The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present the grand opening of its new exhibition Banners and Cranks: Paintings and Scrolls in Performance on Thursday, February 23, 2017 at 5:00 p.m., with refreshments served at 5:00 p.m. and a free tour and performances from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. All events will take place at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.

Banners and Cranks: Paintings and Scrolls in Performance will feature a global array of traditional and contemporary cantastorias and crankies—forms of sung picture story-telling that trace their origins to 6th-century India. Paintings mounted on sticks, flipped over and revealed, or unfurled on scrolls and moved by means of a crank, these performing objects were precursors to the popular puppet traditions of many countries. Today, even as advanced electronic technology becomes more and more integral to popular media and culture, a new dynamic engagement with the simple mechanical cranky and cantastoria has blossomed among contemporary artists, activists, puppeteers and musicians, who infuse this old form with diverse new content and bold variations in technique. Curated by puppeteer Clare Dolan, the director of Vermont’s Museum of Everyday Life, Banners and Cranks features a multitude of picture performance works from new young puppet theater companies, activist educators, folk musicians, visual artists, playwrights, and students, as well as historical examples of the form from Europe and Asia. The opening events will feature a tour led by Clare Dolan, and live performances of crankies and cantastorias by the curator, as well as by Great Small Works theater company.

As part of our Spring Puppet Forum Series, on Wednesday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. Banners and Cranks curator Clare Dolan, and Puerto-Rico-based puppeteer, author, and visual artist Dave Buchen talk about the old-and-new international painting and performance medium they have nurtured since the first Banners and Cranks festival in 2010. Free admission, donations greatly appreciated.

In connection with the exhibition, a Banners and Cranks Mini-Festival will present cranky and cantastoria performances created by puppeteers, musicians, and artists from throughout the Northeast on Friday and Saturday, April 14-15. Friday evening performances, starting at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, will feature productions geared for adult audiences; Saturday afternoon performances, starting at 2 p.m., are geared for family audiences. Ticket prices for each day: Adults: $12; Members/Seniors $10; Students: $8; Kids: $6 (12 years and under). Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute, by calling 860.486.8580, or online at http://bimp.ticketleap.com/. A surcharge will be added to any purchases made online. There will be open seating and no reservations.

For its 2017 Spring Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host four free scintillating discussions with puppeteers, animators, designers, producers, and writers on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. in February through April at in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center. The Spring Puppet Forum schedule will include the following talks:

February 8: The Business of Puppetry with Bonnie Duncan, Roxie Myhrum, and Matt Acheson

What combinations of artistry, entrepreneurship, and management are needed for success in 21st-century puppetry? Join Roxie Myhrum, Artistic Director of Puppet Showplace Theater; acclaimed Boston-area puppeteer and dancer Bonnie Duncan; and New York City puppet designer, builder and performer Matt Acheson for an incisive discussion about how to make a living in the arts today.

March 8: Puppetry and Animation with Michael Bannon

Stop-motion animation artist Michael Bannon’s Wreckless Abandon Studios has produced and directed award-winning commercials for scores of companies across the United States, as well as the famous “Little Bob” spokespuppet for Connecticut-based Bob’s Discount Furniture. Hear Michael explain the dynamics and opportunities of contemporary visual storytelling with the arts of stop-motion puppet animation.

March 29: W.A. Dwiggins: Puppetry and Graphic Design with Bruce Kennett

While William Addison Dwiggins (1880-1956) has long been recognized in American puppetry as a singularly innovative early 20th-century modernist, he had an equally influential career as an illustrator, type designer, calligrapher, and book designer. Join Bruce Kennett, author of a forthcoming monograph on Dwiggins, in a fascinating and enlightening discussion of this unique polymath of visual design.

April 12: Banners and Cranks with Clare Dolan and Dave Buchen

In conjunction with the concurrent Banners and Cranks exhibition at the Ballard Institute, curator Clare Dolan, puppeteer and director of Vermont’s Museum of Everyday Life; and Puerto-Rico based puppeteer, author, and visual artist Dave Buchen talk about the old-and-new international painting and performance medium they have nurtured since the first Banners and Cranks festival in 2010.

Admission to these events 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. Visit bimp.uconn.edu or call 860-486-8580 for more information.

Due to inclement weather, the Ballard Institute will close at 2 p.m. on 1/31.

The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the UConn Puppet Arts Program will present the 2017 UConn Winter Puppet Slam on Friday, February 3, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. in UConn’s Studio Theatre. The UConn Winter Puppet Slam will feature short works by professional puppeteers and performers, including Lone Wolf Tribe, Dana Samborski, Better than Never Theater Company, The Grizzly Boys, and J. R. Uretsky and Feminist Conference, as well as new works for puppet and object theater by students from UConn’s School of Fine Arts.

