Events

Judy Saves the Day by Sarah Nolen on 7/27

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As part of its 2024 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present Judy Saves the Day by Sarah Nolen on July 27, 2024 at 11 a.m. in Betsy Paterson Square in Downtown Storrs.

After being pushed around for over 400 years, the famous hand-puppet heroine Judy has had enough! Cheer her on as she goes on a quest for respect, justice, and a well-deserved nap. This modern interpretation of the traditional “Punch and Judy” show is a hilarious, timely, hand-crafted farce that the whole family will enjoy!

Puppeteer Sarah Nolen is known for creating versatile, witty, imaginative productions that inspire people of all ages. As Resident Artist a Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts, she performs regularly for youth and family audiences and teaches puppetry in camps, workshops, and adult classes. Sarah has appeared in the National Puppet Slam, at the Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival, and the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. She has toured internationally to Spain, Turkey, and Canada. Sarah earned her BFA in Cinema Television from Southern Methodist University, and her MFA from UConn’s Puppet Arts program (’16).

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 the UConn Gives campaign.

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.

2024 Summertime Saturday Puppet Shows!

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The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is excited to present its 2024 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series with free, family-friendly puppet shows on three consecutive Saturdays in July and August at 11 a.m. on Betsy Paterson Square in Downtown Storrs.

July 20: Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by WonderSpark Puppets

The classic children’s song comes to life in this hilarious mystery show by New York City’s WonderSpark Puppets. Join detective Mystery Max as he searches for clues to find out whodunit. The audience will sing songs and call out to help Max find the missing cookies and solve the case.

 

July 27: Judy Saves the Day by Sarah Nolen

After being pushed around for over 400 years, the famous hand puppet heroine Judy has had enough! Cheer her on as she goes on a quest for respect, justice, and a well-deserved nap. This modern interpretation of the traditional “Punch and Judy” show by UConn Puppet Arts alumna Sarah Nolen is a hilarious, timely, hand-crafted farce that the whole family will enjoy!

 

August 3: I Love Tacos by Paper Heart Puppets

There is joy in the world, and it comes wrapped in a tortilla! Join White Nosed Coati and a cast of amazing Mexican wildlife in three original stories celebrating tacos and the place they were created. Each story in this show by master puppeteer Brad Shur is packed with exuberant humor, and colorful characters.

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.

Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by WonderSpark Puppets on 7/20

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As part of its 2024 Summer Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by WonderSpark Puppets on July 20 at 11 a.m. in Betsy Paterson Square in Downtown Storrs.

In Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? WonderSpark company member (and UConn Puppet Arts program alumna) Julia Darden brings the classic children’s song to life as a hilarious hand-puppet mystery show. Join detective Mystery Max as he searches for clues to find out “whodunit”. The audience will sing songs and help Max find the missing cookies to solve the case. This hand puppet show in a traditional puppet booth covers themes including resolving conflict, persisting through challenges, engaging in conversation and identifying and expressing emotions appropriately.

WonderSpark Puppets is a New York City-based puppet theater company led by Chad Williams and UConn Puppet Arts Program alumna Z Briggs. The company’s mission is to spread joy, spark imagination, and share laughter through high-quality puppet performances. They have partnered with NYC Public Schools, the New York Public Library, and such companies as CAMP and Bed Bath & Beyond and have toured original productions and puppetry workshops internationally to festivals in Thailand and Taiwan.

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 Summer 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.

Opening of Wonderland Puppet Theater: Visions of the Beloved Community on 8/21

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The Ballard Institute will present the grand opening of its new exhibition Wonderland Puppet Theater: Visions of the Beloved Community on Wednesday, Aug. 21, with refreshments served at 4:30 p.m. and an in-person exhibition tour at 5 p.m. by curator Dr. Paulette Richards and Ballard Institute Director Dr. John Bell, which will also be streamed on Ballard Institute’s Facebook Live (facebook.com/BallardInstitute/). All events will take place at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

In the summer of 1961 in the suburban community of Concord Park, near Philadelphia, Nancy Schmale persuaded her neighbor Alice Swann to put on The Magic Onion, a puppet show written by Bil and Cora Baird, even though neither Schmale nor Swann had any experience performing with puppets. This collaboration set into motion Wonderland Puppet Theater a fifty-year interracial puppetry collaboration that took place during—and reflected—the late-20th century’s experience of the Civil Rights movement, the Women’s movement, and the flowering of puppetry for children. With original puppets, photographs, audio-visual media, and archival documents Wonderland Puppet Theater: Visions of the Beloved Community chronicles Swann and Schmale’s collaboration in the context of residential desegregation, children’s media, and women’s careers in puppetry.

