ALLYSON GONZALEZ
Independent Playwright, Poet, Puppeteer and Director in Chicago, IL
Creative Director of the Puppeteers of Color Social
Founder of Thankyoutine's Day
Author and Publisher of Save the Bees Worx
Artistic Conductor Emeritus of Stand On Your Hands and Clap
Founder of The Allyson Gonzalez Residency for Art, Science & Cultural Exchange
Artistic Proficiencies
Puppetry, Writing {Playwrighting, Poetry & Technical}, Stop-Motion Animation. Directing, Performance Art,
Fiber Arts, Zines, Comics, Watercolors, Polaroids, Soundscape Design and Producing
Solo Tour
Hosting Your Own Retrospective Is Like Throwing Your Own Birthday Party But That's Not Going to Stop Me (an examination of the first decade)
>>Menu includes a poetry reading from Save the Bees Worx Issues I, II & III, film screening of Chronology Never Gets Old, shadow puppetry performance of This Gonzalez Is Here to Take Your Job and audio rollercoaster A Stack of Bonds This Big Redux
2020 Padua, Italy *cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions*
2019 Radio Penny. St. Louis, MO
Dramatic Works
2021 I Would Not Like to Thank the Academy, One-act play
2021 ¿Como Se Dice Mindfulness?, One-act play
2021 Toothache/Heartache, One-act play
2021 Quantum Vacation, One-act play
2020 Ethical Porn Search Engine B*Storm, One-act play
2020 Take More Cabs & Make New Friends, One-act play, Published in the deadline. Issue 39 by Back to Print
2017 Baby I'm Rich AF, One-act > Puppetry, Performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
2016 A Stack of Bonds This Big, One-act > Performance Art and Audio Drama, Performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
2013 The Moon Is A Wild Place To Answer The Call Of The Wild, One-act > Puppetry, Published in Save the Bees Worx: Issue I and performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
2009 THIS IS A MIRROR, YOU ARE A STATUS UPDATE, Co-written with Nivan Yahaghi, One-act play, Performed during The Invention of Space, an immersive theater experience
2007 When the Smoke Clears and Other First Time Hits, One-act play, Performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
Other Publications
2015 - Current Tinyletter: Secret Bonus Track, Author and Publisher
2020 "Compensation," Comic Artist , Published in the deadline. Issue 40 by Back to Print
2020 Thankyoutine's Day advertisement, Comic Artist, Published by ZINEMercado - Annual Artist Compilation Zine
2017 "A Pinter Pause Held" POEM A DAY, Poet, Published by Back to Print
2017 SOS DISTRESS SIGNALS TO GET US THROUGH STOP, Author and Publisher
2014 Save the Bees Worx: Issue III, Author and Publisher
2013 The Wild Pumpkin Patch, Illustrator, Published by Back to Print
2013 Save the Bees Worx: Issue II, Author and Publisher
2013 "Good Morning. How Are We Going to Help Save the Planet Today?" Write for Light: A Collection of True Stories and Poems about Finding Light in the Darkness, Poet and Comic Artist, Published by Dean Tucker
2013 Save the Bees Worx: Issue I, Author and Publisher
2000 Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans: 2000 Edition, Poet, Published by the American Academy Of Poetry
1998 Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans: 1998 Edition, Poet, Published by the American Academy Of Poetry
Poetry Readings
2021 "When I See You Your Honey On a Spoon," Poet, Virtually performed at Read Some Shit #20, based in Chicago
///Puppetry Expertise
Performance, Construction & Film: stop-motion, object work, table top, multimedia, toy theater and shadow puppetry
///Member of
Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA-USA)
Puppeteers of Color Social
///Film - Director, Puppeteer, Cinematographer & Producer
2018-2020 I'm On The Pursuit of Happiness and I Know Everything That's Shine Aint Always Gonna Be Gold But I'll Be Fine Once I Get It Yeah I'll Be Good by Allyson Gonzalez, Edited by Michael Heffler, screened at Sea Beast Puppet Company's Puppet Meltdown Puppet Slam, Chicago, IL & Black Cherry Puppet Theater's Virtual Slamwich, Baltimore, MD
2018 Test Case 1 by Sam Grossman, created and performed by Sam Grossman, Directed by Allyson Gonzalez, Edited by Michael Heffler, The Allyson Gonzalez Residency for Art, Science & Cultural Exchange. Chicago, IL
2017 I Got Hot Sauce In My Veins by Stand On Your Hands and Clap, original music composed and recorded by Mat Roberts & Paul Cherry, Edited by Michael Heffler, shadow puppetry consultation by Myra Su, puppetry assistance by Sean Dolan, screened in Juneau, AK, Baltimore, MD & San Francisco, CA
