Help us Support Artists!

Cozy Arts films Mr. Cuddles is Missing at Puppet Showplace Theater, Dec 2021.

We are at the halfway point of our spring appeal and have raised 30% of our $25,000 goal. Help us spring to the finish line so we can continue to support puppeteers in the creation and presentation of their work!

We work with our beloved artists in a variety of ways to support their practice, whether by providing grants, space for rehearsals, professional mentorship, skill-sharing opportunities, or creative support for works-in-development. Your contributions make this possible!

Our current season, Summer Puppet Adventures has only just begun, but we’re already engaged in many fun and creative endeavors with our performers…

Thanks to funding from donors like you and a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, artists Tanya Nixon-Silberg and Sarah Nolen spent two intensive weeks rehearsing at Puppet Showplace Theater, culminating in a beautiful remounting of My Night in the Planetarium.

This week, dramaturg and puppeteer Brenda Huggins moves into the space to rehearse her puppet opera about climate awareness titled Mr. Twister. And, stay tuned for the premiere of Honey Goodenough’s Stewie’s Magic Hat next month!

Summer brings us opportunities to explore the stage and share with new audiences for the first time, Join us this Thursday from 7:00-9:00 EST for a virtual Community Sharing from our 2022 Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers cohort. Get an exclusive preview of their work as they share about their inspirations, research, and processes. Then Saturday, join us in person for our Summer Cinema Slam, which will welcome a diverse mix of returning artists and new friends to the theater for a live and in-person slam, with a summer cinema theme!

And all this is just the beginning of our summer adventures with the amazing artists in our community!

Make a gift today to help fund upcoming artists projects and new work development!

Meet the Puppeteers for our June Shows!

Tanya Nixon Silberg, Little Uprisings, and Sarah Nolen

The Planetarium creative team (from left) Sarah, Tanya, Innosanto Nagara, and Roxanna Myhrum. Photo: Tess Scheflan

Tanya is a Black Mother, Artist, Educator, Radical Dreamer from Boston, MA. As an artist in Puppet Showplace Theater’s Incubator program, she co-created a puppet production of My Night in the Planetarium, and also participated in the first cohort of the Black Puppeteer Empowerment program. Tanya is the founder of Little Uprisings, a project that focuses on forming deep relationships with institutions that serve kids to make racial justice an everyday goal. Kids+Art+Justice is her recipe for liberation and kid-powered revolutions. https://www.littleuprisings.org/

Sarah Nolen is a puppeteer and filmmaker originally from Austin, Texas. As Puppet Showplace Theater’s resident artist, she performs regularly for youth and family audiences and teaches puppetry in camps, workshops, residencies, and evening adult classes. Her three original productions, Lisa the Wise, Judy Saves the Day, and The Fairy Tailor have all toured extensively in the Northeast and beyond. In addition to her own shows, Sarah has done puppet builds for Netflix, Suffolk University, Boston College, and more. Learn more about her work on stage and screen at www.sarahnolen.com

To learn about social justice with Tanya and Inno, get your tickets to My Night in the Planetarium, June 11-12

To read more about the development of My Night in the Planetarium and meet the whole creative team, visit our Planetarium page.

John & Megan Regan, CactusHead Puppets

CactusHead Puppets are known for their playful performance style and exuberant creativity. The West Springfield-based company was founded in 2010 by husband and wife team John and Megan Regan. Since then, they have created numerous shows based on favorite, familiar folktales and have toured throughout Western New England. John and Megan are both graduates of the University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts program. Megan is originally from the Kansas City area, where she worked with Paul Mesner Puppets. John is from Western Massachusetts, and is honored to be performing in the same libraries where he saw puppet shows growing up. Megan collects pop-up books, and John has a love for giant monster movies. Both John and Megan were interns at Puppet Showplace Theater, and they are excited to return to Boston to share their work as professional puppeteers. Learn more at http://www.cactusheadpuppets.com/.