Swann and Schmale’s Concord Park subdivision had been designed in 1954 by Civil Rights activist-turned housing-developer Morris Milgram as an intentional interracial community. The Magic Onion’s themes of tolerance and understanding resonated deeply with the two Concord Park neighbors, who were trying to realize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of “the beloved community,” which would remedy the “triple evils” of poverty, racism, and militarism. Swann and Schmale’s first puppet show was a hit, and it led them to form the Wonderland Puppet Theater, through which they continued performing together for twenty years, including regular appearances on Philadelphia public television station WHYY’s Story Corner. In 2006 The Magic Onion was revived to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Concord Park. Wonderland Puppet Theater: Visions of the Beloved Community will be on display through Dec. 15, 2024.

The museum will be closed through Aug. 21 while the new exhibition is installed. After the opening, the Ballard Institute will be open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no set admission, but visitors are encouraged to pay as they wish. Learn more at bimp.uconn.edu.

 

I Love Tacos by Paper Heart Puppets on 8/3

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As part of its 2024 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present I Love Tacos by Brad Shur of Paper Heart Puppets on August 3, 2024 at 11 a.m. in Betsy Paterson Square in Downtown Storrs.

There is joy in the world, and it comes wrapped in a tortilla! Join White Nosed Coati and a cast of amazing Mexican wildlife in three original stories celebrating tacos and the place they were created. Each story is packed with exuberant humor, and colorful characters.

Founded in 2017 by Brad Shur, Paper Heart Puppets is dedicated to sharing and expanding the art of puppetry. Headquartered in Poughkeepsie, New York, the company offers touring shows, workshops, and custom puppet building. Puppeteer, puppet builder, and arts educator Brad Shur began performing as a student at Rhode Island School of Design. In 2009, he became the Resident Artist at Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Mass. where he was lead teaching artist and touring puppeteer for eight years. During that time, Brad developed six original shows and revived several classic shows created by acclaimed puppeteer Paul Vincent Davis.

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.

I Am the Village: A Puppet Pageant Celebrating the Life and Art of Marc Chagall, 4/20 and 4/21

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The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the Puppet Arts Program at the University of Connecticut present I Am the Village: A Puppet Pageant Celebrating the Life and Art of Marc Chagall, an MFA production written by UConn Puppet Arts student Alyson Doyle (’24) and directed by Doyle and Mel Carter. I am the Village events—including a community puppet-making workshop, a parade, and the performance of the pageant proper each day—will take place Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ballard Institute and in Betsy Paterson Square, all in Downtown Storrs. These events are co-sponsored by Mansfield Downtown Partnership.

Written by Alyson Doyle, directed by Mel Carter and Alyson Doyle, and scored with traditional klezmer songs and new compositions by renowned clarinetist Nat Seelen of Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band, this outdoor spectacle features giant colorful figures and fantastic performing objects made of cardboard and paper-mâché floating to life to tell a story of acclaimed modernist painter Marc Chagall—from his beginnings as a poor child in the Pale of Settlement to his legacy as one of the most lauded painters in history.

On both April 20 and 21 in Downtown Storrs, the events will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a free, outdoor public puppet-making workshop at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, where participants can paint an emotive umbrella or fish. At 3:30 you and your creation can be part of a parade around Betsy Paterson Square. The I Am the Village pageant will begin in the Square at 4 p.m., and last 45 minutes. These are free events; no tickets or registration required. All are welcome, but minors must be accompanied by adults. Seating is not provided for the performance, so bring your own chairs and blankets. In case of rain, all events will take place inside the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, Conn. 06268.

In addition to the workshop and performance, Alyson Doyle will curate an installation in the Ballard Institute Theater that will share more about the history surrounding Chagall’s life, as it pertains to elements of the pageant’s script. This display will be on exhibit during Ballard Institute operating hours from Wednesday, April 17 to Sunday, April 21.

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.

