESTA BONEKA #10
5. ARTIST PASS, All access to join PestaBoneka10
6. VISA will be covered by PESTA BONEKA
Schedule of program :

September 25 - October 6, 2026 : Puppet Camp
October 7, 2026 : Performance of Shank’s Mare in PESTA BONEKA 10
October 8-11, 2026 : Attending Pesta Boneka 10
—
We will provide letter of invitation for you to apply for grants to join this program.

We will close the call as soon as the numbers of participants has achieved.

More information and Registration :
https://bit.ly/shanksmare
Or email pestaboneka@gmail.com

Happy Year of the Horse! The Great Zodiac Animal Race at La MaMa Kids with special guests Shu Odamura and Leah Ogawa.

Special thanks to Averly Sheltraw, Federico Restrepo and Chris Carcione!

See it at Detroit Institute of the Arts! May 9!

https://dia.org/events/tom-lees-great-zodiac-animal-race-0?ref=/search

Year of the Horse starting out with many auspicious events!
Tom Lee -Child of Wood puppetry exhibit at the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts! Now to May 17!
…plus
Mirrored Pool - final 4 Atlanta performances with Eighth Blackbird’s Lisa Kaplan and Matthew Duvall - Feb 19-22!
tickets to both at www.puppet.org
Plus! The Great Zodiac Animal Race - Year of the Horse version! March 1 at La MaMa!
www.lamama.org

« Light is the left hand of darkness
and darkness the right hand of light.»

I’m proud to be premiering the puppetry adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness with longtime collaborator Edward Einhorn at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival on January 29, 2026. Tickets for these performances are sold out, but you can go to the theater and get on the waiting list early for a rush ticket.

Show schedule & venue at chicagopuppetfest.org:
https://chicagopuppetfest.org/event/tom-lee-edward-einhorn-untitled-theater-co-no-61-yara-arts-group-the-left-hand-of-darkness/

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS
Based on the book by Ursula K. Le Guin
Produced by Untitled Theater Company No. 61 with additional support by Yara Arts Group

Produced with the permission of the Ursula K. Le Guin Literary Trust

Created by Edward Einhorn and Tom Lee
Adapted by Edward Einhorn
Directed by Edward Einhorn and Tom Lee
Puppeteers: Chih-Jou Cheng, Gandul Gandulero, Tom Lee, Justin Otaki Perkins, Fletcher Pierson (understudy), Emma Wiseman
Actors: Winter Jones (Estraven), Miguel Long (Genly); Intro/Docent: Edward Einhorn
Composer/musician: Michael Zerang
Designers: Tom Lee (lead), Daphne Agosin (lighting), Chris Carcione (video), Jacky Kelsey (costumes and puppets), Grace Needlman (set and puppets), Averly Sheltraw (puppets), Linda Wingerter (shadow puppets)
Technical director/sound operator: Dylan Reyno; Video operator: Avery Sheltraw; Musical support & fabrication: August Boyne, Erik Neuman; Sound support: Damian Wiseman; Curtain creation: Riley Lynch; Rigging: Michael Reed, Fabrication support:
Caitlin McLeod, Abby Palen, Richie Schiraldi, Olenka Tsyhankova, Aidan Vogel (puppet hair)
Stage Manager: Berit Johnson
This production is supported by the Astere E. Claeyssens Artist-in-Residence program of Northwestern University School of Communication. Tom Lee, 2025-2026 artist.
Thanks to Dr. Carol Farver & Dr. Robert Needlman, The Morris & Alma Schapiro Foundation, the Jim Henson Foundation, Chicago DCASE, Chicago Puppet Festival
and Virlana Tkacz for their support.