To see this silly circus in action, reserve your tickets to Magnificent Monster Circus, June 18-19

Anna Sobel, Talking Hands Theatre

Anna Sobel has been a professional puppeteer since 1998. She first trained and worked a puppeteer for Kids on the Block while at Wesleyan University, and went on to perform with the educational company Blue Sky Puppet Theater (University Park, Maryland). In 2003 she was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to study puppetry in India as a tool for social change and education. She spent nine months in India and founded Talking Hands Theatre on her return to New York in 2004. Anna holds master’s degree in educational theater and is also an award-winning teaching artist. Since 2010, she has operated her one-woman company out of Shutesbury, MA, bringing educational shows — and smiles!— to all of New England! Learn more about her work at talkinghandstheatre.com.

To make some buggy friends of your own, reserve your tickets to Bugaboo Revue, June 25-26

Support Community Programming!

This past Saturday’s Spring into Summer event was a joyous celebration of puppetry, community, and art-making! Friends new and old gathered by the hundreds at Emerson Garden to watch free puppet shows, engage in interactive performances, dress-up in processional puppets, and make their own talking, walking, and springing creatures!

Today we ask you to make a donation to Puppet Showplace Theater to help us continue our mission to provide exceptional community programming.

Kids found their voices through their own creations.

We imagined ourselves as changemakers in "Play for Change.”

Giant puppets came to life through imaginative play. (Photo credit: Tess Scheflan)

Kids and grown-ups delighted at furry monsters poking their heads out of a caboose window and cheered alongside Judy as she “saved the day.” One child watched with wide eyes as two cardboard shoe inserts and a brush became a hopping bunny. Families made their way through the ribbons of a “Space for Change,” weaving a web of colors. Others donned masks and full-body costumes of fantastical creatures, parading to the music of a marching trombone while Funny Honey twisted balloons for all to enjoy.

Make a gift today to help fund future community events and support another season of captivating, transformative puppetry!

A Letter from the Artistic Director, Leslie Burton

Leslie Burton speaks to the audience at a 2021 outdoors show.

To the many amazing friends of Puppet Showplace Theater:

I am so happy that my one-year anniversary as Artistic Director occurs at this time of year, when the sun is out, the trees are full of green leaves, and the flowers are blooming again! In the light of the bright June sun, I find myself reflecting on the amazing experiences, challenges, and moments of joy of the past year. However, rather than reflect on the past, today I wish to look ahead because spring is a time for growth, celebration, and springing into summer together!

Upcoming mainstage performance series, Summer Puppet Adventures!

This season, we are thinking about who we are, who we want to be, where we want to go, and how to speak our truth along the way. I can’t wait to present our upcoming series, Summer Puppet Adventures! We’ll have shows about bugs and bears, giants and monsters, magic and mischief — and even more performances about making friends across boundaries, finding one’s place and one’s purpose, and taking a stand even when it seems scary.

A children’s summer program student sews puppets with resident artist Honey Goodenough.

There will be artists rehearsing in the theater all summer long, preparing to bring you amazing new work in coming months; children will spend their days at 32 Station Street, learning from our expert artists, making and performing with puppets during our unique vacation programs.

As always, we will continue to provide opportunities for adults and teens to take classes, get involved, and experience a whole different world of puppetry through our Puppets at Night series. On June 16th we welcome you to join us for a virtual Community Sharing by our 2022 Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers cohort!

The participants and mentors of the Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers on a Zoom call. From left to right, top row: Leslie Burton, Tanya Nixon-Silberg, and Christine Langford. Bottom row: Leah Lara, Zetta Elliott, and Cori Barefield.

None of this would be possible without you! Thanks to your support, we will continue to offer the best of puppet theater from New England, across the country, and the world. Thanks to your support we can provide classes, grants, artistic development opportunities and rehearsal space puppeteers! Thanks to your support, we are making our way past the setbacks of the past couple of years and looking forward to all the wonderful things on the horizon!