2014 Bow Tie Boy’s Cross-Country Spoken Word Feltamation by Stand On Your Hands and Clap, produced in New York City, NY & Chicago, IL
2012 Felt PSA: Reminder to Vote by Stand On Your Hands and Clap, Chicago, IL
///Solo Performance - Director, Puppeteer, Playwright & Producer
2021 Revenge Is For The Birds, Detroit Puppet Slam, CMAP, Detroit, MI + YouTube live stream
2019 Why Men Great Til They Gotta Be Great? Puppeteers of Color Social, University of Chicago's Chicago Performance Lab residency, Chicago, IL
2018 This Gonzalez Is Here to Take Your Job, Puppeteers of Color Incubator, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2016 A Stack Of Bonds This Big, Poetry Talk, The Public House Theatre, Chicago, IL
2015 Serious Business, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2015 The Case of the Curious Couch, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2015 I’ll Be Dead Wrong and You’ll Be Just Fine, Puppet Meltdown, Sea Beast Puppet Company, Chicago, IL
2014 Take a Hike, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2013 It’s Unbearable, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2012 A Rocketship In a Hurry, Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Theatre Festival, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., Angel Island, IL
///Collaborative Performance - Director, Puppeteer, Playwright & Producer
2017 Baby I'm Rich AF, performed with Angela Antkowiak & Amy Nicole, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Chicago Intnl Puppet Theater Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2014 It Was Supposed To Be My Day Off, performed with Sean Dolan, Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Theatre Festival Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., Angel Island, IL
2014 How I Spent My Summer Vacation, performed with Kayla Pulley & Maggie O'Keefe, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2014 The Princess and The Prick, performed with Maggie O'Keefe, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Chicago Intnl Puppet Theater Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2013 Well, Hell, I Guess That Makes Me a Feminist, performed with Sean Dolan, Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Theatre Festival, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., The Den, IL
///Group Exhibition - Shadow Puppeteer
2017 Copy & Paste by Myra Su and Through the Lookingglass by Myra Su & Mitch Salm, performed with Myra Su & Mitch Salm, Trade Routes: A Festival of Artistic Exchange, Links Hall, Chicago, IL & Black Cherry Puppet Theater, Baltimore, MD
2016 Spot of Bother by Myra Su, performed with Myra Su & Cynthia Campos Costanzo, A-Squared Asian American Performing Arts Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2016 Spot of Bother by Myra Su and Through The Lookingglass by Myra Su & Mitch Salm, performed with Myra Su & Mitch Salm, Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, IL; National Puppet Slam at the Center for Puppetry Arts & DragonCon, Atlanta, GA
2014 And Dream of Teeth by Rough House, performed with Rough House, Chicago Intnl Puppet Theater Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2014 The Shadow Puppet Conspiracy, with Sea Beast Puppet Company, The Chicago Humanities Fest & The Chicago Improv Fest, Chicago, IL
Teaching
2018 Stop-Motion Animation and Web Presence 101, The Allyson Gonzalez Residency for Art, Science & Cultural Exchange. Baltimore, MD x Chicago, IL
Art Exhibit
2020 Tip Street Vendors Big for Making Life Delicious, paper cut instillation, Purple Window Gallery's Hello Neighbor public art initiative
Public Speaking
2018 Office Hours: I Made a Thing, Now What? Panelist, BackerKit Bond Conference, San Francisco, CA
2016 So You Want To Be a Puppeteer, Panelist, DragonCon, Atlanta, GA
Press
2018 Arts & Culture, Catey Sullivan. "Nasty, Brutish & Short Showcases Work from the Puppeteers of Color Incubator." The Chicago Reader. Vol 48, No. 10. 20. Print & Digital.
2018 Editorial Assistant. Negesti Kaudo. "Alumni Shorts." Demo: The Alumni Magazine of Columbia College Chicago. Issue 27. Fall/Winter 2017: 35. Print & Digital.
2017 Editorial Assistant. Negesti Kaudo. "Class Notes." Demo: The Alumni Magazine of Columbia College Chicago. Issue 26. Spring/Summer 2017: 53. Print.
2017 Campus Editor, Ariana Portalatin. "Alumna Creates Recycled Puppets for One-Woman Shows." Columbia Chronicle. Print & Digital.
