Mainstage Productions

Each year we produce original, company-generated plays for both families and adults. Using visual, musical and movement narratives,
in addition to words, HOBT translates complex issues of mind and society into images that breathe with soul and spirit.
February 11–12
Blair ThomasSaturday, 8pm & Sunday, 2pm

Blair Thomas: Hard Headed Heart

High art meets low when the words of early 20th Century poets are given voice in this cabaret of wooden puppets, rolling paper scrolls and bass drums.

The performances are based on the writings of Federico Garcia Lorca and Wallace Stevens as well as a traditional New Orleans blues song.

Recommended for ages 14 and up.

February 11 - 10pm

For the Love of Puppets Cabaret

Puppet CabaretFor the Love of Puppets, a cabaret of puppet shows by the Twin Cities puppet community, will entertain you into the night. There will also be food, drinks & live music!

Recommended for ages 17 and up.

  • Admission: $10 per person
    or Pay What You Can.
  • Pay What You Can tickets must be purchased in person or by phone by calling our Box Office 612-721-2535 (M-F 10-4)
  • Package Deal: For only $15 you can get admission to both Hard Headed Heart (8pm) and For the Love of Puppets! Cabaret (10pm) on Saturday February 11.
  • Buy Tickets Online
Monkey Mind piratesFebruary 18–26

Z Puppets Rosenschnoz: Monkey Mind Pirates

  • Saturdays at 7pm & Sundays at 3:30pm
  • Tickets: Adults $10, Children $5
  • Buy Tickets Online

See the world's only puppet rock yoga opera for families in search of calm! Sail along with this epic tale of a sea captain discovering the secrets to taming the stormy seas of stress. Doors open an hour before each show for Z Puppets Family Happy Hour, with free face painting and fun with our Island of Calm. Recommended for ages 3 and up.
Watch the Video

Want to be IN the show?!

Do you love to sing? Children ages 5+ and accompanying adults can be in the sailor chorus. All are welcome, get more details here.

Watch the Trailer · Audience Reviews

Buy Tickets Online

March 2–11

PuppetLab

Please join us in welcoming our emerging Puppet Lab artists to the main stage with four exciting, brand new puppet performances that have been developing since September:

March 2-4

Melting WaterMelting
by Mary Parker and Marg Rozycki

Evangeline and Angela grapple with how the world transforms. They examine questions of stress, sacrifice, relationship to the world at large, and love. The entire show is grounded in the eternal cycle of life and death.

Ain't Heard Tell
Aint Heard Tellby Matt Larson and Hannah Rivenburgh

"A lotta water run over the dam since then, ain't they." So says renowned Round Peak, North Carolina fiddler Tommy Jarrell. With themes of the travel of history and transmission of culture, of hardship, resilience and the humor that results, this crude and careful show integrates live traditional music, dance, and storytelling into puppetry to dig into the depth and dirt of Mr. Jarrell and his storytelling sister Julie--without letting go. Created in collaboration with Director Masanari Kawahara and fellow performer Rina Rossi.

The Pollen RoadMarch 9-11

The Pollen Road
by Reed Ellis Aubin

A talking plant detoxes and journeys to find roots and a vanishing language, while a farmer loses ground.

Heart Cavesmeet me in the heart caves
by Daniel Polnau

An imaginative dreamlike visual poem
spelunking the forbidden cockles of the heart.

 
Dates & Times
March 2- 11
  • Fridays: 8pm
  • Saturdays: 8pm
  • Sundays: 3pm
Admission: Adults $12 or Pay What You Can - Buy Tickets Online
Recent HOBT Mainstage Productions
2010-12
January 20–28: Strombolli's Medicine Show. New and improved! And guaranteed to raise gooseflesh and inflame the senses! This unique variety show is not for the weak-hearted.
January 14: Mild Light: An Evening of Cantastoria. Historical, Lyrical, and Pathetical examples of the ancient and post-modern art of picture-story recitation, presented by Clare Dolan, Chief Operating Philosopher of the Museum of Everyday Life in Vermont.
December, 2011: Winter Dreams - Underneath blankets of snow, the animals slumber all winter - snoring and dreaming under the vast skies. The dreams of winter's secret sleepers, and the music of the wide mysterious skies. Directed by Alison Heimstead
February, 2011: PuppetLab - Featuring new puppet shows from Bart Buch and Blake Love, Soozin Hirschmugl, Angela Olson, Janaki Ranpura
December, 2010: La Befana
2009
December, 2009: La Natividad
November, 2009: A Path Home: A Story of Thich Nhat Hanh
Guest Artist Series 2009:
  • October 2009: Double Feature: Janaki Ranpura: Lovesick Sea Play & Bart Buch: Ode to Walt Whitman
  • January 2009: Z Puppets Rosenschnoz: The Puggles - A Platypus Adventure
  • February 2009: Kurt Hunter: Sock Puppet Serenade
  • February 2009: For the Love of Puppets Cabaret