Today I’m asking you to look forward with us, and to help us spring into this new season at Puppet Showplace Theater. Whether you’ve been a friend to the theater for many years or our friendship is just beginning, please consider making a donation to Puppet Showplace so that we can Spring into Summer — and beyond!

With gratitude and excitement,

Leslie Burton
Artistic Director

Meet the Puppeteers: Everybody Loves Pirates & Woodland Cinderella

Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers

Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, founded in 2000, is a puppetry troupe based in Bar Harbor, Maine, comprised of three siblings: Erik and Brian Torbeck and Robin (Torbeck) Erlandsen. The traveling trio has performed their original productions at fairs, festivals, theaters, schools, libraries, and some of the finest petting zoos across the United States and Canada. They write and create all the shows they perform and have received three Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, the highest national award in puppetry. In addition to "The Legend of the Banana Kid," their repertoire includes "Everybody Loves Pirates" and "The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow."

To adventure with Frogtown Mountain, reserve your tickets to Everybody Loves Pirates, May 14 - 15.

Deborah Costine Nature Puppets

Deborah Costine is an artist, author, amateur naturalist and award-winning professional puppeteer who has been presenting performances throughout New England for over thirty years. She’s been performing at Puppet Showplace Theater for almost as long as we’ve been around! Debbie grew up in Lancaster, NH in a region known as ''The Great North Woods.'' There were no visiting assembly programs and the only puppet Debbie had ever seen was Bunny-Rabbit on ''Captain Kangaroo.'' When she was ten she made a puppet all on her own—a papier maché clown that still sits in her studio today. In 1974 Debbie co-founded the well-known ''Gerwick Puppets'' with Len Gerwick. Debbie now also performs solo as Deborah Costine Nature Puppets, creating shows inspired by her interest in nature and the environment.

To see Deborah’s award-winning adaptation of the classic fairy tale, reserve your tickets to A Woodland Cinderella, May 21 - 22.

Meet the Puppeteers: I Spy Butterfly & I Love Tacos

Faye Dupras & Max Weigert, Cozy Arts

Faye Dupras & Max Weigert are the original team behind I Spy Butterfly. Faye is a theater artist who began her puppet journey over twenty years ago when she met and apprenticed under her childhood hero, puppeteer Noreen Young. Since then she has performed around the world and has worked as a director, designer and educator throughout Eastern Canada and the USA.

Max is a singer/songwriter and children’s performer who has appeared in venues throughout New England and abroad. Since completing his degree from Berklee College of Music, Max has been teaching music across the Boston area.

Faye & Max are two founding members of Cozy Arts. Founded in Boston in 2018, Cozy Arts is an organization dedicated to creating original puppet productions and resources that invite children, and their adults, to develop the qualities, attitudes and skills needed to cultivate trusting relationships, welcoming communities, and a healthy planet.

To learn, grow, & transform with Faye & Max, reserve your tickets to I Spy Butterfly, April 30 & May 1.

Brad Shur, Paper Heart Puppets

Puppeteer, puppet builder, and arts educator Brad Shur is the founder and lead artist of Paper Heart Puppets. Brad began performing as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. From there, Brad went on to tour nationally with Wood and String Puppet Theatre and Vermont Puppetree. As a freelance puppet builder he has created puppets for American Idol, Dollywood, and more!

In 2009, he became the Resident Artist here at Puppet Showplace Theater where he served as the lead teaching artist and touring puppeteer for eight years. During that time, Brad developed six original shows and revived several classic shows created by Resident Artist Emeritus Paul Vincent Davis. In 2017, Brad left Puppet Showplace for Poughkeepsie, NY and founded Paper Heart Puppets, dedicated to sharing and expanding the art of puppetry.

To be the first to see Brad’s brand-new show, reserve your tickets to I Love Tacos, May 7-8.

And don’t miss the chance to make your very own taco puppet in our I Love Tacos workshop, Saturday, May 7 at 2:00 pm.

