The Juniper Tree, by Freak Nature & (placeHolder)

(placeHolder) and Freak Nature present a musical retelling of the Grimm Brothers' Juniper Tree. Giant puppets and an 8-piece experimental orchestra will take the stage at Stomping Ground L.A. to tell a story of witchcraft, rebirth, and revenge.

(placeHolder) is a musical trio. Forming at CalArts, they combine traditional folk and noise music to create exploratory and beautiful textural pieces, featuring a combination of homemade and vintage instruments. For this performance they are expanding from a trio to an octet, and collaborating with Freak Nature to create musical puppets and wearable instruments. Past performances include work shown at High Desert Soundings, Oracle Egg, and CalArts Experimental Electronic Festival. .

Freak Nature is a puppetry and performance collective founded in 2022. They currently have a residency at the Elysian Theater, where they are developing a new full length show in anticipation of a tour in the fall. Recent project collaborations include devising "The Lost Hour" with postmodern bouffant troupe iL Fungo and assisting Puerto Rican puppeteers Poncili Creacion for their show "Our Name is Moving". The Los Angeles Times recently named them as part of the "new generation" giving life to Los Angeles's "puppet renaissance".