VALARIE Puppet Show to Premiere at Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver
Cinco, Katy Williams, Johnny Bartlett, Kit Mathews and Bryse Taylor make up the show's creative team.
Blue Silk Productions will present Valarie, a new theatrical puppet show blending handcrafted puppetry with Contemporary Stage technology, September 25-27 at The Studio Loft at Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver.
The production is being developed during a month-long residency through the Denver Center for the Performing Arts' 2026 Arts Complex Creates: New Works Incubator. Blue Silk Productions received $25,000 in grant funding through the program to develop the new work.
In Valarie, a cherished dog disappears into the Colorado wilderness, pulling Valarie into a neighboring world governed by its own unfamiliar logic. As she encounters fantastic beings and unstable realities, Valarie must learn new forms of communication while her understanding of home, community and belonging continues to shift.
The production will create its surreal landscape through handmade puppets, choreography, lighting, projections, sound and special effects. The work explores displacement, language, community and the ways a change in perspective can lead to new ways of seeing and acting.
Valarie builds on the collective's previous puppet show, Blue Silk, expanding the visual and theatrical language developed for that production through a new collection of uncanny creatures and environments.
Creative Team
Cinco serves as writer, director and puppet builder, with Katy Williams as puppet director and puppet builder. Johnny Bartlett is technical director and special effects designer, Kit Mathews serves as projections designer and Bryse Taylor is sound designer.
The production will be devised through a makers-lab process during the residency, with its puppetry, music, projections and lighting developed alongside one another.
Performance Schedule
Valarie will play five performances at The Studio Loft at Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 908 14th St., Denver.
Friday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 26 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 27 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Free Community Workshops
Alongside the production, Blue Silk Productions will offer a series of free community workshops exploring the company's approach to theatre-making. Workshops will take place at the Champa Rehearsal Studio at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
August 30, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. — How Do We Make a Show?
September 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Writing and Music: The Building Blocks to a Puppet Show
September 13, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Devising and Working with Paper Puppets
September 20, 12-1 p.m. — Projection Mapping and Special Effects 101
All workshops are free and open to the public.
Valarie Community Workshop Information
About Blue Silk Productions
Blue Silk Productions is a collective of artists combining handcrafted puppetry with interactive technologies to create immersive, surrealist environments and narrative experiences. Its work frequently uses non-human protagonists to explore themes including displacement, belonging, resilience and transformation.
The collective previously toured Blue Silk with presentations in Philadelphia and Colorado. The project received support from the Cannonball Festival through the Philadelphia Fringe Festival and a residency at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
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