The Ballard Institute will be closed on Sunday, 4/1 for the Easter holiday.

Happy Easter!

As part of its 2018 Spring Puppet Performance Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present The Pied Piper of Hamelin by CactusHead Puppets on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

The town of Hamelin has a rat problem, and there’s only one person who can help! CactusHead Puppets brings the story of The Pied Piper to life in this comedic, updated adaptation of the traditional folktale. Not only does the town find a musical solution to pest control, but the kids of Hamelin also teach the grownups a lesson about generosity. In the end, the townspeople all come together in celebration. Join puppeteers John and Megan Regan (both graduates of UConn’s Puppet Arts Program) as they present this classic tale, told with multiple puppetry styles, and plenty of dancing rats! The Pied Piper of Hamelin is 40 minutes long and is recommended for ages 4+, but all ages are welcome to attend.

CactusHead Puppets was started in 2010 by husband and wife team John and Megan Regan soon after they graduated from UConn. Since then they have created six shows based on favorite and familiar folktales, and have toured throughout the Northeast. Megan is originally from the Kansas City area, where she worked with Paul Mesner Puppets. John is from western Massachusetts, and is honored to be performing in some of the same venues where he saw puppet shows growing up. CactusHead Puppets also hosts the annual Paper City Puppet Slam in Holyoke, MA.

Ticket Prices: Adults: $12; Members/Seniors: $10; Students: $8; Kids: $6 (12 years and under)

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by calling 860-486-8580, or online at bimp.ticketleap.com. A surcharge will be added to any purchases made online. Tickets may also be purchased at the Ballard Institute on the day of performance starting at 10 a.m. There will be open seating and no reservations. Visitors can park in the Storrs Center Garage located at 33 Royce Circle. Parking in the Storrs Center Garage is free for the first two hours and $1 per hour thereafter, with a daily maximum charge of $8. For more information about these performances, visit bimp.uconn.edu or call 860-486-8580.

As part of the 2018 Spring Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will present a discussion with director Madeline Sayet and puppet designer Zach Broome entitled Direction and Collaboration: Making Theater with Actors and Puppets on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.

Exciting young director, writer, performer, and educator Madeline Sayet, together with puppet designer and UConn Puppet Arts graduate student Zachary Broome discuss puppetry and the collaborative process in the making of Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s production of Qui Nguyen’s play She Kills Monsters, a performance which integrates traditional acting as well as elaborate costumes and puppets. This forum is co-sponsored by the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. 

She Kills Monsters, which runs from March 22 to March 31 at UConn’s Studio Theatre, finds an intriguing balance between comedy and themes of death and loss, while appealing to the geek in us all. After the loss of her little sister Tilly in a car accident, Agnes attempts to get to know her better through the Dungeons and Dragons notebook she left behind. Immersed in a wild adventure of a fantasy world full of monsters, homicidal fairies and elves, and 90s pop culture, Agnes learns more about her sister and the misunderstood gaming world she was a part of before she was abruptly taken away. Find out more and buy tickets by visiting crt.uconn.edu.

Madeline Sayet is a director of new plays, classics and opera, and was just named to Forbes magazine’s “30 under 30” List of “youthful visionaries” for 2018 in the category of Hollywood & Entertainment. She is a TED Fellow, MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow, an O’Neill/Kennedy Center/NNPN National Directing Fellow and a Ph.D. candidate at the Shakespeare Institute (Stratford-upon-Avon, UK), where she is writing about Native representation in 21^st-century Shakespearean performance and the long history from which it stems. Sayet was the Resident Director at Amerinda (American Indian Artists) Inc. in New York from 2013-2016 where she developed new plays by Native playwrights and launched the Native American Shakespeare Ensemble. In 2011, she received The White House Champion of Change Award from President Barack Obama for her work as a writer, director, performer, and educator. Her work uses minimalist magical realism to interrogate questions of gendering and indigenous perspectives, and to reimagine classic plays to give voice to those that have been silenced. You can read more at www.madelinesayet.com.

Zach Broome is a graduate student pursuing an MFA degree in Puppet Arts at UConn. He has a background in technical theater and visual art and enjoys designing and fabricating puppets. Two of his puppets recently appeared in the gallery exhibit at the National Puppetry Festival in St. Paul, Minnesota. Zach hopes to find work that allows him to blend his love for puppetry, art, and traditional theater.

Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. Come early, and visit our new “American Puppet Modernism: The Early 20th Century” exhibition, as well as the video resources in our library nook. Visitors can park in the Storrs Center Garage located at 33 Royce Circle. Parking in the Storrs Center Garage is free for the first two hours and $1 per hour thereafter, with a daily maximum charge of $8. Forums will be broadcast via Facebook Live. Call 860-486-8580 for more information.

As part of its 2018 Spring Puppet Performance Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry is pleased to welcome back Boston-area puppeteer and UConn Puppet Arts alumna Faye Dupras to perform I Spy Butterfly on March 24, 2018 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.

How does a nature-loving explorer kid become a bug’s best friend? Find out in this delightful eco-story about the ways we all grow and change. When Trudy’s caterpillar friend Harold suddenly transforms into a chrysalis, she’s determined to do the same. Just when she is about to give up hope, she learns that her tiny friend needs her now more than ever. Live music, colorful critters, and oodles of audience interaction make this show a fun ecological romp in the wild! This show is 45 minutes long and is recommended for ages 3+ (but all ages are welcome to attend!).

Faye Dupras is a theater artist who began her puppet journey over twenty years ago when she met and apprenticed under her childhood hero, puppeteer Noreen Young. Since then she has performed around the world and has worked as a director, designer, and educator throughout Eastern Canada and the United States. In 2004 Faye founded Foreign Landscapes Productions, a company whose mission it to produce and tour engaging original puppet shows for peoples of all ages. Critics have described Faye’s award winning shows as “spellbinding,” “imaginative,” and “powerful.” Faye is excited to return to her alma mater to perform her new work.

Ticket Prices: Adults: $12; Members/Seniors: $10; Students: $8; Kids: $6 (12 years and under)

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by calling 860-486-8580, or online at bimp.ticketleap.com. A surcharge will be added to any purchases made online. Tickets may also be purchased at the Ballard Institute on the day of performance starting at 10 a.m. There will be open seating and no reservations. Visitors can park in the Storrs Center Garage located at 33 Royce Circle. Parking in the Storrs Center Garage is free for the first two hours and $1 per hour thereafter, with a daily maximum charge of $8. For more information about these performances, call 860-486-8580.