Join the Ballard Institute for our third Summer 2020 Online Puppet Forum Series event on Facebook Live! These forums, hosted by Ballard Institute director and puppet historian John Bell, will consist of discussions with notable scholars and practitioners around the world about the past, present, and future of puppetry and puppetry studies.  

On June 25 at 4 p.m. ET, Join Ballard Institute director John Bell for a discussion with Bread and Puppet Theater director Peter Schumann about his current socially-distant performances of Insurrection-Resurrection Services at the theater’s farm in Glover, Vermont, and the challenges of making a puppet theater of “praise and denunciation” in the summer of 2020, a time of pandemic and historic change. “The important thing is the moment,” Schumann says; “how do we treat it? How do we treat other people in this moment? We need to deal with the real reality, not the fake reality.” Bell and Schumann will also discuss Bread and Puppet Theater’s approaches to collaboration, racism, and other aspects of theater making, and Schumann’s inspirations from the German romantic poet Friedrich Hölderlin, and 16th-century Silesian cobbler and mystic philosopher Jakob Böhme.

Peter Schumann is the founder and director of the Bread and Puppet Theater, which has been making “cheap art” and political theater since its inception in New York City in 1963. Now based on a farm in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, the Bread and Puppet Theater tours locally, nationally, and internationally, and has been one of the most influential theater companies of the 20th and 21st century. Long an inspiration for activist art makers, puppeteers, and bread bakers, Bread and Puppet’s unique approach to community engagement, collective theater making, and modernist avant-garde puppetry inspires hundreds of puppeteers who have worked with the company, and thousands of volunteer performers and audience members.

Forums will be available afterwards on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Join the Ballard Institute for our third Summer 2020 Online Puppet Forum Series event on Facebook Live! These forums, hosted by Ballard Institute director and puppet historian John Bell, will consist of discussions with notable scholars and practitioners around the world about the past, present, and future of puppetry and puppetry studies.  

On June 18 at 4 p.m. ET, Professor Scott Shershow of University of California, Davis will speak with John Bell about “Object Lessons: Material Culture and Humanistic Studies,” and how puppets and performing objects have been part of literary studies, the new philosophic field of “object-oriented ontology,” and even such mundane subjects as bread and the nature of letters.

Scott Cutler Shershow is Professor of English at the University of California, Davis.  He is the author of Puppets and “Popular” Culture (Cornell University 1995) and of other articles and books on theater, popular culture and critical theory.  His most recent books are Bread, from Bloomsbury’s “Object Lessons” series, (2016); and The Love of Ruins: Letters on Lovecraft (SUNY 2017).  

Forums will be available afterwards on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Join the Ballard Institute for our second Summer 2020 Online Puppet Forum Series event on Facebook Live! These forums, hosted by Ballard Institute director and puppet historian John Bell, will consist of discussions with notable scholars and practitioners around the world about the past, present, and future of puppetry and puppetry studies.

On June 11 at 4 p.m. ET, Theodora Skipitares will speak with John Bell about “Puppetry and Translation, from Autobiography to Benjamin Banneker.” Skipitares will discuss the development of her work from visual art to performance art and puppetry, and her ongoing focus on translating biography into puppet performance, most recently with The Transfiguration of Benjamin Banneker, which relates the surprisingly little-known story of an 18th-century free black man, independent farmer, self-taught astronomer, mathematician and civil rights advocate.

Theodora Skipitares is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and theater director based in New York. Trained as a sculptor and designer, she is the author/director of 30 performance works, each featuring documentary texts, original music, video, and as many as 300 puppet figures. She is a resident artist at La MaMa Theater. Ms. Skipitares has worked and taught master classes in Brazil, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, and Iran. She is a Professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Forums will be available afterwards on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

For its first online installment of the 2020 Spring Puppet Forum Series the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host “Puppets and Little Shop of Horrors” with Martin P. Robinson and UConn Puppet Arts graduate students Robert Ian Cutler and K. William Smith on April 23 at 7 p.m. EST. This forum will take place on Facebook Live (facebook.com/BallardInstitute/) and will be available afterwards on Facebook and the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry YouTube Channel (youtube.com/channel/UC3VSthEDnYS6ZjOwzT1DnTg).

Join famed Sesame Street puppeteer Martin P. Robinson and UConn Puppet Arts graduate students Robert Ian Cutler and K. William Smith in a discussion of puppetry and Little Shop of Horrors. Robinson, who designed, built, and performed all of the Audrey II puppets for the original Off-Broadway production of Little Shop, as well as for its Broadway incarnation, will talk with Cutler and Smith about the design and performance of puppets for the professional stage, in the context of Smith and Cutler’s work on the Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s production of Little Shop, which was cancelled due to COVID-19. 