“Careers in Puppetry: Brooklyn’s Boxcutter Collective” Forum on 4/17

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As part of its 2024 Spring Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry is pleased to host Careers in Puppetry: Brooklyn’s Boxcutter Collective on Wednesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. at the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. This forum will also be broadcast via Ballard Institute Facebook Live (facebook.com/BallardInstitute).

In the forum, members of the Brooklyn-based Boxcutter Collective—UConn Puppet Arts alumnus Joe Therrien, Sam Wilson, Tom Cunningham, Darkin Brown, and Ali Dineen—will discuss how they survive as working puppeteers, their various productions for live theater, film, puppet slams, and puppet workshops, as well as their side gigs. This event is co-sponsored by the UConn Puppet Arts Program and the UConn Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute.

Boxcutter Collective is a Brooklyn-based puppet theater troupe made up of six core members who met while working at Bread and Puppet Theater. In 2016, they decided to unite under the Boxcutter banner and harness the collective power of puppet shows for the forces of good. Since then, Boxcutter has been relentlessly creating and performing new work including Everything is Fine, Caveman Ballet, Bing Bong: A Strange Ritual for You and Your Loved Ones, Exploding Electric Baths and The Divinity Supply Company, a collaboration with Peter Schumann. Boxcutter has also performed at many festivals including the NYC International Puppet Fringe Festival, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the Brooklyn Folk Festival, and Objecto Fest in Toronto. They have received several Henson Foundation Grants, most recently in 2022 for their first family show, Happyland! Now!! They are currently working on their first feature-length film, Tantrums, and a new live sci-fi space opera sequel to their independent film, Dimension Zero: Brain Robbers from Outer Space, both scheduled for release in 2024.

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.

“Hao Bang Ah, Dragon!” by Chinese Theatre Works on 4/13

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As part of its 2024 Spring Puppet Performance Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to bring back the popular Chinese Theatre Works company of New York City to perform Hao Bang Ah, Dragon! on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 11 a.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.  

Hao Bang Ah, Dragon! is the most recent in the series of Chinese Theatre Works’s hand-puppet productions celebrating the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Each year, the reigning Zodiac animal spirit presides over a mix of traditional Chinese Budaixi (glove puppets) and western-style puppetry. This year’s show features a dozen different dragons, serving up a spicy mix of song, skits, silliness and sage sayings. Special guests include the great Monkey King, who will crash the Dragon King’s party with his usual good cheer and mayhem. Recommended for ages 4+. The show runtime is approximately 40 minutes, with a puppet demo and talkback. Learn and purchase tickets more: bimp.ticketleap.com/hao-bang-ah 

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 the performance starting at 10 a.m. 

About the Company

Chinese Theatre Works is dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional Chinese performing arts and creating new works bridging Eastern and Western theatrical aesthetics and forms. It was founded in 2001 by Co-Artistic Directors Kuang-Yu Fong and Stephen Kaplin to present programming drawn from their combined repertoire of traditional Chinese opera, music, dance, and puppetry, and by creating and touring new original productions as well. Their programs spark interest in Chinese cultural traditions among the wider public and build understanding among educators and artists across the globe. 

“Avant-Garde and Propaganda Puppetry in Early 20th-Century Germany” Forum on 4/10

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As part of its 2024 Spring Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry is pleased to host Kasper’s Theater: Avant-Garde and Propaganda Puppetry in Early 20th-Century Germany, a UConn Puppet Forum with Dr. Rachel Herschman of Yale University’s Beinecke Library, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 7 p.m. at the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. This forum will also be broadcast via Ballard Institute Facebook Live (facebook.com/BallardInstitute).

Drawing on her dissertation research, Dr. Rachel Herschman, the Exhibitions and Publications Program Director of Yale University’s Beinecke Library, will discuss how and why German artists turned to puppetry during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, and the different ways that puppets could be both icons of rebellious resistance and vehicles for manipulation and control. This event is co-sponsored by UConn’s Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, the UConn Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, and the UConn Department of History.

Rachel Herschman is currently the Exhibitions and Publications Program Director at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Previously, she held curatorial positions at NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World and The Jewish Museum, and prior to that, worked in museum education at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Rachel holds a BA degree from McGill University, and an MA and PhD from the University of Washington. She lives in New York City and New Haven.

 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.