2016 Senior Editor, Justin Breen. "Chicago Puppeteer Wants To Turn Your Garbage Into Props." DNAinfoChicago. Digital.
Education
2018 Puppeteers of Color Incubator, co-presented by The Art Leaders of Color Network, Links Hall & Rough House Theater - Chicago, IL
2016 National Puppetry Conference, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center - New London, CT
2014 Chicago Puppet Lab, Rough House - Chicago, IL
2009 Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Directing, Columbia College Chicago - Chicago, IL
2008 The Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education - Chicago, IL
Independent Playwright, Poet, Puppeteer and Director in Chicago, IL
Creative Director of the Puppeteers of Color Social
Founder of Thankyoutine's Day
Author and Publisher of Save the Bees Worx
Artistic Conductor Emeritus of Stand On Your Hands and Clap
Founder of The Allyson Gonzalez Residency for Art, Science & Cultural Exchange
Artistic Proficiencies
Puppetry, Writing {Playwrighting, Poetry & Technical}, Stop-Motion Animation. Directing, Performance Art,
Fiber Arts, Zines, Comics, Watercolors, Polaroids, Soundscape Design and Producing
Solo Tour
Hosting Your Own Retrospective Is Like Throwing Your Own Birthday Party But That's Not Going to Stop Me (an examination of the first decade)
>>Menu includes a poetry reading from Save the Bees Worx Issues I, II & III, film screening of Chronology Never Gets Old, shadow puppetry performance of This Gonzalez Is Here to Take Your Job and audio rollercoaster A Stack of Bonds This Big Redux
2020 Padua, Italy *cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions*
2019 Radio Penny. St. Louis, MO
Dramatic Works
2021 I Would Not Like to Thank the Academy, One-act play
2021 ¿Como Se Dice Mindfulness?, One-act play
2021 Toothache/Heartache, One-act play
2021 Quantum Vacation, One-act play
2020 Ethical Porn Search Engine B*Storm, One-act play
2020 Take More Cabs & Make New Friends, One-act play, Published in the deadline. Issue 39 by Back to Print
2017 Baby I'm Rich AF, One-act > Puppetry, Performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
2016 A Stack of Bonds This Big, One-act > Performance Art and Audio Drama, Performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
2013 The Moon Is A Wild Place To Answer The Call Of The Wild, One-act > Puppetry, Published in Save the Bees Worx: Issue I and performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
2009 THIS IS A MIRROR, YOU ARE A STATUS UPDATE, Co-written with Nivan Yahaghi, One-act play, Performed during The Invention of Space, an immersive theater experience
2007 When the Smoke Clears and Other First Time Hits, One-act play, Performed by Stand On Your Hands and Clap
Other Publications
2015 - Current Tinyletter: Secret Bonus Track, Author and Publisher
2020 "Compensation," Comic Artist , Published in the deadline. Issue 40 by Back to Print
2020 Thankyoutine's Day advertisement, Comic Artist, Published by ZINEMercado - Annual Artist Compilation Zine
2017 "A Pinter Pause Held" POEM A DAY, Poet, Published by Back to Print
2017 SOS DISTRESS SIGNALS TO GET US THROUGH STOP, Author and Publisher
2014 Save the Bees Worx: Issue III, Author and Publisher
2013 The Wild Pumpkin Patch, Illustrator, Published by Back to Print
2013 Save the Bees Worx: Issue II, Author and Publisher
2013 "Good Morning. How Are We Going to Help Save the Planet Today?" Write for Light: A Collection of True Stories and Poems about Finding Light in the Darkness, Poet and Comic Artist, Published by Dean Tucker
2013 Save the Bees Worx: Issue I, Author and Publisher
2000 Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans: 2000 Edition, Poet, Published by the American Academy Of Poetry
1998 Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans: 1998 Edition, Poet, Published by the American Academy Of Poetry
Poetry Readings
2021 "When I See You Your Honey On a Spoon," Poet, Virtually performed at Read Some Shit #20, based in Chicago
///Puppetry Expertise
Performance, Construction & Film: stop-motion, object work, table top, multimedia, toy theater and shadow puppetry
///Member of
Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA-USA)
Puppeteers of Color Social
///Film - Director, Puppeteer, Cinematographer & Producer
2018-2020 I'm On The Pursuit of Happiness and I Know Everything That's Shine Aint Always Gonna Be Gold But I'll Be Fine Once I Get It Yeah I'll Be Good by Allyson Gonzalez, Edited by Michael Heffler, screened at Sea Beast Puppet Company's Puppet Meltdown Puppet Slam, Chicago, IL & Black Cherry Puppet Theater's Virtual Slamwich, Baltimore, MD
2018 Test Case 1 by Sam Grossman, created and performed by Sam Grossman, Directed by Allyson Gonzalez, Edited by Michael Heffler, The Allyson Gonzalez Residency for Art, Science & Cultural Exchange. Chicago, IL
2017 I Got Hot Sauce In My Veins by Stand On Your Hands and Clap, original music composed and recorded by Mat Roberts & Paul Cherry, Edited by Michael Heffler, shadow puppetry consultation by Myra Su, puppetry assistance by Sean Dolan, screened in Juneau, AK, Baltimore, MD & San Francisco, CA
