Baltimore Toy Theatre Festival
The National Capital Puppetry Guild and Black Cherry Puppet Theater present the first annual
Baltimore Toy Theatre Festival!
A celebratory exploration of small and tiny theaters
Saturday August 16th
AT:
Current Space, 421 N. Howard St., Baltimore, MD 21201
LeMondo, 406 N. Howard St., Baltimore, MD 21201
Saturday, August 16, 2025
9am till 12:30pm: Morning Workshops at LeMondo
1pm and 3pm: Afternoon performances at both venues
6pm: Evening Puppet Cabaret at Current--Please enter into the back courtyard at 421 Tyson St., Baltimore, MD 21201 for
The inaugural Baltimore Toy Theatre Festival will take place at Le Mondo and Current Space on Saturday, August 16, 2025. This event is presented by the National Capital Puppetry Guild and the Black Cherry Puppet Theater. There will be fourteen performances and three workshops (one in person, and two virtual).
The morning will kick off with virtual and in person workshops at LeMondo at 9am. More info on these three workshops below!
The afternoon family friendly performances will take place in BOTH venues with the first block of shows beginning at 1pm. When these end the audience will change venue for the 3pm performances. Each show will be performed twice so every ticket holder gets to see it!
The evening Puppet Cabaret features several performances on Current Space's stage beginning at 6:00pm. The entrance for these shows will be directly into the garden at 421 Tyson St.
Tickets for afternoon and evening performances $15-25 sliding scale AVAILABLE NOW!
Toy Theatre is defined for the purposes of this festival as a theater in miniature fitting on a tabletop and bound by a proscenium. The focus of the performance is inside of the proscenium and on manipulated objects. Other puppetry elements can be incorporated into a toy theatre.
Performances include these shows by puppeteers from all over the East Coast:
The Snowflake Man by PuppetKabob
Where Did You Go, Connie by Amanda Glynn Card
The Tiny Bird Show by Carol D’Agostino
The Center of Time by Merry Carver
The American Theater Is Alive And Well by Crooked Square Puppetry
New But Familiar by PUPPETQUEERS
An Imprudent Use Of Ink by A Rural Pen Inkworks
Sisyphus's Task by Rex Bourne
Jovita Idár: A Maiden of Justice by Genna Beth Davidson
As well as these shows from Baltimore artists:
Space Station Nova by String Theory Theater
Terrific Triangles- Exploring Basic Shapes! by Majeedah & Such-N-Such Puppets
Incursion at Frogstone by Chuck Nesci
A Fly Girl's Travel Journal by Empower Puppets!
There will also be a presentation of a legacy Pollock Toy Theatre Production by Black Cherry Puppet Theater
There will be three workshops starting at 9:00am. One will be in person at LeMondo at 9am. For the two virtual workshops, attendees can watch at home or there will also be video feeds at Lemondo if you'd like to watch there!
Please reserve your spot for the workshops here!
Workshops:
Classic Toy Theatre Performance with Black Cherry Puppet Theater
Join the team working along with Black Cherry artists creating a legacy Pollock’s Toy Theatre production. Pollock’s was one of several European companies producing and selling the theatres. These were meant to be parlorentertainment starting in the Victorian era.
This workshop will us one of the theatres from Michael Lamason’s collection. You will cut out and mount oncardstock the characters and sets, possibly color them with watercolor, rehearse, and then perform the show at the evening performance.
All materials and supplies will be provided. Cost: $35
9:00am-12:15pm with a 15 minute break
In Person Workshop at LeMondo, 406 North Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Lambe Lambe with Puppet Soup (Virtual)
Our friends Cass and Fagner from London’s Puppet Soup will give participants a foundation in the making of aTeatro Lambe Lambe production in this virtual workshop. Explore the methodology of creating and presenting tiny performances for an audience of one.
10:45am-12:15pm Cost: $25
Virtual, workshop link will be emailed to participants prior to the start of the workshop.
Participants will also have the option of viewing this virtual workshop at LeMondo, 406 North Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
Concertina Toy Theatre with Creative Madness (Virtual)
The National Capital Puppetry Guild’s Peter Court will lead participants in making a toy theatre out of cut and folded letter size paper. This workshop is perfect for teachers or anyone looking for a direct and easy way of exploring this miniature theatrical art.
9:00am-10:30am Cost: $25
Virtual, workshop link will be emailed to participants prior to the start of the workshop.
Participants will also have the option of viewing this virtual workshop at LeMondo, 406 North Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
