Author: Wicks, Emily

Free Tour of the Ballard Institute and Screening of “Muppet Treasure Island” on the Town Square on 6/24!

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On Friday, June 24, the Ballard Institute will offer a free tour of current exhibitions and have extended hours for the Mansfield Downtown Partnership’s free screening of Muppet Treasure Island on the Mansfield Town Square at dusk.

Before the movie starts, come to Storrs Center for family-friendly activities starting at 7 p.m., including a themed dinner at Dog Lane Cafe, the UConn Dairy Bar Ice Cream Truck, and hands-on fun for kids in the Town Square.

At 7:30 p.m., the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will offer a free guided tour of the current exhibitions, The World of Puppetry: From the Collections of the Ballard Institute and The Bureau of Small Requests: Puppetry and Animation of Laura Heit. The museum will remain open until the movie starts at dusk.

Muppet Treasure Island

Music, fun, and swashbuckling hilarity abound as the Muppets take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story of pirate adventure on the high seas. Kermit stars as the good Captain Smollett, who helps guide young Jim Hawkins toward buried pirate treasure. But danger is on the horizon when they learn that the ship’s cook, Long John Silver (Tim Curry), may not be just an ordinary galley hand. As the adventure continues, Jim and Captain Smollett encounter Miss Piggy as Benjamina Gunn, Treasure Island’s worshipped (but dangerous) love goddess. Directed by Brian Henson, the film features a musical score by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer with songs by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.

Rated G
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes

For more information about the Mansfield Downtown Partnership’s Moonlight Movies, visit: mansfieldct.gov/movies

“Canteen Tales: Quest for the Golden Spork” by Shane McNeal on 7/2 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

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me on stairsAs part of its popular Summertime Saturday Puppet Shows for family audiences by UConn Puppet Arts students, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will present Canteen Tales: Quest for the Golden Spork by UConn Puppet Arts MFA student and Connecticut native Shane McNeal on Saturday, July 2 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Ballard Institute Theater located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, CT.

Shane McNeal, a third-year MFA candidate in the UConn Puppet Arts Program and native of Bristol, Connecticut, has been interested in the art of puppetry for well over a decade. Coming from an early childhood education background, McNeal has always enjoyed entertaining children of all ages with puppets and storytelling. Over the last two years, McNeal acted as a puppeteer in several projects, including the children’s television pilot of Treeples and in Hartford’s annual performances of Night Fall and Envision Fest. More recently, he performed in ECHO, the UConn Puppet Arts MFA puppet production by Christopher D. Mullens, and assisted with creating, designing, and performing a puppet production with the Boston Pops in May 2016.

In his brand-new show Canteen Tales: Quest for the Golden Spork, join McNeal in the kitchen as everyday objects tell the story of Sir Toby, a valiant knight from the Kingdom of Spün. Watch as he battles ogres, outwits wizards, and saves the day from a terrible dragon!

Upcoming Summertime Saturday Puppet Shows by UConn Puppet Arts students include:

 July 9 – Jacks in the Box by Mark Blashford: Mark Blashford, a third-year Puppet Arts graduate student, performs classic Appalachian Jack Tales and lyric vignettes with suitcases, shadows, rod puppets, and marionettes.

July 16 – The Wonderful World of Wonder by Gavin Cummins: Discover the world of creatures impossible to see, yet who live in this blue marble we call earth. Sea crabs, corpse flowers, and water bears, oh my!

July 23 – Victoria’s Not So Bedtime Story by Krista Weltner and Shane McNeal: Two sisters, Victoria and Margaret, don’t always get along, but when the goal is avoiding bedtime, there is no end to what this dynamic duo will do. Come watch several stories unfold, including The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, The Clockmaker and the Elves, and The House That Jack Built.

July 30 – Luminary by Ana Crăciun-Lambru: Luminary is the tale of a second chance! When humankind takes the world for granted, Raven, its supreme creator, hides the Sun. His daughter, Little Darkness, sets on a quest to bring back the light to the world. Join a rogue storyteller on a journey of light and shadow, found objects and empowering adventures!

August 6 – Superheroes, Villains, and Spaceships, Oh My!–The Return by Anatar Marmol-Gagné and Zach Broome: Anatar Marmol-Gagné & Zach Broome bring you a fantastical tale of intergalactic battles between good and evil.

Admission is $6 for children (12 years and under), $8 for adults.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by phone at 860.486.8580, or online at http://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 a limited number of seats. For more information about these performances, call 860.486.8580.

2016 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series!

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The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will once more present its popular Summertime Saturday Puppet Shows for family audiences by UConn Puppet Arts students on six Saturdays, July 2 through August 6, 2016. Each show will be performed twice, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. All performances will take place at the Ballard Institute Theater located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, CT.

