Barebones Puppets · 2023 Extravaganza

30th Annual Extravaganza

October 28, 29, 30, and 31

On the Midtown Greenway: 2828 11th Avenue S, Mpls, MN

Puppetry · Stilting · Dance · Fire · Music · Song

Celebrating turning 30 in 2023!

Decomposed / Recomposed

Bugs are the natural ushers of death. They know that the death of one brings life to many. Their life cycles are short, some living for only a single day. They teach us about metamorphosis, how losing one’s self can mean transforming into something new.

In Decomposed / Recomposed, we are ushered by bugs and other urban garden creatures into the realm of the ancestors and spirits. Like all things in the natural world, we must learn to transform from one state to another, navigating through different stages of grief, learning lessons about life’s cycles through the wisdom and strength of our ancestors. Decomposition turns death into dirt, to soil, to plants, to oxygen, to new life.

Gratitude

To the public: Thank you so much for helping make our 30th year a special one! We are always taken by your annual commitment to the production and generosity. BareBones relies on private donations to create its annual ritual and you've helped us ensure there will be a 2024. Thank you, fam.

To our staff, volunteers, and partners: we are so fortunate to have worked with such a talented and dedicated group of individuals in creating and offering Decomposed / Recomposed. You all came with BIG ideas and worked tirelessly to make them a reality. We could not have realized this vision without our strong volunteer turnout. See the full list of staff and supporters.

Highlights From the Show

Photos by Sam Bramble; Video by AllwaysFP

Play Video

Welcome! A big and beautiful turnout. Enter through the tunnel to witness magic and spectacle.

Play Video

Recomposed: now a skeleton, an ancestor shows the deceased the natural world's metamorphosis.

Play Video

Celebration: the living and dead, creatures of every sort, dance to celebrate the cycle of life.

Play Video

The insect world: the littlest creatures are writ large as they march through life and death.

Play Video

Welcome! A big and beautiful turnout. Enter through the tunnel to witness magic and spectacle.

Play Video

Recomposed: now a skeleton, an ancestor shows the deceased the natural world's metamorphosis.

Play Video

Celebration: the living and dead, creatures of every sort, dance to celebrate the cycle of life.

Play Video

The insect world: the littlest creatures are writ large as they march through life and death.

The Midtown Greenway, 10th Ave bridge at down. There is a crowd on the ground in front of it.

A roughly 16 foot puppet, with gold head and hands, and white fabric draping for body is puppetted on the grass next to the 10th Ave bridge on the Midtown Greenway.

A large crowd on a grassy knoll on the side of a bike highway, and a show of large scale puppets on the other grassy side of the bike highway.

People with bike puppets and other on foot with a sign that alebryes MN. They are walking under a city bridge.

Nine people in black walking at night with lit up white paper and fabric lanterns and puppet heads on long sticks.

A 5 to 6 foot tall paper mache puppet head sitting on top of a decorated stage van.

A pop-up proscenium theatre decorated with lit up white paper decor.

The word decomposed spelled out in 2 - 3 foot tall paper mache letters. Behind it is a shadow puppetry projected on a large screen.

A man in white and black skull face makeup, holding a pole and looking off to the side.

Eight performers, wearing white and black skull face makeup. Their arms are outstretched and holding fire in each hand.

Three performers with outstretched arms and fire in each hand, dancing in front of a pop-up proscenium theatre decorated with lit up white paper decor.

A puppeteer dressed in black with skull face makeup, with a 4 foot silver hummingbird puppet strapped on her back and held above her head.

a couple people dressed in white robes, and to people holding large white puppet heads atop long poles with white fabric robes descending beneath the heads and covering the puppeteers.

A man dressed in black with skull face makeup sitting in the middle of a 5 foot tall, and 5 - 6 foot long rooster puppet.

Four people dressed in white robes, standing under a city bridge. One other person not in all white is standing behind them.

Several people dressed in black with skull face makeup, holding unlit canister lanterns.

A screen with shadow puppetry projected onto it, and a puppeteer working the projector and art.

Half a dozen or so people dressed as skeletons and a 20 foot winged with skeleton puppet being operated by several puppeteers wearing black. There is another 16 foot puppet in the background with a body (from the head down) of draped white fabric and a large papier mâché painted with gold. There is also a human size mushroom puppet and an illuminated giant bird puppet hanging from a line above all these others.

An outdoor performance (on a grassy area in the city). There is a 20 foot winged skeleton puppet being operated by a couple people. There is a about five foot tall very colorful papier mâché egg that is being opened in half by several people in squirrel masks. Behind all this is a pop-up proscenium theatre decorated with lit up white paper decor, and there is a giant papier mâché on top of the theatre.

