"As with his songs, there is no showmanship, legerdemain, pretense or fanfare in the presentation of this non-traditional puppetry. On stage, Dax has a deceptively casual manner - meanwhile, glowing stars pop out of suitcases of their own accord, and apparitions rise out of heaps of cardboard and collapse just as quickly. Nothing is hidden in the straight-forward construction of the puppets and apparatuses, and yet each piece unfolds a moment of magic that is as moving as it was direct. These shows cleverly present the fascination that has been lost to us since childhood, though you wouldn't imagine how simply it was achieved."
Blair Thomas - Artistic Director of Blair Thomas & Co. Chamber Puppet Theater, founder of Redmoon Theater, Chicago, IL.
In July of 2007 I ran across puppeteer Blair Thomas at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Without warning or apology, puppets immediately took over my artistic practice. I apprenticed with the Blair Thomas & Co. from 2007-2008, building and performing in many grand projects that presented at venues from the Storefront Theater to the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and even the Pritzker Pavillion in Millenium Park. At the end of the 2008, I left my position as Shop Foreman with Blair to begin my own puppetry career. My deepest thanks to everyone in the Chicago puppetry community who has helped me find this medium. I hope to do you all proud some day.
In the Autumn of 2009, I conducted my first national solo tour to present three of these shows in their completed form, alongside original songs performed with accordions and wine glasses. Returning to my home town in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010, I am founding my very own puppet company, who's first full-scale production is the Kickstarter project, "The Museum Proper."
[Dax holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the California College of Arts and Crafts, and an MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.]
