Bewitching yard transformations aren’t unusual this time of the year. But in front of one River Forest house, 706 Ashland, the homeowners don’t scare so much as they share their love of puppet theater. This is their fifth year to put on a show while everyone is out walking the neighborhood.
“It’s a way to have fun for ourselves and give to the community in a way that is joyful on Halloween,” homeowner Kristina Wilson said. “Make it a little bit more than candy.”
They pick a theme with a spooky season vibe. In years past it’s been a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” sing-along. Another time it was Frankenstein putting on the Ritz. This year they are going all-in on the sensation “K-pop Demon Hunters.”
“We just couldn’t resist,” Wilson said. “We had to ride the K-pop wave.”
Wilson’s first collaborator was husband Jason Jeunnette. They both grew up in suburbs further to the west but met in New York. They moved back to the area to raise their children closer to family. A few years on, they decided to turn their yard into a puppet theater. Neighbors Jennifer Samples and Janie Crick Heredia joined in later.
“This is my first time being with this group,” Crick Heredia said. “I was a spectator that was like, can I be in your puppet club?”
“We all went to theater and performing arts school,” Samples said.
For the whole troupe, the puppetry lets them flex their theater muscles. For Jeunnette, he gets to do theatrical lighting again. For Samples, it’s sewing and painting.
“All our lives have gone from theater school to just, you know, all the different places they’ve gone,” Wilson said. “This is a nice time of year where our kids get to see what we did with our younger years before they were born and how what we do affects other people.”
The puppet versions of K-pop stars begin their singing and dancing routines at 4:30 p.m. and shows repeat until trick-or-treating time ends at 7 p.m. Each performance lasts about 10 minutes. The performers plan to pack in approximately 10 repetitions over the course of the night.
“Kristina likes to say they are every 15 minutes, but it’s more, because anytime there’s a group of kids, she’s like, oh, there’s people, let’s go, let’s go,” Samples said.
“I sort of think you can’t keep an audience waiting,” Wilson said.
“It’s a workout. You don’t realize how much arm strength you need to like hold a puppet up for 10 minutes,” Crick Heredia said.
“And then on top of that, you’re moving around. You have to be energetic. You have to keep those kids entertained,” Wilson said.