The 2017 UConn Winter Puppet Slam includes work by an array of renowned Northeast puppet professionals and talented UConn students. From New York City, acclaimed puppeteer Kevin Augustine, who performs as Lone Wolf Tribe, will present Body Concert, a haunting solo piece with exquisitely sculpted foam-rubber puppets influenced by Japanese Butoh dance. UConn alum Dana Samborski will return to Storrs from Nashville, Tennessee to perform his tabletop show The Three Bears. The Better than Never Theater Company—UConn alumnus Joe Therrien and his partner Sam Wilson—will perform The Sirens of Titan, Episode 47: Tralfamadore, a toy theater spectacle based on the writings of Kurt Vonnegut. In addition, as The Grizzly Boys, Therrien and New York City puppeteer Tom Cunningham will present an overhead projector show torn from today’s headlines, The Sad and True Adventures of President Punch. Providence-based performance artist (and UConn Art and Art History alumna) J.R. Uretsky and her art band Feminist Conference (featuring Rachel Blumberg on drums and Emily Dix on cello) will perform Hope Load, an autobiographical performance featuring live music and video projection. In addition, the UConn Winter Puppet Slam will feature new works by UConn Puppet Arts graduate and undergraduate students.

The UConn Winter Puppet Slam is supported by the Puppet Slam Network. The Puppet Slam movement is a nation-wide flowering of short puppet productions for adult audiences, encouraged by the Puppet Slam Network created by Heather Henson and Marsian De Lellis. UConn Puppet Slams have been taking place since 2008, thanks to the generous support of the Network.

The UConn Winter Puppet Slam is free and open to the public; donations are greatly appreciated. The event will take place in the Studio Theatre located at 820 Bolton Rd, Storrs, CT. For directions to the Studio Theatre, visit crt.uconn.edu/directions/. These performances are recommended for mature audiences. For more information, call the Ballard Institute at (860) 486-8580 or email us at bimp@uconn.edu.

The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will be closed from Friday, December 23 through Monday, December 26 and Saturday, December 31 through Monday, December 2. Happy holidays!

As part of the 2016 Fall Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present a discussion with acclaimed UConn Puppet Arts Program Director Bart. P. Roccoberton, Jr. and alumni of the UConn Puppet Arts Program entitled The Future of Puppetry at UConn on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.

Over the past 50 years, UConn’s Puppet Arts Program has played a major role in shaping the nature of American and international puppetry. What will the next 50 years bring to the world of puppetry, and how can UConn best prepare its students to make substantial contributions to the future? Join Puppet Arts Program director Bart. P. Roccoberton, Jr. and celebrated UConn puppetry alumni in a compelling discussion about the future of puppetry and UConn’s role in it. Puppeteer and voice-over artist Pam Arciero is well known for her work on Sesame Street as Grundgetta, but is also the Artistic Director of the O’Neill Puppetry Conference. Rob Saunders is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Animax Designs, which develops high-quality animatronics and puppet characters for the theme park and attractions industries.

Upcoming 2016 Fall Puppet Forums include:

November 16: Object, Image, Text: The Bread & Puppet Press, with Max Schumann (Printed Matter) and Clare Dolan (Museum of Everyday Life)

December 7: Making Marionette Theater with Frank Ballard, with Steven Brezzo (Opar, Inc.), Fred Thompson (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center), and Steve Abrams (Editor, Puppetry Journal)

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. Visit bimp.uconn.edu or call 860.486.8580 for more information.

As part of its Fall Puppet Performance Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present The Pirate, the Princess and the Pea by UConn alumni Jamie Keithline and Bonny Hall of Crabgrass Puppet Theatre on Saturday, September 24, 2016. There will be two showings, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., in the Ballard Institute Theater located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, CT.

The Pirate, the Princess and the Pea is a swashbuckling adventure about friendship and cooperation, a thrilling voyage chock full of sea monsters, shipwrecks, and mistaken pirate/princess identities. A pirate and a princess are on a treasure hunt, searching for the same clues. The princess stays one step ahead by tricking the pirate at every turn. But when they face danger together, they find that friendship is the best treasure of all. Featuring colorful scenery, multiple styles of puppetry, and original pirate songs, you won’t want to miss the boat on this fun adventure tale!

Crabgrass Puppet Theatre was founded in 1982 by Jamie Keithline and Bonny Hall, who met as UConn students in 1979 and have been working together ever since. They began their company in San Francisco, and now live near Brattleboro, Vermont. Their performing venues have included the World Trade Center, The Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, the Smithsonian, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. They have created 25 full-length productions, performed at numerous regional, national, and international puppet festivals, and have been awarded two UNIMA Citations of Excellence.

Ticket Prices: Adults: $12; Students: $8; Kids: $6 (12 years and under)

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, visit bimp.uconn.edu or call 860.486.8580.