An outdoor performance (on a grassy area in the city). There is a 20 foot winged skeleton puppet being operated by a couple people. Several people in squirrel masks are around, and one is playing a giant drum shaped like an acorn. Behind all this is a pop-up proscenium theatre decorated with lit up white paper decor. There is another 16 foot puppet in the background with a body (from the head down) of draped white fabric and a large papier mâché painted with gold.

Three 16 foot tall, all white, animal faced puppets being held up under the arches of the underside of a bridge running over a city street.

A roughly 16 foot puppet, with gold head and hands, and white fabric draping for body is puppetted on the grass next to a roughly 20 foot skeleton puppet with wings.

A woman with large metal bat wings on her back with the tips of the wings lit on fire.

A person dressed in black, outdoors in the snow, with metal bat wings on their back that have the edges lit on fire.

A couple puppeteers, outdoors, dressed in black, puppetting (from the ground) a 20 foot tall puppet of a girl with black hair in a white outfit.

The outdoor stage of a show, with 2 foot tall paper mache letters on the ground, spelling out Decomposed, and a large screen in the background with the word decomposed on it.

Three puppeteers, dressed in black, puppetting, from the ground, a 20 foot tall skeleton puppet.

A four foot tall, opposum puppet, on the snowy ground, with performers, dressed in back, and a building in the background.

Three 16 foot tall, all white, animal faced puppets.

Puppeteers carrying a metal canoe (lit up from the inside) with a skeleton cut out of the side.

Several performers dressed in black, dancing and wearing large paper mache skull heads.

People, dressed in black, waving long thin poles with neon colored thin scraps at the end, with a 20 foot skeleton puppet in the background.

Two women laughing an one is holding a microphone to her mouth, while the other also has her hand on the mic.

Co-Directors

Sofia Padilla

Heather Hinrichsen

Learn About Our Directors

Sofia Padilla is a Mexican Theater Artist, Director, Designer and Puppeteer who has participated in over forty national and international theater productions. For television, she was the First Assistant Director of Sesame Street in Mexico City for the 2016 season “Listos a Jugar”. Currently, she works as a touring member of Bread and Puppet Theater and as the Artistic Co-Director of Paradox Teatro, which she founded in 2017 with Davey T Steinman. Paradox Teatro has received three grants from "The Jim Henson Foundation" to develop two different projects: "Migraciones / Migrations" (2019 Production Grant) and “Speechless / Sin Palabras" (2021 Workshop Grant and 2023 Production Grant).

Heather Hinrichsen is a bilingual educator and visual artist. She has been deeply involved in the Barebones community since 2014, jumping in head-first by taking on various roles as volunteer performer, puppet builder, board member and assistant sound tech. Her 10+ years as an educator of all ages has been interwoven with her many precious experiences as a teaching artist, puppeteer and artistic collaborator. Heather is fascinated by color and light, which attracted her to the medium of stained glass. She combines traditional stained glass techniques with recycled bike parts to create nature-inspired designs under the name Heather Esperanza Glass Art. Heather holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and an ELL license.

Frendz! Heather and Sofía met when Sofía came to Minneapolis for the first time in 2016, and have since developed a beautiful friendship and sisterhood. In 2022, Heather joined Paradox Teatro’s New England tour of “Migraciones/Migrations” as lighting technician. They have traveled around Mexico, driven across the U.S., camped, laughed, celebrated, grieved, and swam in countless lakes together. They are excited to create a meaningful Barebones 2023 experience alongside their beloved community.

Artists

Amber Moore (Artist)

Baki Baki Baki (Artist)

Danielle Hendricks (Artist)

Fletcher Wolfe (Artist)

Gustavo Boada (Artist)

Ken Rivera (Artist)

Piper Smith (Artist)

Serena Black (Artist)

Zarra TM (Artist)

Eva Adderley (Shared Artist Role)

Kateri Krantz-Odendahl (Shared Artist Role)

Maggie Arbeiter (Shared Artist Role)

Mary Jo Nikolai (Shared Artist Role)

Mark R. Safford (Stilt Coordinator and Puppeteer Consulting)

Carlisle Evans Peck (Music Director)

Mina Leierwood (Altar Coordinator)

Pedro Julio Becquer Jr (Fire Coordinator)

Crew, Volunteers & Partners

SO many!

Full List of Staff and Supporters

October 28, 29, 30, and 31

On the Midtown Greenway: 2828 11th Avenue S, Mpls, MN

Decomposed / Recomposed

Highlights From the Show

Co-Directors

Artists

Crew, Volunteers & Partners

To bring art into community and community into art through movement, puppetry and spectacle performance; creative re-use, education, and collaboration.