The schedule of Summertime Saturday Puppet Shows includes the following:

me on stairsJuly 2 – Canteen Tales: Quest for the Golden Spork by Shane McNeal

Join us in the kitchen as everyday objects tell the story of Sir Toby, a valiant knight from the Kingdom of Spün. Watch as he battles ogres, outwits wizards, and saves the day from a terrible dragon!

 
July 9 – Jacks in the Box by Mark BlashfordBlashfordPromo (1)

Mark Blashford, a third-year Puppet Arts graduate student, performs classic Appalachian Jack Tales and lyric vignettes with suitcases, shadows, rod puppets, and marionettes.

 

JGavinCummins2016SummerSeriesImageuly 16 – The Wonderful World of Wonder by Gavin Cummins and Gwendolyn Rooker

Discover the world of creatures impossible to see, yet who live in this blue marble we call earth. Sea crabs, corpse flowers, and water bears, oh my!

 

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July 23 – Victoria’s Not So Bedtime Story by Krista Weltner and Shane McNeal

The two sisters Victoria and Margaret don’t always get along, but when the goal is avoiding bedtime, there is no end to what this dynamic duo will do. Come watch several stories unfold, including The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, The Clockmaker and the Elves, and The House That Jack Built.

DSC_0111_phixr (2)July 30 – Luminary by Ana Crăciun-Lambru

Luminary is the tale of a second chance! When humankind takes the world for granted, Raven, its supreme creator, hides the Sun. His daughter, Little Darkness, sets on a quest to bring back the light to the world. Join a rogue storyteller on a journey of light and shadow, found objects and empowering adventures!

Superhero%2c villains and spaceshipt oh my! The ReturnAugust 6 – Superheroes, Villains, and Spaceships, Oh My!–The Return by Anatar Marmol-Gagné and Zach Broome

Anatar Marmol-Gagné & Zach Broome bring you a fantastical tale of intergalactic battles between good and evil.
Admission is $6 for children (12 years and younger), $8 for adults.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by phone at 860.486.8580, or online at http://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 a limited number of seats. For more information about these performances, call 860.486.8580.

All sales are final — there are no refunds.

“The Bureau of Small Requests: Puppetry and Animation of Laura Heit,” April 23-October 9, 2016

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The Bureau of Small Requests includes multiple examples of the masterful small-scale puppets and objects from Laura Heit’s varied repertoire of performances, films, and installations. A West-Coast-based artist whose work has crossed many disciplines, Heit has deep roots in puppetry and animation and all things miniature. After studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and London’s Royal College of Art, Heit co-directed the Experimental Animation Program at the California Institute of Arts before moving to Portland, Oregon, where she teaches at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. The Bureau of Small Requests features artworks and objects from puppet productions and films Heit has created over the past 15 years, involving toy-theater stages and shrines, matchbox-sized puppet shows, and the unheralded work of women paleontologists of the 19th century. As part of the exhibition, visitors will experience Two Ways Down, a multi-media installation covering the walls of the largest Ballard Institute gallery with mechanized moving shadows and figments of digital animation. The Bureau of Small Requests will be on display through October 9, 2016.

 

“The Superhero Within” by Anatar Marmol-Gagne, 5/13-5/15

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The University of Connecticut’s Puppet Arts Program and Department of Dramatic Arts present The Superhero Within, an entertaining and informative hand puppet production created by Puppet Arts MFA candidate Anatar Marmol-Gagné. The Superhero Within will be presented at The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, CT according to the following schedule:

Friday, May 13, 2016, 7:00pm
Saturday, May 14, 1:00pm & 3:00pm
Sunday, May 15, 3:00pm: Show; 3:30pm: Talkback

The Superhero Within presents a final test at Superhero Academy, which is threatened by evil. The young superheroes-in-training contend with the dangerous intrusion and discover that the strength they need is not physical; they carry it from within.

This show is a hand puppet production focused upon active shooter safety awareness training designed for children from Pre-K to 6th grade. The Superhero Within carefully draws from the core protocol established by FEMA, and is presented to young school children in a non-threatening puppet play. It is the story of three characters, who reveal to one another, through playful interaction, their own discovery of superpowers. The superpowers they demonstrate are abilities that we all possess—our own senses. This production focuses on how to be aware of surroundings by using the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and intuition. The Superhero Within is a bilingual production, which can be performed in English or Spanish.

The Superhero Within is a puppet production for all ages. Admission is free. Seating is limited.

“Beauty and the Beast” by Stevens Puppets, 5/22 at 2 p.m.

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The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present Beauty and the Beast by the acclaimed Stevens Puppets of Indiana on Sunday, May 22 at 2:00 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.