Martin P. Robinson has written, designed, directed, and performed for Broadway, film, and television for many years, including such productions as Little Shop of Horrors, Muppets Take Manhattan, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sesame Street, Allegra’s Window, and more. He has performed on Sesame Street as Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, Slimey, and other characters since 1981. He acts as a Sesame Street International Senior Muppet Coordinator/Teacher in numerous countries worldwide. He recently wrote, designed, and directed the musical All Hallows Eve in New York City, and is currently performing as Mr. Primm in the Apple+ production Helpsters.

William Smith is a second-year UConn Puppet Arts MFA candidate. He received his BFA in puppetry at West Virginia University. Will designed and fabricated puppets for Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s production of Little Shop of Horrors, whose performances were cancelled due to COVID-19. Will has worked as a staff member at the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, as a resident artist at WVU, and has been featured as puppeteer for various productions over his career. Favorites include Dr. Stein: A Puppet Prometheus (WVU), Spacebus 9 (UConn MFA Project),  and CALLE ALLENDE (Anatar Marmol-Gagné).

 Robert Ian Cutler is a second-year UConn Puppet Arts MFA candidate. Rob came to UConn following a career in Philadelphia as an actor, carpenter, improvisor, and puppeteer. Rob worked as dramaturg and puppetry coach for CRT’s production of Little Shop of Horrors, and would have puppeteered in the show. Favorite credits include Spacebus 9 (UConn MFA project), Puppets: Here and There (ComedySportz Philly), Welcome to Ahnedonia (Monkey Boys Productions) and Waterbears in Space (Transmissions Theatre).  

For more information, please contact Ballard Institute staff at bimp@uconn.edu.

 

As part of its 2020 Spring Puppet Performance Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present She Thinks She’s Queen Elizabeth But She’s Dirty Gerts To Me by PuppetKabob on March 14, 2020 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. 

Have you ever heard the phrase: “She thinks she’s Queen Elizabeth, but she’s Dirty Gerts to me!”? No? Well now that you have, come and explore the story behind the saying in PuppetKabob’s latest pop-up creation Dirty Gerts—a show about growing pains. Made entirely out of repurposed paper products!

PuppetKabob’s latest creation Dirty Gerts is a paper pop-up extravaganza! A groovy blend of historical fiction, 60s pop culture and colorful confetti! Come on get happy with middle schooler Carol Lee Bell as she finds the fold to fitting in and discovers the best way is to not actually fit at all! This show is 50 minutes long and is recommended for ages 5+.

In their review of the show, the Long Island Children’s Theater stated, “Dirty Gerts is a delightful story of growing up in Vermont during the mid-1960s. Using paper pop ups and old style paper dolls, Sarah shows the challenges a young woman confronts about fitting in, creativity and acceptance. Our audiences were compelled to share their own stories with their children and grandchildren.” 

Sarah Frechette of PuppetKabob splits her time between Vermont, Europe, and Portland, Oregon as a touring puppeteer, arts educator, and stop-motion animation costumer. She trained with master puppeteer Albrecht Roser; graduated from UConn’s Puppet Arts Program; made mini costumes for LAIKA’s feature film ParaNorman and most recently MonkeyPaw Productions’s Wendell & Wild. Sarah’s show The Snowflake Man was awarded an UNIMA-USA citation of excellence.

Upcoming Spring Puppet Performance Shows include:

April 18: Mr. Cuddles is Missing created by Faye Dupras, with music by Max Weigert 

Have you seen Mr. Cuddles? Join the friends at Cozy Corner as they search hither and thither for Rory’s missing lovie and best friend, Mr. Cuddles. In this family friendly show audiences are invited into an interactive magical world full of eclectic neighborhood friends, delightful puppet pals, and live movement-based music.This show is 45 minutes long and is recommended for ages 3+.

May 2: Kitty’s Corner and Other Stories by Dirk Joseph and String Theory Theater

Kitty’s Corner and Other Stories is a puppet show featuring several short vignettes which are sure to delight the entire family. Audiences will be treated to a variety of puppetry formats including marionettes, hand and rod puppets, shadow puppetry, and crankies performed by Dirk and Azaria of Baltimore’s String Theory Theater. This show is 40 minutes long and is recommended for ages 3+.

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.

The UConn Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, UConn Puppet Arts Program, and Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry present Tobacco: A Crankie Shadow Play with Gusti Sudarta and Rumput on March 27 at 7 p.m. at the Ballard Institute Theater located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. Shadow master Gusti Sudarta from Bali, Indonesia and the string-band group Rumput from Richmond, Virginia collaborate in an intercultural performance involving traditional arts from Indonesia—specifically wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre) and keroncong (string-band music)—with crankies, or moving panoramas. This production will focus on the history of the global tobacco industry, with an emphasis on Virginia and western Indonesia. This performance is free and open to the public with a run-time of approximately 75 minutes. There are no age restrictions but parents should be aware that old American jingles will be sung.

