As part of its 2026 Fall Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host “Building Night Fall: Community Storytelling Through UpCycled Art & Puppetry,” a discussion with Jeanika Browne-Springer, Bryan Swormstedt, and Alfi Free ’27 (SFA) on Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, CT. This forum will also be streamed live on the Ballard Institute’s Facebook page. 

Join Night Fall Executive Director Jeanika Browne-Springer, Night Fall Production Manager and UConn Dramatic Arts alumnus Bryan Swormstedt ‘12, and UConn Puppet Arts undergraduate student Alfi Free ’27 (SFA) for a conversation about the making of Night Fall, Hartford’s annual free and magical public production that brings the people of Greater Hartford together in early October to showcase local artists, city parks, and the city’s creative spirit. Moderated by Ballard Institute Interim Artistic Director Matt Sorensen, the forum will explore how Night Fall reflects the cultural richness of Hartford through artistic collaboration, community engagement, and performances. Panelists will discuss the scripting and design process, including the creative reuse of materials to build sets, props, and puppets. They’ll also explore how artists and community members collaborate to create language-free performances that examine environmental shifts around us—from animal migrations and city pollution to complex emotions like grief and leaving home. Through humor, improvisation, original music, and choreography, Night Fall brings these stories to life.

Admission to this forum is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. For more information or to request an accommodation, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860.486.8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.

Night Fall will take place on Saturday, October 3, in Elizabeth Park in Hartford. To learn more, visit https://nightfallhartford.org/.

About the Speakers

Jeanika Browne-Springer (she/her) is a multifaceted creative administrator and advocate for creative placemaking. She has a Masters in Education from the University of Saint Joseph (West Hartford, CT) in the Multiple Intelligences and BA from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) in Theater & Dance, minoring in Studio Arts and Urban Studies. 

Her career started as a Hartford public elementary schoolteacher, transitioned into grant writing, marketing, and programming at an arts education non profit adjacent to the public school district. She became the Director of LifeLongLearning at HartBeat Ensemble, a social justice community-based theater company and is now a Grant Officer at CT Humanities. She is also an adjunct professor at Gateway Community College in partnership with the International Festival of Art & Ideas in addition to now being named the Executive Director at Night Fall Inc.  

Bryan Swormstedt is a film and theater director constantly inspired and motivated by the creation of new works. He is the creator and director of Potbelly: A Puppetry Cooking Show with numerous film festival awards across the country and voted “Best  of Fest” at the Hartford Fringe Festival 2020. Currently he is in post-production on his first feature film set in Connecticut. He has a BFA from the University of Connecticut in Theater and an MFA from Savannah College of Art Design for Film and Television.  

He has directed previous plays with both actor and puppet ensembles, such as, “She Kills Monsters” and “Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin.” He is also on the board for Night Fall, as well as Production Manager for their upcoming performance in Fall of 2026.

The Ballard Institute will once again offer fall community puppet-building workshops to design and build life-size and over-life-size puppets for a new pageant production to be performed at the Celebrate Mansfield Festival in Downtown Storrs. These free workshops will be led by internationally acclaimed puppeteer and pageant director Sara Peattie of Boston’s Puppeteers Cooperative and will build puppets to be used in the

From Microscopic to Mighty: A Connecticut Underwater Adventure Pageant, which will take audiences on an underwater journey to discover how some of the tiniest living things—phytoplankton—help support an incredible web of life, from schools of fish and playful seals to magnificent turtles and whales. From Microscopic to Mighty will be an exciting family-friendly spectacle performed at the Celebrate Mansfield Festival on the afternoon of Sept. 26.

No experience is necessary to participate in these free community puppet-building workshops. Space is limited, so advance registration is strongly encouraged. Participants can come for one or both days but should register for the 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or/and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. time slot(s). Minors must be accompanied by an adult. To register for the workshop, visit www.ticketleap.events/tickets/bimp-0/2025-cmf. If you require accommodation to participate, contact the Ballard Institute at bimp@uconn.edu or 860-486-8580.

This community puppet project is sponsored by the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Inc. and produced in collaboration with UConn’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. For more information about the 23rd-annual Celebrate Mansfield Festival, visit downtownstorrsfestival.org.