Beauty and the Beast is a touching and humorous marionette play full of chuckles and drama. Artistic staging and clever effects accented with beautiful harp music bring this ever-popular classic triumphantly to life. Zan Raynor created Beauty and the Beast in 1999. After taking four years to make, it is the first new show to tour under the Stevens’ name since Aladdin in 1980. All the marionettes are fully carved of wood, hand painted, and dressed in hand-made costumes.

Ticket Prices: Adults: $12; Students: $8; Kids: $6

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by calling 860.486.8580, or online at http://bimp.ticketleap.com/beauty-and-the-beast/. A surcharge will be added to any purchases made online. Tickets may also be purchased at the Ballard Institute on the day of performance. There will be a limited number of seats. For more information about this show, call 860.486.8580.

Ballard Institute Galleries Closed for Installation, 4/14-4/22

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From April 14 to April 22, 2016, Ballard Institute staff will be deinstalling our current exhibition From Thought to Image: 30 Years of Sandglass Theater and installing our new exhibition The Bureau of Small Requests: Puppetry and Animation of Laura Heit. While the main galleries at the Ballard Institute will be closed during this process, the museum will remain open during normal business hours, and our exhibit titled The World of Puppetry: From the Collections of the Ballard Institute will be on display in the lobby.

We  invite you to join us for the grand opening of The Bureau of Small Requests on Saturday, April 23 at 4:30 p.m. at the Ballard Institute. The opening events will include free performances by Laura Heit at 6:30 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater.

“The Wizard of Oz” by Stevens Puppets, 4/30 at 1 & 3 p.m.

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The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present The Wizard of Oz by the ever-popular Stevens Puppets of Indiana on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 1 & 3 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.

Lions and tigers and puppets, oh my! In this classic heart-warming tale, beautifully adapted for marionettes by Martin Stevens and Dan Raynor, children of all ages will watch with bated breath as a Kansas cyclone whisks Dorothy off to Oz, where she befriends the Scarecrow, who wants brains; the Tin Woodman, who wants a heart; and the Cowardly Lion, who wants courage. Together they set off on a journey to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz while evading the delightfully silly Wicked Witch of the West. World leaders in puppetry arts for over 80 years, the Stevens Puppets bring this tale to life with artfully hand-carved wooden marionettes and a musical score you are sure to be humming all the way home. Martin Stevens created this version of The Wizard of Oz in 1966. It closely follows both the book and movie versions. In the spring of 2012, The Wizard of Oz went through an extensive renovation, with all-new scenery, newly painted and costumed marionettes, a new digital soundtrack, and all new props. Don’t miss The Wizard of Oz!

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by calling 860.486.8580, or online at http://bimp.ticketleap.com/the-wizard-of-oz/. A surcharge will be added to any purchases made online. Tickets may also be purchased at the Ballard Institute on the day of performances. There will be a limited number of seats. For more information about this show, call 860.486.8580.

Grand Opening of “The Bureau of Small Requests: Puppetry and Animation of Laura Heit” on 4/23 at 4:30!

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The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present the grand opening of The Bureau of Small Requests: Puppetry and Animation of Laura Heit on Saturday, April 23, 2016, with refreshments served at 4:30 p.m. and a tour by puppeteer, visual artist, and filmmaker Laura Heit at 5:00 p.m. All events will take place at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs, Connecticut. At 6:30 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, Heit will perform one of her critically acclaimed puppet productions and screen a selection of her short films.

The Bureau of Small Requests includes multiple examples of the masterful small-scale puppets and objects from Laura Heit’s varied repertoire of performances, films, and installations. A West-Coast-based artist whose work has crossed many disciplines, Heit has deep roots in puppetry and animation and all things miniature. After studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and London’s Royal College of Art, Heit co-directed the Experimental Animation Program at the California Institute of Arts before moving to Portland, Oregon, where she teaches at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. The Bureau of Small Requests features artworks and objects from puppet productions and films Heit has created over the past 15 years, involving toy-theater stages and shrines, matchbox-sized puppet shows, and the unheralded work of women paleontologists of the 19th century. As part of the exhibition, visitors will experience Two Ways Down, a multi-media installation covering the walls of the largest Ballard Institute gallery with mechanized moving shadows and figments of digital animation. The Bureau of Small Requests will be on display through October 9, 2016.

For her 6:30 p.m. grand opening performance in the Ballard Institute Theater, Heit will perform her miniature toy theater spectacle The Matchbox Shows, and screen two of her animated films: The Deep Dark (2011) and The Amazing, Mysterious, and True Story of Mary Anning and Her Monsters (2003). This performance is geared for mature audiences. Admission is free, and seating is limited.

As part of our Spring Puppet Forum Series, on Wednesday, April 20 at 7 p.m., Laura Heit will discuss her richly varied work in stop-motion film, live-action puppetry, drawing, and computer animation. This is a free event and will also be live-streamed on our UStream channel: http://ustre.am/15REP.