#lefthandofdarkness #ursulakleguin #puppettheatre #sciencefiction

The Mirrored Pool is a visionary collaboration between acclaimed puppeteer Tom Lee and celebrated musicians Lisa Kaplan and Matthew Duvall, co-founders of the Grammy Award–winning ensemble @eighthblackbird.
This immersive performance invites audiences to reflect on humanity’s place in the cosmos, blending Eighth Blackbird’s renowned musical virtuosity with the evocative storytelling power of puppetry. Inspired by the legacy of astronomer Carl Sagan and the Voyager spacecraft carrying the Golden Record, now traveling more than 15.7 billion miles from Earth.

📆 Feb 13-22 | Ages 18+
🎟️ Tickets at the link in our bio!
.
.
.
@tlee668 @eighthblackbird #PuppetryNOW

Magic of Light closes today… дуже дякую to all who have made this special puppet show possible: Virlana Tkacz, Julian Kytasty, Michele Stine, Zlata Godunova, Tia Pinson, Andreea Mincic, Kevin White, Linda Wingerter, Erin Gray, Olenka Tyshankova, Jacky Kelsey, Averly Sheltraw, Zachary Sun, Caitlin McLeod, Caitlin Nugent, Yara Arts Group and the staff at NU’s Wirtz Center Chicago.
Music courtesy of the Experimental Bandura Trio - Andrec, Fedynsky, Kytasty

The Magic of Light (opening next week!)
МАГІЯ СВІТЛА
13-16 November 2026, Wirtz Center Chicago
wirtz.northwestern.edu/the-magic-of-light/

From Yara Arts Group and La MaMa ETC
Virlana Tkacz, Tom Lee, Julian Kytasty

Вірляна Ткач, Том Лі, Юліян Китастий

Квитки: wirtz.northwestern.edu/the-magic-of-light/

Разом із Мішель Стайн і Златою Годуновою
Ляльки створив Кевін Уайт
Сет та костюми: Андрея Мінчіч
Світло: Кет Жоу
Стейдж менеджер: Ерін Грей
Помічник режисера: Оленка Циганкова
Додаткова допомога із ляльками: Ейверлі Шелтроу, Джекі Келсі, Джастін Перкінс і компанія

Презентовано Wirtz Center Chicago Northwestern University
Том Лі, Astere E. Claeyssens
Митець у резиденції

from Yara Arts Group
resident company of La MaMa Experimental Theatre
THE MAGIC OF LIGHT
Nov. 13-16,2025 Wirtz Center Chicago
Virlana TkaczTom LeeJulian Kytasty

Tickets: wirtz.northwestern.edu/the-magic-of-light/

With Michele Stine and Zlata Godunova
Puppets carved by Kevin White
Set and costumes Andreea Mincic
Shadow Puppetry by Linda Wingerter
Lighting by Kat Zhou
Stage manager Erin Gray
Assistant director Olenka Tsyhankova
Additional puppetry support by Averly Sheltraw, Jacky Kelsey, Justin Perkins and the company

Presented by Wirtz Center Chicago Northwestern University
Tom Lee, Astere E. Claeyssens Artist-in-Residence

Full WGN clip: //wgntv.com/video/the-magic-of-light-at-wirtz-theater/11227848/

від Yara Arts Group, театральної компанії у резиденції La  МаМа E.T.C.,

МАГІЯ СВІТЛА
13-16 листопада, Northwestern | Wirtz Center, Chicago
Вірляна Ткач, Том Лі, Юліян Китастий

Квитки: wirtz.northwestern.edu/the-magic-of-light/

Разом із Мішель Стайн і Златою Годуновою
Ляльки створив Кевін Уайт
Сет та костюми: Андрея Мінчіч
Світло: Кет Жоу
Стейдж менеджер: Ерін Грей
Помічник режисера: Оленка Циганкова
Додаткова допомога із ляльками: Ейверлі Шелтроу, Джекі Келсі, Джастін Перкінс і компанія

Презентовано Wirtz Center Chicago Northwestern University
Том Лі, Astere E. Claeyssens
Митець у резиденції

#yaraartsgroup #puppets #lamama #Ukraine #wirtzcenterchicago