Website Kerfuffle
Theatre for the Very Young
Kerfuffle is seeking one adventurous and enthusiastic performer to serve as a Performance Facilitator / Puppeteer Understudy for the remount production of Bookworms, an interactive play for very young children and their caregivers in Chicagoland this fall. Bookworms is written by Jeff Sachs and directed by Jamie Macpherson.
About Bookworms:
A library is a space of wonder and imagination, where you can find every story that ever has been and ever will be. But what goes on Beyond The Bookshelves? Bookworms brings us to a library where a Storyteller has brought books to share. But as they tell the stories, they find that someone…or someones…has mixed them up! When two mischievous bookworms arrive from Beyond the Bookshelves to ask the Storyteller for help, the audience must decide what to do! Bookworms is a participatory play by Jeff Sachs that combines traditional storytelling with interactive problem solving to celebrate every person’s natural ability to tell a story. Featuring live music, movement, and puppetry, Bookworms is best enjoyed by children ages 3-6 with their caregivers.
The Performance Facilitator / Puppeteer Understudy should be an excellent collaborator. Prior experience or interest in working with and/or teaching very young children is preferred./. Performers should feel comfortable with close interaction and improvisation with children and families. Kerfuffle encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, sizes, ages, abilities, and experiences to audition.
About Kerfuffle:
Kerfuffle is an award-winning midwestern theatre and dance company devoted to creating aesthetically and emotionally engaging performances for children ages 0-6 years old. Founded in 2015, Kerfuffle centers young children as major creative partners in the development of new work and shares playful, multi-sensory performances in museums, libraries, parks, and other nontraditional spaces. Children’s imagination is at the center of Kerfuffle’s process. In order to understand what engages, delights, and surprises children, Kerfuffle’s plays are developed through creative drama workshops where young people create stories, characters, and worlds in collaboration with adult artists. Kerfuffle is a registered 501(c)3 organization and is the 2020 recipient of the Zeta Phi Eta-Winifred Ward Outstanding New Children’s Theatre Company Award through the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Visit www.kerfuffletvy.com for more information.
Material to Prepare:
Please submit a link to a youtube or vimeo video.
In the video, please share a 1-2 minute physical interpretation of your favorite children’s story using a puppet (can be verbal or nonverbal)! If you do not have a puppet, we encourage you to use an object to puppeteer / bring to life like a lampshade, writing utensil, sock, cellphone, etc.
In the same video, please share a 1-minute story, poem, game or song (or something else!) that you might lead or facilitate with children 6 years old and younger. In the video please explain the story, poem, game or song as if you were talking to a child, not as if you were explaining it to a group of adults.
Please email MT at mirandataylor@kerfuffletvy.com with your resume, headshot and video link.
Time Commitment:
Rehearsals:
October 6, 2025, 7-10p
October 7, 2025, 7-10p
October 14, 2025, 7-10p
October 16, 2025, 7-10p
October 19, 2025, Public dress rehearsal Time TBD
October 21, 2025, 7-10p
October 23, 2025, 7p-10p
November 10, 2025 - November 12, 2025, TBD Understudy Put In Rehearsal
Performances: Daytime performances on November 13, 2025-November 16, 2025.
Please note that the principal cast will be going on tour in Des Moines, Iowa, from October 26, 2025-October 30, 2025. This role will not be attending the tour unless a principal cast member is unable to attend.
Character Type/Restrictions:
Puppeteer: The bookworms, to be portrayed as puppets and brought to life by two puppeteers, are mischievous and excited creatures that live inside the books! Although they seem like troublemakers, they’re here to warn the Storyteller about something…
Performance Facilitator: Will participate as an audience member with young children and help guide them through parts of the play. During the second half of the performance, the performance facilitator will work with a small group with children as they create their own story to help the Bookworms.
To apply for this job email your details to mirandataylor@Kerfuffletvy.com