Home • JACK History
Jack is a puppet.
Giant eats puppets.
A swirling world is born from an old beanstalk story.
One man puppeteers all!
JACK will be performed at the Mixed Blood Theater
1501 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN
| Tuesday, Aug. 5 | 10:00pm |
| Wednesday, Aug. 6 | 5:30pm |
| Friday, Aug. 8 | 4:00pm |
| Saturday, Aug. 9 | 2:30pm |
| Sunday, Aug. 10 | 5:30pm |
Created and puppeteered by Eric Van Wyk, 2006 NYC and Capital Fringe participant.
Get tickets at UPTOWN TIX (uptowntix.com or 651.209.6799): The only source for guaranteed fringe seats.
JACK History
My solo puppet show JACK started with a series of six watercolors of my interpretation of Jack and the Beanstalk as a puppetry piece. I painted them in the early spring of 2007 and by the late summer of 2007, I felt the paintings still had a rich resonance. So I proceeded to storyboard more ideas and let the writing come into the margins. After 4 months of puppet building and script writing, JACK was first presented as a workshop script in Washington D.C. at H and F Galleries in the fall of 2007. Post-show discussions gave vital feedback about which aspects were successful and weak in the show as well as ideas to make the solo show smoother. The result of that showing has led me to refine JACK and focus on my initial connection to the symbolism of the story but also the fascinating relationship between a puppet and a puppeteer Giant that wants to eat him.
For me, puppetry creates nuanced, creative and unique theatrical approaches to traditional texts. This happened in 2005 when I co-created the puppetry piece "Dis/Appearing" for the Washington DC and NYC Fringe Festivals, which was based on the Billy Collins poem "Walking across the Atlantic." Discovering the rich symbolism and metaphors in poems and fairy tales has allowed my puppetry to become more imaginative and full of possibilities.
The adaptation of this classic fairy tale into JACK emphasizes the tenuous and mysterious relationship of the Giant as the human puppeteer and Jack as a puppet. Life is difficult for Jack as a puppet being manipulated by a puppet thirsty Giant. In the end, it is the puppeteer alone on the stage who must face being the pleasure seeking Jack, as well as a monstrous beast, and reconciling them.
