As part of its 2019 Summertime Saturday Puppet Shows, the Ballard Institute and Museum is pleased to present Judy Saves the Day! by Puppet Showplace Theater’s Resident Artist and UConn Puppet Arts Program alumna Sarah Nolen on Aug. 10, 2019 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

After being pushed around for over 400 years, the famous hand-puppet heroine Judy has had enough! Cheer her on as she goes on a quest for respect, justice, and a well-deserved nap. This modern interpretation of the traditional Punch and Judy show is a hilarious, timely, handcrafted farce that the whole family will enjoy! The show is 45 minutes long and is recommended for ages 4+. 

Sarah Nolen is a puppeteer and filmmaker originally from Austin, TX. As Puppet Showplace Theater’s resident artist, she performs regularly for youth and family audiences and teaches puppetry in camps, workshops, residencies, and evening adult classes. Sarah earned her BFA in film from Southern Methodist University, and an MFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut. Known nationally for her versatile, witty, and innovative work across multiple puppetry styles, she has appeared in the National Puppet Slam, at the Puppets in Paradise Festival, and the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. Sarah has toured internationally as part of the ensemble for Reverse Cascade, and has performed as principal puppeteer for the immersive multi-media show Pip’s Island in NYC. In Boston, she has worked closely with the Boston Pops Orchestra, performing as a puppeteer/narrator of Twas the Night Before Christmas, and designing and building a puppet of conductor Arthur Fiedler for Puppets Take the Pops. In addition to her work in puppetry, Sarah is an experienced filmmaker with credits ranging from reality shows and commercial broadcast TV to indie features and web ads. In 2015, she received the Mister Rogers Memorial Scholarship in support of her television pilot, Treeples, a show geared towards empowering girls, which screened at film festivals across the U.S. 

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 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 or if you require an accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.

As part of its 2019 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present Sheldon Explains It All: Under the Sea! by UConn Dramatic Arts graduate student Zach Broome on Aug. 3, 2019 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

Sheldon the turtle is back, and this time he is exploring his roots as he shows you all of cool, colorful plants and animals of the sea. Join him as he basks in the sun with crabs and starfish, follow close behind him as he navigates the treacherous waters inhabited by jelly fish and electric eels, and bring along your scuba gear as he takes you on a dive into the world of some of the weirdest, wildest creatures of the deep. This show is 45 minutes long and is recommended for ages 4+. 

Zach Broome is a graduate student at UConn where he studies Puppet Arts and Scenic Design.  Originally from Georgia, Zach moved to Connecticut in 2015, and the frigid winter temperatures, snow, and ice have yet to drive him away. During his time in Connecticut, Zach has worked on a number of puppet-related productions. In 2016, he and his fellow student developed Puppets Take the Pops, a puppet production performed in conjunction with the Boston Pops.  Zach designed puppets for the Connecticut Repertory Theatre productions of Shrek: The Musical and She Kills Monsters in 2016 and 2017, respectively. He also performed in UConn Puppet Slams and at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry in previous Summer Series productions of Superheroes, Villains, and Spaceships, Oh My! with Anatar Marmol-Gagne (2016) and Sheldon Explains It All (2017).  

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 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 or if you require an accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.

As part of its 2019 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present Cinderella in the Wild West by Robert Rogers Puppet Company on July 27, 2019 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

Cinderella in the Wild West is an all-American version of the famous Brothers Grimm fairytale. Cindy Lou lives on the homestead of Cavalcade Annie, who keeps her busy washing clothes, mending fences, sweeping the barn and slopping the hogs. But Cindy dreams of a better life. Instead of a Fairy Godmother, she is helped by a magical Native American spirit guide. And rather than dancing at a Prince’s Ball, she competes in the famous King Kornkob Rodeo on the back of a bucking bronco. This show is 45 minutes long and is recommended for ages 3+. 

After more than thirty years, hundreds of puppets, and dozens of productions, New York State puppeteer Robert Rogers has made thousands of appearances in performing arts centers, universities, museums, and schools across the country. Internationally, he has appeared in the Neopolis Children’s Theater Festival in Nabeul, Tunisia; the Global Puppet Theater Festival in Kaohsiung, Taiwan; the World Puppet Festival in Prague, Czech Republic; the Puppets Up! Festival in Almonte, Canada; the Children’s Palace in Beijing, People’s Republic of China; and FANA, the Foundation for the Assistance of Abandoned Children in Bogota, Colombia. Besides being an accomplished theater producer, director, playwright and designer, Robert has devoted much time to teaching young people the art of puppetry as a means of self-expression, and has been an advocate of integrating the performing arts into the public school curriculum. In 1999 he established the American Puppetry Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students explore topics of study in the classroom by means of puppet-making and dramatic arts workshops and residencies. Robert received his B.F.A. from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He was also the subject of an episode of the PBS television series, Expressions, produced by WSKG-TV.

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 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 or if you require an accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.

As part of its 2019 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present A Woodland Cinderella by Deborah Costine on July 20, 2019 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

Cinderella is a fairy who lives with her stepmother and stepsister in an enormous old tree in the forest. The King of all woodland fairies wants his son to marry a fairy princess, but none can be found. The Prince is looking for someone who is kind and good. The mean stepsister is sure that having the most stuff makes her the best. The King hosts a great ball and commands that every single fairy maiden in the land must attend. He is hoping that a fairy princess will come, and he knows the secret to identifying a true fairy princess. This show is 45 minutes long and is recommended for ages 4+.

Since 1974, Deborah Costine has been one half of the well-known Gerwick Puppets, touring throughout New England at schools, libraries, museums and such events as First Night Boston. She writes the scripts with partner Lenny Gerwick, and makes all the puppets. She estimates that over the past thirty years she has made over two hundred puppets! The Gerwick Puppets have presented over 5,000 performances to over a million children. Beside her work with Gerwick, Debbie designs, constructs and performs her own solo shows called “Small Shows for Small Groups of Small Children.” She has taught puppetry classes at Plymouth State University, Northeastern University, and Worcester State College. She created a set of eight puppets for the National Park Service to teach about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railway. She has done professional voice work, and plays numerous characters on the Verizon website superthinkers.com. “My current direction centers around a combined love of nature, children and a concern for the environment,” Costine says.  “I wish to create opportunities through my puppet performances as well as hands-on activities for children and families that encourage a love and appreciation of the outdoors. I believe that human-kind benefits greatly from a strong connection with nature.”

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 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 or if you require an accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.