Upcoming Events
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3/25
My Night in the Planetarium by Little Uprisings
My Night in the Planetarium by Little Uprisings
Saturday, March 25th, 2023
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Storrs Campus Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry Theater, 1 Royce Circle, Downtown Storrs
Best-selling children's book author Innosanto Nagara's true story of art and social protest comes to life as a dynamic pop-up puppet show. Created and performed by Boston artist/activist Tanya Nixon-Silberg, the show transports audiences to Jakarta in the 1970s, where 7-year-old Inno learns firsthand how a play has the power to spark a resistance movement. Featuring designs and puppets by UConn Puppet Arts alumna Sarah Nolen, the story is brought to life with a rich soundscape, visual transformations, and kid-centered lessons about social justice. Recommended for ages 5+.
To learn more about the performance, visit: http://bimp.ticketleap.com/planetarium/
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 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 the 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. For more information about these performances or if you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu. Masks are recommended but not required. -
3/29
“Sam and Friends – The Early Days of The Muppets: Exploring Jim and Jane Henson’s First TV Show” Puppet Forum
“Sam and Friends – The Early Days of The Muppets: Exploring Jim and Jane Henson’s First TV Show” Puppet Forum
Wednesday, March 29th, 2023
07:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Storrs Campus Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, 1 Royce Circle, Downtown Storrs
Years before Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, Jim Henson began his television career while a student in the Washington, D.C. area. Alongside performing partner Jane Nebel (who would become his wife), Jim introduced Kermit and the Muppets to local viewers in a daily five-minute show which became a sensation and also led to a series of popular commercials — all before Jim graduated from college. Former Henson staff writer and current President of The Jim Henson Legacy Craig Shemin explores this early Henson history in his book Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show. In this forum, Craig will discuss Jim and Jane Henson’s early television work as well as his research and writing process in bringing the story to life in print. Rare surviving Sam and Friends footage and new high-definition scans of early Henson commercials will be shown, as well as recently uncovered photos from the Jim Henson Company Archives and a re-creation of the show's final episode made from its surviving audio track. Craig's presentation will be followed by a book signing (books will be available for sale from the Barnes & Noble at UConn store).
Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. This forum will also be broadcast via Ballard Institute Facebook Live (http://facebook.com/BallardInstitute). 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. -
4/7
2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam
2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam
Friday, April 7th, 2023
07:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Storrs Campus Studio Theatre, 802 Bolton Rd, Storrs, CT
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the UConn Puppet Arts Program will present the 2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam in person on Friday, April 7, 2023 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in UConn’s Studio Theatre, located at 802 Bolton Rd, Storrs, CT 06269.
The 2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam will showcase the work of Nate Puppets, a Cleveland-based artist and puppeteer who will perform Petey the Puppet’s Tribute to Bimbo the Clown, featuring Petey the Puppet, the enchanted stringless marionette, who pays homage to the famous Bimbo the Clown arcade game in an interpretive dance to honor the clown who spent decades behind glass entertaining countless thousands. Nate Puppets will also perform The Over at the Frankenstein Pitch!, in which Skuzzle the Sugar Beast wants to push his creative desires in what he would want in his own paper doll production of The Rocky Horror Show! The UConn Spring Puppet Slam will also feature new works by UConn graduate and undergraduate students from the university’s Puppet Arts Program. These performances are recommended for mature audiences. Funding for the UConn Spring Puppet Slam is made possible in part by the Puppet Slam Network.
The UConn Spring Puppet Slam is free and open to the public; donations are greatly appreciated. Seating is limited, so reservations are required. Please reserve a ticket here: https://bimp.ticketleap.com/2023-spring-slam/.
Doors open at 6:40 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. Reservations that do not arrive by 6:50 p.m. or 8:50 p.m. will be released.
The event will take place in UConn’s Studio Theatre, located at 802 Bolton Rd, Storrs, Conn. 06269. For directions to the Studio Theatre, visit http://crt.uconn.edu. For more information about these performances or if you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu. -
4/7
2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam
2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam
Friday, April 7th, 2023
09:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Storrs Campus Studio Theatre, 802 Bolton Rd, Storrs, CT
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the UConn Puppet Arts Program will present the 2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam in person on Friday, April 7, 2023 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in UConn’s Studio Theatre, located at 802 Bolton Rd, Storrs, CT 06269.
The 2023 UConn Spring Puppet Slam will showcase the work of Nate Puppets, a Cleveland-based artist and puppeteer who will perform Petey the Puppet’s Tribute to Bimbo the Clown, featuring Petey the Puppet, the enchanted stringless marionette, who pays homage to the famous Bimbo the Clown arcade game in an interpretive dance to honor the clown who spent decades behind glass entertaining countless thousands. Nate Puppets will also perform The Over at the Frankenstein Pitch!, in which Skuzzle the Sugar Beast wants to push his creative desires in what he would want in his own paper doll production of The Rocky Horror Show! The UConn Spring Puppet Slam will also feature new works by UConn graduate and undergraduate students from the university’s Puppet Arts Program. These performances are recommended for mature audiences. Funding for the UConn Spring Puppet Slam is made possible in part by the Puppet Slam Network.
The UConn Spring Puppet Slam is free and open to the public; donations are greatly appreciated. Seating is limited, so reservations are required. Please reserve a ticket here: https://bimp.ticketleap.com/2023-spring-slam/.
Doors open at 6:40 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. Reservations that do not arrive by 6:50 p.m. or 8:50 p.m. will be released.
The event will take place in UConn’s Studio Theatre, located at 802 Bolton Rd, Storrs, Conn. 06269. For directions to the Studio Theatre, visit http://crt.uconn.edu. For more information about these performances or if you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu. -
4/12
"Jumaadi: From Wayang Kulit to Contemporary Art" Puppet Forum
"Jumaadi: From Wayang Kulit to Contemporary Art" Puppet Forum
Wednesday, April 12th, 2023
07:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Storrs Campus Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, 1 Royce Circle, Downtown Storrs
Ballard Institute director Dr. John Bell will host this Puppet Forum conversation with Jumaadi, a contemporary Indonesian-Australian artist (who will be joining us virtually from abroad), and UConn professors Dr. Matthew Cohen and Dr. Macushla Robinson. The discussion will probe a particular aspect of Jumaadi’s creative process: how wayang kulit, the tradition of Javanese shadow puppet theater, provides a key source for inspiration and techniques, and how Jumaadi’s own shadow puppet plays (performed mainly using overhead projectors and other modern technologies) depart in significant ways from this tradition. The conversation will consider the nostalgic pull of wayang kulit, conditions of art making in both Indonesia and Australia, and the possibilities opened up through travel and cosmopolitanism. This conversation coincides with the opening of Jumaadi’s solo exhibition Migration of Flora at the Contemporary Art Galleries of the University of Connecticut, located at 830 Bolton Rd, Storrs, Conn. To learn more about the exhibit, visit http://contemporaryartgalleries.uconn.edu.
To learn more about this forum and the speakers, visit: https://bimp.uconn.edu/2023/03/21/jumaadi/.
Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. This forum will also be broadcast via Ballard Institute Facebook Live (http://facebook.com/BallardInstitute). 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.
