The Wonder Wagon, a mobile performance platform made from a converted trailer, brings large, colorful puppets and live music to Chicago Parks, connecting communities through collective imagination and play.
Credits
2023 show devised and performed by Will Bishop, August Boyne, Time Brickey, Hunter Diamond, Sam Lewis, and Grace Needlman. Puppets designed and built by August Boyne, Time Brickey, and Grace Needlman. Original music by Hunter Diamond. Presented at Night Out in the Parks, Argyle Night Market, Logan Square Arts Festival, and the Chicago Children’s Museum.
2021 show devised and performed by Will Bishop, Hunter Diamond, Sam Lewis, Grace Needlman, Felix Mayes, Scott Ray Merchant, Cristal Sabbagh, and Myles Wakefield J. Designed and built by Will Bishop, Grace Needlman, and Myles Wakefield J. Original music by Hunter Diamond. Presented at Pivot Festival: Reimagining Utopia 2021 and Maxwell St. Market.
2019 show 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. Designed and built by Will Bishop, Jacklynn Kelsey, Grace Needlman, Nicole Nienow, Mike Oleon, and Kathryn Shivak.
2018 show devised and performed by Tyler Brown, Kaylen Carter, Katelyn Douglass, David Gordetzky, LaQuis Harkins, Jacklynn Kelsey, Maddy Low, Sonja Mata, Felix Mayes, Scott Ray Merchant, and Ray Rehberg. Designed and built by Will Bishop, Jacklynn Kelsey, Grace Needlman, Nicole Nienow, Mike Oleon, and KT Shivak.
2017 show devised and performed by Lara Carling, Katelyn Douglass, David Gordetzky, Kay Kron, Sonja Mata, Scott Ray Merchant, Ray Rehberg and Michele Stine. Designed and built by Will Bishop, Jacklynn Kelsey, Grace Needlman, Nicole Nienow, Mike Oleon, and KT Shivak.
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This project was partially supported in 2016, 2017, and 2018 by an Individual Artist Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, as well as a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. It was presented in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2023 as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series.