Acclaimed Israeli Puppeteer at Trinity College This Spring

HARTFORD, Jan. 7 — Renowned Israeli puppeteer Yael Rasooly will teach at Trinity College during the spring 2019 semester, thanks to the Israel Institute’s Visiting Artists Program.

Rasooly is one of Israel’s leading contemporary performing artists, specializing in puppetry for adults and cabaret. Trained primarily as a classical singer, she went on to study theatre design in London. She began developing her unique theatrical language at the School of Visual Theatre in Jerusalem, where she specialized in directing, puppetry, and design. “When people discover this genre, there is no going back – they just can’t get enough of it,” she said of her work.

Rasooly has directed and performed in several internationally acclaimed productions, including “Paper Cut,” which has been performed more than 380 times in over 30 countries. In it, Rasooly plays a lonely secretary who, after everyone in the office has gone home, escapes into her own fantasy world. As her romantic fantasies enter into more dangerous territories, imagination and reality collide. Yael will perform this powerful one-woman show January 18-20 at the International Puppet Festival in Chicago, and at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, Long Island, on March 8. In addition, Yael will perform her show “Glamour in the Dark” January 19 in Chicago, February 8 at The Stone Church in Brattleboro, Vermont, and March 16-17 at The Tank in New York City. Additionally, Rasooly will be returning to teach at the prestigious Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford and will have a special show at the NEUE Gallery in New York City on April 11.

The Visiting Israeli Artists Program, an initiative of the Israel Institute, brings Israeli artists from various disciplines – including film, music, choreography, and the visual arts – to North America for residencies. Originally launched as a standalone initiative in 2008 and integrated into the Israel Institute in 2013, the program fosters high levels of interaction between Israeli artists-in-residence and the local communities in which they are based through classes, lectures, exhibitions, screenings, readings, and performances.