ERBEN: VLASY Comes to The Ballard Institute This Month

As part of its 2025 Spring Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will present a special forum event! Join Czech puppeteer Jan (“Hza”) Bažant as he performs Erben: Vlasy at 7 p.m., followed by a Forum on Puppetry and Design at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. This is a free event but requires a reservation due to limited seating.  

Join in for a special combination performance and post-show discussion with celebrated Czech puppeteer, graphic artist, set designer and cartoonist Jan Bažant, who, as a member of Prague's Hura Collective, will perform Erben: Vlasy, a shadow-puppet production based on the dark fairy tales of 19th-century Czech folklorist K. J. Erben.

The performance will be followed by a Puppet Forum with Jan about the ways his work in design, graphic arts, and comics influences his puppetry. 

Erben: Vlasy is an adult-oriented shadow production about King who loves to hunt in the forest, but falls prey to evil deeds, which lead him to a dark destiny. Jan Bažant is the author of numerous graphic novels, some of which he has transformed into theater productions. He has won numerous awards for his graphic art and scenography, and is the director of Echt Street Puppets, a giant puppet troupe that performs in Europe and Asia.   

Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), but seating reservations are required. You can reserve your ticket at: https://shorturl.at/HOcjx.