Nov 1, 2, 3, and 4 2024
Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis
puppetry · stilting · dance · fire · live music · song
When Calamity Strikes

Barebone's 31st annual puppet extravaganza, will explore the relationship between technology, climate change, and genocide.
The title, When Calamity Strikes, refers to the many layers of calamity that we experience as a collective and as individuals, piecing together what it means to navigate these instances both locally and globally.
From the beginning of our explorations of these themes, it was vital that we not approach this from an able-ist standpoint. We wanted to disrupt the common and problematic dichotomy between the “mechanical” and the “natural”, because in fact such a dichotomy doesn’t exist. It is a spectrum. From imperialist wars for oil to neo-liberal mining death camps, capitalists are using technology to try to dominate the planet. From within the resulting mass extinction event facing all of us today, we proclaim: all of existence is sacred; all actions are not.
We are all a part of this world! And it is our great challenge and purpose to discover together how we can co-evolve, co-create, and co-exist within it.
2024 Directors
Walken Schweigert