Kerfuffle

09/04/2026

Kerfuffle's Board of Directors plays a vital role in supporting our productions, professional development workshops, and strengthening our community to best serve the young people of Chicagoland and beyond!

We are looking for individuals who are excited about Theatre for the Very Young and have experience in the following areas: legal services, nonprofit fundraising, early childhood education, accounting, and community organizing.

If you're interested in joining the team, please email [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis!

09/03/2026

🍂 Announcing: Fall on the Farm with Kerfuffle! 🍂

Join Kerfuffle for another fabulous creative drama class designed specifically for very young children! This fall, children in Kerfuffle's classes will use their bodies, voices, and imaginations to explore the sights, sounds, and smells of the farm! 🐄🌻

🍂 Date: Saturdays Oct 3rd - Nov 7th
🍂 Location: Lifeline Theatre - 6912 N. Glenwood Ave
🍂 Time: 9-9:50 am Creative Movement & Play (3-4 year olds), 10-10:50 am Creative Drama (5-6 year olds)
🍂 Link: https://bit.ly/KerfuffleFall26

To learn more and sign up today - visit the link in our bio! 🌽

09/02/2026

Attention Sturgeon Squad- that's a WRAP on the Dinosaur of Lake Michigan! 🪿 🐺 🐟 🦖

This August, we brought the Dinosaur of Lake Michigan to over FIVE HUNDRED kids, adults, families and Chicagoans across nine beautiful Chicagoland parks! With a focus on the importance of community care in light of the ever growing climate emergency, we were overjoyed to share this performance with all of you.

A production is a huge undertaking, and we spent this summer working hard, acting, making, creating, singing and most importantly- laughing! None of this would have been possible without our partnership with the incredible Rabbit Foot Puppetry ()! Thank you to Night Out in the Parks for their support in seeing our vision through and to the Puffin Foundation for awarding our team a grant in the category of environmental artistic activism for this play.

A huge thank you to our community collaborators at the Insect Asylum, South Side Nature Play, the Puppet Zoo, AiRos Sung-en Medill, the West Ridge Nature Park Advisory Council and Eco Flamingo for joining us at select performances.

If you took photos during the performances, we'd LOVE to see them! Feel free to tag us at@kerfuffle_tvy . Let's stay connected! Sign up for our mailing list here: https://bit.ly/KerfuffleSubscribe.

Photos by Josh Bernaski, .bern.photo!

Bravo to our actors and their incredible, infectious enthusiasm-

Koda: Myanne Zachary
Cousin, the Musician: AiRos Sung-En medill
Sturgeon: Sharaina (Shay) Turnage
Coyote: Emilie Wingate
Goose: Rachel Hartmann
Puppeteer Understudy: Chio Cabrera
Koda/Cousin Understudy: Caroline M. Watson

A round of applause to our production team- your hard work behind the scenes made the magic happen! This dream team consisted of:

Director: Alyssa Vera Ramos
Scenic/Props Designers: Josué Esau & Kal Haille
Puppet Designer: Emilie Wingate
Costume Designer: Jazmin Aurora Medina
Puppet Movement Director: Michele Stine
Puppet Fabricators: Anna Villanyi, Rachel Hartmann, Emilie Wingate
Production Manager: Miranda "MT" Taylor
Production Coordinator: Madeline M. Freeman
Assistant Stage Manager: Emma Smith
Poster Art: Emilie Wingate
Play Development Teaching Artists: Alyssa Vera Ramos, Ashley Laverty
House Managers: Molly Burris, Ashley Laverty

The Dinosaur of Lake Michigan was developed in partnership with preschool students at Saint Mary of the Woods School. The sturgeon drawings featured in the play were designed by 3-5 year olds at SMOW.

A world of difference was made through your work, and we are so incredibly thankful for it.

09/01/2026

NOTE: This show is sold out!

Hey Leone Beach Park! Join us at 5:30pm TONIGHT for our performance of the Dinosaur of Lake Michigan, a co-production with our friends at Rabbit Foot Puppetry!

Leone Beach is located at 1222 W Touhy Ave, Chicago, IL 60626. Audiences will meet us at the basketball court.

This performance features our community partner, West Ride Nature Park! Be sure to say hello at their table before or after the performance and check out their fun collection of animal pelts.

And, continue your eco-friendly journey after the performance by picking up a few complimentary compostable trash bags donated by our friends at Eco Flamingo available after the performance!

