Month: June 2025

2025 Summer Puppet Show Series

[The Ballard Institute will present three shows on Saturdays in July and August, including (left to right): July 12: An Hour of Clown by BreakFAST Puppets (photo credit: BreakFAST Puppets); July 26: The Little Red Hen by WonderSpark Puppets (photo credit: Jane Kratochvil); August 2: Whale Tales by Talking Hands Theatre (photo credit: Talking Hands Theatre)].
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is excited to present its 2025 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series with free, outdoor, family-friendly puppet shows on three Saturdays in July and August at 11 a.m. on Betsy Paterson Square in Downtown Storrs.

July 12: An Hour of Clown by BreakFAST Puppets In this fun-filled production created and performed by Anthony Sellitto-Budney, join who carries their life on their back but keeps encountering hilarious problems and mishaps. Enjoy a variety of stunts, tricks, juggling, and puppetry in this funny, nonverbal, and interactive clown show.

July 26: The Little Red Hen by WonderSpark Puppets Julia Darden of New York City-based WonderSpark Puppets performs the classic story of a Hen who needs YOUR help to make some bread. The Little Red Hen is an interactive tabletop puppet show that gets kids moving their bodies, calling out and laughing. Every animal on the farm wants to eat the Hen’s bread, but no one wants to help make it. The audience learns the benefits of helping and teamwork while exercising and singing along!

August 2: Whale Tales by Talking Hands Theatre In Massachusetts-based Talking Hands Theatre’s Whale Tales it’s the aquarium that comes to you! As part of Anna Sobel’s musical puppet show you’ll meet a bevy of creatures that live in the sea, including a walrus, a seahorse, a giant beluga whale, and many more.

Reservations are not required. Chairs will not be provided, and audience members are encouraged to bring their own blankets and seating. Seating space will be first come, first served. In case of rain, the shows will take place in the Ballard Institute Theater at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

The Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series is co-sponsored by the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and supported by a generous gift from Phillip Mairorana in memory of his wife Theresa Mairorana, and by UConn Gives donations by Ballard Institute supporters. 

“An Hour of Clown” on 7/12 at 11 a.m.

Caption: To kick off the 2025 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, Anthony Sellitto-Budney will perform An Hour of Clown by BreakFAST Puppets on July 12 in Betsy Paterson Square. Photo credit: BreakFAST Puppets.

As part of its 2025 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present An Hour of Clown by BreakFAST Puppets on July 12 at 11 a.m. outdoors in Betsy Paterson Square in Downtown Storrs.

In this fun-filled production created and performed by UConn Puppet Arts alum Anthony Sellitto-Budney, join Hour the Clown, who carries their life on their back but keeps encountering hilarious problems and mishaps. Enjoy a variety of stunts, tricks, juggling, and puppetry in this funny, nonverbal, and interactive clown show. Recommended for all ages.

Founder and Co-Artistic Director of BreakFAST Puppets Anthony Sellitto-Budney (they/them) is a graduate of the UConn Puppet Arts BFA Program, and a prolific puppeteer currently touring across the United States to great acclaim. Their approach to art and life often overlaps artistically and scientifically, using concepts from both fields of study. Sellitto-Budney is constantly creating, performing, and devising new work for both children and adults.

Reservations are not required. Chairs will not be provided, and audience members are encouraged to bring their own blankets and seating. Seating space will be first come, first served. In case of rain, the shows will take place in the Ballard Institute Theater at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

The Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series is co-sponsored by the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and supported by a generous gift from Phillip Mairorana in memory of his wife Theresa Mairorana and donations by Ballard Institute supporters to UConn Gives.

For more information, or if you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860.486.8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.