As part of its 2025 Fall Puppet Forum Series and in conjunction with its exhibition Art, Movement, Imagination: 60 Years of UConn Puppeteers, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to host an Alumni Puppet Forum on Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, CT.
In honor of the 60th anniversary of the UConn Puppet Arts program, this lively discussion, led by Ballard Institute Director John Bell, will feature alumni Frankie Cordero (BFA 2004), Joe Therrien (MFA 2017), and Megan and John Regan (BFA 2005) to explore UConn’s internationally acclaimed puppetry program and the fascinating work that UConn puppeteers create after graduation This forum will also be broadcast via Ballard Institute Facebook Live.
Chicago native Frankie Cordero is an Emmy-nominated puppeteer, puppet builder, and director for live and television puppetry, best known for his roles as Purple Panda and Turtle-Lou on Spiffy Pictures’ Donkey Hodie, as Rudy on Sesame Street, and in theater productions with such companies as Phantom Limb, Blair Thomas & Co., and Walking with Dinosaurs. He also teaches television-style puppetry in the Chicago area.
Joe Therrien builds, directs, and performs in puppet shows throughout the Northeast, working with groups including Bread and Puppet Theater, Great Small Works, Papel Machete, and Al Limite, among others. He is a founding member of the Brooklyn-based Boxcutter Collective. In 2011, he founded the People’s Puppets of Occupy Wall Street, a democratic art collective which created street performance, puppets, and visual art for various grassroots and community organizations in New York City and the surrounding area.
Megan and John Regan created CactusHead Puppets in 2010 after they both graduated from the UConn Puppet Arts program. Since then, they have created several fun family shows, often based on favorite folktales, and have toured throughout the Northeast. CactusHead Puppets also hosted the Paper City Puppet Slam in Holyoke, MA for several years. They are affiliated artists with Boston’s Puppet Showplace Theater.
Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. For more information or if you require accommodation to attend a forum, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860.486.8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.