A mobile performance platform that brought puppets to Maxwell St. Market

September 15, 2019 | Maxwell St. Market | Created by Will Bishop, Grace Needlman, and collaborators

The Wonder Wagon, a mobile performance platform made from a converted trailer, brings puppets to Chicago Parks, connecting communities through collective imagination and wonder. 2nd Floor Co-op supported a special performance of Wonder Wagon at the Maxwell St. Market.

Wonder Wagon was conceived and created by Will Bishop and Grace Needlman. The mobile performance structure was designed and built by Will Bishop, Jacklynn Kelsey, Grace Needlman, Nicole Nienow, Mike Oleon, and Kathryn Shivak.

The 2019 show was devised and performed by Katelyn Douglass, David Gordetzky, Kate Healy, Jerrell L. Henderson, Sam Lewis, Felix Mayes, Scott Ray Merchant, Jose Nateras, Ray Rehberg, Dani Santisteven, and Kevin Wesson.

Drawing on strategies from puppetry, pedagogy, and museum practice, Grace Needlman creates invitations for participants to engage with art and each other in unexpected ways. graceneedlman.com