08/31/2026

We are so thrilled that The Dinosaur of Lake Michigan has been awarded a grant from The Puffin Foundation in the category of environmental artistic activism.

This category is for projects focusing on pressing environmental issues and the climate crisis in any artistic genre or discipline that Puffin funds. Projects that are solution-focused (not simply raising awareness) are prioritized. We’d like to thank The Puffin Foundation for their support of this project!

Photo by Josh Bernaski, .bern.photo .

08/31/2026

In two weeks, we're kicking off the return of our PD (professional development) series with our September session! This special one evening workshop invites participants to an interactive conversation about the art of collaboration inspired by an exploration of "play personalities"!

This workshop is facilitated by arts and humanities educator Hannah Johnson (she/her). Throughout her career in the area's nonprofit sector, she has served as an inclusive educator, community builder, and cultural advocate through organizations including the McLean County Museum of History (Bloomington) and Illinois Art Station (Normal). Hannah honors the intersection of art and wellness and knows that some of our most imaginative ideas emerge when our bodies are in motion!

Whether you're an educator, interested or working in theatre for the very young, looking to expand your practice or curious about our PD series- this workshop is perfect for you!

This workshop is hosted virtually, meaning you can join us from anywhere in the world!

Date: Tuesday, September 15th
Time: 7:15pm-8:30pm CT
Location: Online! 🛜 A link to all registered participants will be sent prior to the session.

Tickets and more information at the link here: https://bit.ly/KerfuffleSeptemberPD

08/29/2026

Hey Ward Park! Join us at 10:30am THIS MORNING for our performance of the Dinosaur of Lake Michigan, a co-production with our friends at Rabbit Foot Puppetry!

Ward A. Montgomery Park is located at 630 N Kingsbury St, Chicago, IL 60654. Audiences will meet us at the playground.

The action of the play will take place all around the audience in a large circle. Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on! There will also be stroller parking available.

And, continue your eco-friendly journey after the performance by picking up a few complimentary compostable trash bags donated by our friends at Eco Flamingo available after the performance!

If you haven’t reserved your free tickets, now’s the perfect time to do so at https://bit.ly/DoLMKerfuffle. We look forward to seeing you there!

08/28/2026

Hey Marquette Park! Join us at 5:30pm TONIGHT for our performance of the Dinosaur of Lake Michigan, a co-production with our friends at Rabbit Foot Puppetry!

Marquette Park is located at 6743 S Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60629. Audiences will meet us at the back of the fieldhouse.

The action of the play will take place all around the audience in a large circle. Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on! There will also be stroller parking available.

This performance features our community partner South Side Nature Meet Up, as well as a 45-60 minute play session after the show focused on Marquette lagoon and the creatures that live there. Be sure to say hello at their table before or after the performance, check out their selection of books or create fun creatures made of clay!

And, continue your eco-friendly journey after the performance by picking up a few complimentary compostable trash bags donated by our friends at Eco Flamingo available after the performance!

If you haven’t reserved your free tickets, now’s the perfect time to do so at https://bit.ly/DoLMKerfuffle. We look forward to seeing you there!

08/27/2026

Woo hoo! We're thrilled to see this awesome Block Club Chicago article about our partnership with Rabbitfoot Puppetry! 🦈🐾🌳

There are only four more chances to check out The Dinosaur of Lake Michigan this season. Best seats available at Sherman Park (tonight!) and Marquette Park (tomorrow!) If you haven’t reserved your free tickets, now’s the perfect time to do so at https://bit.ly/DoLMKerfuffle.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The show, part of the Park District's "Night Out in the Parks" series, talks about local creatures and how to care for the environment. It runs at various neighborhood parks through Tuesday.

08/27/2026

Hey Sherman Park! Join us at 5:30pm TONIGHT for our performance of the Dinosaur of Lake Michigan, a co-production with our friends at Rabbit Foot Puppetry!

Sherman Park is located at 1301 W 52nd St, Chicago, IL 60609. Audiences will meet at the fieldhouse auditorium.

The action of the play will take place all around the audience in a large circle. Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on! There will also be stroller parking available.

This performance features our community partner, Puppet Zoo, founded by our very own Emilie Wingate! Be sure to say hello at her table before or after the performance.

And, continue your eco-friendly journey after the performance by picking up a few complimentary compostable trash bags donated by our friends at Eco Flamingo available after the performance!

If you haven’t reserved your free tickets, now’s the perfect time to do so at https://bit.ly/DoLMKerfuffle. We look forward to seeing you there!