Meet the Puppeteers: Word Play and Big Broken Business

Good Hearted Entertainment

Good Hearted Entertainment creates performances that combine puppetry and clowning to educate and delight. The company was founded by Honey Goodenough. Word Play was a Puppet Showplace Incubator show, and is inspired by Honey’s experience learning to manage her own dyslexia and literacy challenges. Word Play was co-created with Harry LaCoste, a local puppeteer who audiences may know from Puppet Playtime, and features music arranged & composed by Paul Watkins, PST’s former Box Office Manager!

To experience this play on words, reserve your tickets to Word Play, April 16 & 17.

Justin Lander, Modern Times Theater

Justin is a performer, puppeteer, musician, and cheap artist. He studied performance art, improvisational theater, and neuroscience at Bates College. He plays the cornet and upright bass, and specializes in novelty instruments such as the slide whistle, the bicycle pump and the human xylophone.

As one half of Modern Times Theater, along with his wife, Rose Friedman, he has been making and touring puppet shows and variety acts, and creating public community events since 2007. Working in populist theater forms, Modern Times seeks to reinvent and reimagine classic American entertainment.

To see Modern Times’ brand new show (directed by Rose!), reserve your tickets to Big Broken Business, April 22 - 24.

Meet the Puppeteers: The Three Billy Goats Gruff & A Tale of the Monkey King

John McDonough, founder of Pumpernickel Puppets

John was four years old when he saw his first puppet show, and he immediately knew that he wanted to be a puppeteer. By his teens, John was presenting shows all over the New England area. For each production, John creates and performs all of his own puppets, which range from small hand puppets to larger-than-life figures. In addition to his appearances at Puppet Showplace Theater, John has performed at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the prestigious International Festival of Puppet Theatre sponsored by the Jim Henson Foundation at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in New York, and more!

To see John’s colorful creations in action, reserve your tickets to The Three Billy Goats Gruff & The Lion and the Mouse, March 26 & 27.

Margaret Moody Puppets

Margaret Moody studied Bu Dai Xi (‘cloth bag theater’) style puppetry with the I Wan Jan Traditional Hand Puppet Troupe in Taiwan in the 1980s. She loves the acrobatics of Taiwanese puppetry – puppets flipping on stage, jumping through windows– as well as the subtle movements of sitting or walking. You may also have seen her working with all sorts of puppets as a member of Jacek Zuzanski’s Dream Tale Puppets.

To see Margaret’s Bu Dai Xi skills in action, reserve your tickets to A Tale of The Monkey King, April 2 & 3.

Hello from The Selkie Project!

We are delighted to be in Boston!

We hear the call of the sea and the taste of the salty air and the promise of adventure! We are the Selkie Project, Josephine from Ireland and Roksana from Poland, visiting Boston to eat doughnuts and play with puppets.

We are adapting the Selkie myth into a puppet show, using the Irish, English and Polish language. The Selkie myth is famous in Ireland, Scotland and all across Europe. It is about seals that can turn into humans. Our story involves the troubled relationship between a fisherman and a Selkie, and how they struggle to communicate and understand each other.

Work on this project began in the middle of a very hot summer in 2021, where we worked online from Ireland, England, Poland and Italy. Only being able to see each others’ little faces on a tiny screen, we could hardly imagine what our show would look like. Now we are finally able to work in-person here in the beautiful seaside city of Boston to bring our show to life before an audience

Our show uses different languages as it weaves our two cultures together. It is exciting for us to work on it in a whole new way, in person for the first time!

We look forward to seeing where our work takes us, and to exploring this new city and culture!

Want to see what The Selkie Project has been up to during their time in Boston? Register for the sneak peek & workshop today!

