Ball State’s College of Fine Arts Presents 'Dead as a Dodo' on Nov. 4, Part of Arts Alive! Series

Topics: Arts and Culture, College of Fine Arts, Muncie, Community Engagement, Academic Programs, Students

October 15, 2026

(Photo by Erato Tzavara)

Ball State University's Arts Alive! series will welcome internationally acclaimed theater company Wakka Wakka Productions to campus for Dead as a Dodo at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Emens Auditorium.

The performance is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets can be obtained at the Emens Box Office (1800 W. Riverside Ave.) or by phone at 765-285-1539.

Based in New York City and Oslo, Norway, Wakka Wakka Productions has created and toured throughout the United States and internationally since 2001. The multi-award-winning company is known for bold and unconventional puppet theater that combines puppetry and object manipulation with masks and original music.

Drawing inspiration from Tales from the Crypt, Dante's Inferno, and early Silly Symphonies cartoons, Dead as a Dodo is an imaginative work of puppet theater that explores humanity's desire to overcome death. Set within a largely cartoonish world, the family-friendly production considers our changing relationship with mortality at a time when artificial intelligence, gene editing, biotechnology, and efforts to revive extinct species are challenging ideas about what is possible.

"Thanks to the Arts Alive! program, we are excited to welcome Wakka Wakka Productions to Ball State for Dead as a Dodo," said Cristina Goletti, dean of the College of Fine Arts. "The production brings together puppetry, theater, visual art, and design in a way that is imaginative, deeply human, and unexpected. Experiences like this expand our understanding of what live performance can be and reflect the kind of artistic exploration we want all our students to encounter."

Dead as a Dodo premiered at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival in January 2024. It is the third and final work in Wakka Wakka's ANIMALIA trilogy, following Animal R.I.O.T. in 2019 and The Immortal Jellyfish Girl in 2024.

Members of Wakka Wakka Productions will spend the week leading up to the performance working with Ball State students through workshops on storytelling and puppetry, providing students the opportunity to learn directly from professional artists and gain hands-on experience with their creative process.

Ball State's Arts Alive! series brings accomplished artists to the University, providing students, faculty, staff, and members of the greater Muncie community opportunities to engage with the arts through performances, classes, lectures, and exhibitions. Over the years, the series has welcomed many notable artists, including Grammy^®-winning violinist Hilary Hahn, multidisciplinary artist Nick Cave, Tony^®-winning costume designer Dede Ayite, and MacArthur Fellow Jeffrey Gibson.

For a full schedule of upcoming events and performances at Emens Auditorium, visit bsu.edu/web/emens/events.