Little Did’s take on Toy Theater is a reimagining of an old folk tale set to original music.  The piece is performed in front of a pop-up book that sets the stage for this dark love story.  After workshopping at a Great Small Works Soiree we were accepted to perform it as part of the prestigious Toy Theater Festival Presented by St. Ann’s Warehouse in June 2013. It was also performed at The Hare Club in November 2013.

In 2015, Eli was remounted for the Puppeteers of America National Festival! We are so thankful to have performed this special show for our peers. This version of the show featured a new cast and was workshopped as part of Standard ToyKraft’s Hot Time in the Old City Residency.

In 2020, in an attempt to raise relief funds for the company, Eli, the Luthier (the film) premiered to the public for streaming! It was truly made for video, with multiple cameras and no audience, but run straight through so as the feeling of live theater. Thank you so much to the 2013 cast for participating, and to Ryan Keyes and our friends at nyiloveyou.tv

“Looking back at Eli while writing grants to secure funding for our 2020 residency, it strikes me how much of our current mission and working method continues to be informed by it. To Jessica and I, Eli represents our first major work out of college. Featuring DIY-style handmade puppets paired with live, looped cello, it acted as a sort of ‘proof of concept’ of what our collaboration could be. After the stressful experience of loading puppets in and out of a circus tent for Fringe Festival, we conceived of Eli as a show that could travel on a subway, with pop-up sets and toy theater-style puppets that would fit on a tabletop. We never would have guessed that it would eventually play for hundreds of puppet enthusiasts at the 2015 National Puppetry Festival–on one of the biggest stages that we’ve ever worked on.”

~Luke Santy, Co-Artistic Director

Check out our Review from the show’s premiere.

Photos: Jane B Clausen