2014 Bow Tie Boy’s Cross-Country Spoken Word Feltamation by Stand On Your Hands and Clap, produced in New York City, NY & Chicago, IL
2012 Felt PSA: Reminder to Vote by Stand On Your Hands and Clap, Chicago, IL
///Solo Performance - Director, Puppeteer, Playwright & Producer
2021 Revenge Is For The Birds, Detroit Puppet Slam, CMAP, Detroit, MI + YouTube live stream
2019 Why Men Great Til They Gotta Be Great? Puppeteers of Color Social, University of Chicago's Chicago Performance Lab residency, Chicago, IL
2018 This Gonzalez Is Here to Take Your Job, Puppeteers of Color Incubator, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2016 A Stack Of Bonds This Big, Poetry Talk, The Public House Theatre, Chicago, IL
2015 Serious Business, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2015 The Case of the Curious Couch, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2015 I’ll Be Dead Wrong and You’ll Be Just Fine, Puppet Meltdown, Sea Beast Puppet Company, Chicago, IL
2014 Take a Hike, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2013 It’s Unbearable, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2012 A Rocketship In a Hurry, Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Theatre Festival, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., Angel Island, IL
///Collaborative Performance - Director, Puppeteer, Playwright & Producer
2017 Baby I'm Rich AF, performed with Angela Antkowiak & Amy Nicole, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Chicago Intnl Puppet Theater Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2014 It Was Supposed To Be My Day Off, performed with Sean Dolan, Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Theatre Festival Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., Angel Island, IL
2014 How I Spent My Summer Vacation, performed with Kayla Pulley & Maggie O'Keefe, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2014 The Princess and The Prick, performed with Maggie O'Keefe, Nasty Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, Chicago Intnl Puppet Theater Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2013 Well, Hell, I Guess That Makes Me a Feminist, performed with Sean Dolan, Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Theatre Festival, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., The Den, IL
///Group Exhibition - Shadow Puppeteer
2017 Copy & Paste by Myra Su and Through the Lookingglass by Myra Su & Mitch Salm, performed with Myra Su & Mitch Salm, Trade Routes: A Festival of Artistic Exchange, Links Hall, Chicago, IL & Black Cherry Puppet Theater, Baltimore, MD
2016 Spot of Bother by Myra Su, performed with Myra Su & Cynthia Campos Costanzo, A-Squared Asian American Performing Arts Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2016 Spot of Bother by Myra Su and Through The Lookingglass by Myra Su & Mitch Salm, performed with Myra Su & Mitch Salm, Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, IL; National Puppet Slam at the Center for Puppetry Arts & DragonCon, Atlanta, GA
2014 And Dream of Teeth by Rough House, performed with Rough House, Chicago Intnl Puppet Theater Festival, Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2014 The Shadow Puppet Conspiracy, with Sea Beast Puppet Company, The Chicago Humanities Fest & The Chicago Improv Fest, Chicago, IL
Teaching
2018 Stop-Motion Animation and Web Presence 101, The Allyson Gonzalez Residency for Art, Science & Cultural Exchange. Baltimore, MD x Chicago, IL
Art Exhibit
2020 Tip Street Vendors Big for Making Life Delicious, paper cut instillation, Purple Window Gallery's Hello Neighbor public art initiative
Public Speaking
2018 Office Hours: I Made a Thing, Now What? Panelist, BackerKit Bond Conference, San Francisco, CA
2016 So You Want To Be a Puppeteer, Panelist, DragonCon, Atlanta, GA
Press
2018 Arts & Culture, Catey Sullivan. "Nasty, Brutish & Short Showcases Work from the Puppeteers of Color Incubator." The Chicago Reader. Vol 48, No. 10. 20. Print & Digital.
2018 Editorial Assistant. Negesti Kaudo. "Alumni Shorts." Demo: The Alumni Magazine of Columbia College Chicago. Issue 27. Fall/Winter 2017: 35. Print & Digital.
2017 Editorial Assistant. Negesti Kaudo. "Class Notes." Demo: The Alumni Magazine of Columbia College Chicago. Issue 26. Spring/Summer 2017: 53. Print.
2017 Campus Editor, Ariana Portalatin. "Alumna Creates Recycled Puppets for One-Woman Shows." Columbia Chronicle. Print & Digital.
2016 Senior Editor, Justin Breen. "Chicago Puppeteer Wants To Turn Your Garbage Into Props." DNAinfoChicago. Digital.
Education
2018 Puppeteers of Color Incubator, co-presented by The Art Leaders of Color Network, Links Hall & Rough House Theater - Chicago, IL
2016 National Puppetry Conference, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center - New London, CT
2014 Chicago Puppet Lab, Rough House - Chicago, IL
2009 Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Directing, Columbia College Chicago - Chicago, IL
2008 The Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education - Chicago, IL