When the American tobacco industry was hit with lawsuits in the late 90s, companies rebranded and reoriented towards international markets such as Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, tobacco is poorly regulated, ads regularly target children (remember the “smoking baby” on Youtube?), and lung cancer deaths have gone through the roof. Cigarette taxes are now an important source of national income and politicians receive regular kickbacks from the industry. The story of tobacco is a tale of global exploitation in which American capitalists have benefitted wildly from the suffering of Native Americans, African American slaves, blue-collar labor, and the engineered addiction of billions of smokers across the globe. This new “crankie” and shadow play about the story of tobacco, shows how Richmond, Virginia and, today, Indonesia are two of the most important chapters of tobacco as a global industry.

Tobacco: A Crankie Shadow Play will feature shadow puppetry by the renowned Balinese shadow master Gusti Sudarta. In addition to the main feature, there will also be several traditional and new works for keroncong (Indonesian string band music) and several other crankies included in the program.

The music ensemble Rumput plays keroncong (a string-band tradition from Indonesia) and explores parallel threads with other traditions, especially old-time string-band music of the United States and British Isles, and Indonesian gamelan. The company produces multimedia performances involving traditional and original music paired with shadow theater comprising elements of American and Indonesian traditions — crankies (scrolling panoramas) and wayang (shadow puppets). Rumput has performed internationally, including tours and residencies in Java in 2017 and 2018, performing with local artists at each stop, and collaborating with Indonesian master artists including Danis Sugiyanto, Peni Candrarini, Endah Laras, Ubiet Raseuki, and Gusti Sudarta.

Dalang (shadow master) I Gusti Putu Sudarta Ph.D., was born into a family of artists in Bedulu village and has been performing music, dance, and shadow theater since he was six years old. He is a permanent faculty member in the puppetry department at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Denpasar (Bali) and holds a master’s and Ph.D. in theater from the National Institute of Arts in Solo, Java. He regularly performs various forms of traditional Balinese music, mask dance, and wayang kulit (shadow puppet theater) in ceremonial contexts and has taken part in several international tours and inter-cultural experimental music and theater productions.

This performance is sponsored by the Asian and Asian American Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, in collaboration with the UConn Puppet Arts Program and the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry.

This performance is free and open to the public. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For further information or if you require an accommodation to attend, please contact Dr. Matthew Cohen at matthew.i.cohen@uconn.edu.

For its second installment of the 2020 Spring Puppet Forum Series the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host “Puppets and Little Shop of Horrors” with Martin P. Robinson and UConn Puppet Arts graduate students Robert Ian Cutler and K. William Smith on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

Join famed Sesame Street puppeteer Martin P. Robinson and UConn Puppet Arts graduate students Robert Ian Cutler and K. William Smith in a discussion of puppetry and Little Shop of Horrors. Robinson, who designed, built, and performed all of the Audrey II puppets for the original Off-Broadway production of Little Shop, as well as for its Broadway incarnation, will talk with Cutler and Smith about the design and performance of puppets for the professional stage, in the context of Smith and Cutler’s work on the upcoming Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s April 23-May 3 production of Little Shop. Special ticket discounts for the CRT production will be available at this event!

Martin P. Robinson has written, designed, directed, and performed for Broadway, film, and television for many years, including such productions as Little Shop of Horrors, Muppets Take Manhattan, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sesame Street, Allegra’s Window, and more. He has performed on Sesame Street as Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, Slimey, and other characters since 1981. He acts as a Sesame Street International Senior Muppet Coordinator/Teacher in numerous countries worldwide. He recently wrote, designed, and directed the musical All Hallows Eve in New York City, and is currently performing as Mr. Primm in the Apple+ production Helpsters.

William Smith is a second-year UConn Puppet Arts MFA candidate. He received his BFA in puppetry at West Virginia University. Will is designing and fabricating new puppets for Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s upcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors. Will has worked as a staff member at the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, as a resident artist at WVU, and has been featured as puppeteer for various productions over his career. Favorites include Dr. Stein: A Puppet Prometheus (WVU), Spacebus 9 (UConn MFA Project),  and Calle Allende (Black Cherry Puppet Theatre).

Robert Ian Cutler is a second-year UConn Puppet Arts MFA candidate. Rob came to UConn following a career in Philadelphia as an actor, carpenter, improvisor, and puppeteer. Rob will be performing the puppets for CRT’s upcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors, as well as serving the production as dramaturg. Favorite credits include Spacebus 9 (UConn MFA project), Puppets: Here and There (ComedySportz Philly), Welcome to Ahnedonia (Monkey Boys Productions) and Waterbears in Space (Transmissions Theatre).  

Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. Come early, and experience our puppet exhibitions, as well as the video resources in our library nook. Forums will be broadcast via Facebook Live. For more information or if you require an accommodation to attend a forum, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860.486.8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.