Puppetry

Outside the Lines: A Paper Doll Burlesque

Victor the Wolf Boy

This 10-minute performance dramatized the life of Victor of Aveyron, who was believed to have been raised by wolves in the 1790s and is often held up as an example of someone raised “without language.” The piece explored incidents in his life that mirror my own, arguing (as some pyschologists have suggested) that he was in fact an abandoned, nonverbal autistic child. The way he was “educated” set the pattern for how autistic children continue to be abused by institutions today.

Originally produced for XPT (Xperimental Puppet Theater)
Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, GA, 2024

Written and directed by: H. Eli Todd
Performers: Ben Butler, Alex Morgan, and Keira Quinn

Puppet design: H. Eli Todd
Set design: Katt Slade

Photography: Stacey Bode (https://staceybode.com/)