Meet the Puppeteers: The Three Little Pigs & The Snowflake Man

Kimberley Van Aelst, founder of Oompapossum Puppets

Kimberly is thrilled to be bringing her twisty tale of The Three Little Pigs to the Puppet Showplace Mainstage! She has been performing her beloved children’s puppet shows for over a decade in libraries, schools, museums and at festivals throughout the tri-state area. She also acclaimed for her adult puppet shows. In 2019, Kimberly joined former PST resident artist Brad Shur & puppeteered in his production of Error Code at the Jim Henson Carriage House in Manhattan. Puppet at Night fans might remember her film Curse of the Lemon that was featured at the December 2021 Puppet Slam.

To see Kimberley’s beautiful hand-carved puppets in action, reserve your tickets to The Three Little Pigs, March 5 & 6.

Sarah Frechette, founder of PuppetKabob

Sarah founded her award-winning touring puppet company Puppetkabob in 2001. Sarah is a puppeteer, designer, and arts educator whose work has been experienced in theaters, museums, art galleries, TV and film. The Snowflake Man was inspired in part by the spirit her grandfather. Behind all of the puppet shows Sarah creates is the memory of her Vermont heritage, her grandparents, and her relatives who work with their hands and with their hearts!

To watch Sarah travel back in time, reserve your tickets to The Snowflake Man, March 12 & 13.

Meet the Puppeteers: The Fairy Circus & What is Magic?

Peter Schaefer, co-founder of Tanglewood Marionettes

Peter is a Boston-born puppeteer who practically grew up in the greenroom at Puppet Showplace and even served as an usher in his teens. He founded Tanglewood Marionettes with his wife Anne in 1993 and they've been performing at Puppet Showplace ever since. Tanglewood Marionettes believes above all that a performance is a communal experience, with connections established not only with the performers, but also between members of the audience themselves as they laugh together, gasp together, and cheer together when the good guys prevail!

To see Peter become the ringmaster, reserve your tickets to The Fairy Circus, Feb 19, 20, 21.

Scotty Swan, puppeteer & magician

Growing up in Western Massachusetts as an only child, puppeteer & magician Scotty Swan used his puppets and stuffed animals to create full productions in his bedroom. Scotty was also fascinated by a magician named Sky. The first and only African American magician from the same city, Sky really captured Scotty's attention and performed at his birthday party. These life changing events sent him on a course of artistic discovery that continues to this day. Past Puppets at Night attendees may recognize Scotty from his work with Puppet Showplace on Midnight Zoo in 2016 and Just Another Lynching in 2019.

To see what Scotty's got in his bag of tricks, reserve your tickets to What is Magic?, Feb 26 & 27.

Announcing: A Season of Many Marvels

Just in time for February Vacation Week, our Season of Many Marvels features magic and myth, science and discovery, and just a few familiar fables for good measure. We are so excited to welcome you back to live performances at 32 Station Street! Learn more and purchase your tickets here!

A SEASON OF MANY MARVELS 2022 SCHEDULE:

• The Fairy Circus by Tanglewood Marionettes, (Sat 2/19 - Mon 2/21)

• What is Magic? by Scotty Swan, (Sat 2/26 - Sun 2/27)

• The Three Little Pigs by OompaPossum Puppets, (Sat 3/5 - Sun 3/6)

• The Snowflake Man by PuppetKabob, (Sat 3/12 - Sun 3/13)

• The Three Billy Goats Gruff & The Lion and the Mouse by Pumpernickel Puppets, (Sat 3/26 - Sun 3/27)

• A Tale of the Monkey King by Margaret Moody Puppets, (Sat 4/2 - Sun 4/3)

In accordance with town guidelines, masks are required indoors, and proof of vaccination is required for all eligible audience members. For more information, visit our Public Health page.

A Letter from our President

To our wonderful, generous community:

As I reflect on the past year and a half, I am truly grateful. So much has happened, and yet, here we are: Puppets on stage! People in the theater! Children, masked and sitting with a bit more space around them, once again giggling at the adventures of favorite characters. I recently watched the most adorable little fuzzy grey rats besiege the town of Hamelin, much to the chagrin of the puppet inhabitants — and to the delight of the young audience in the theater. And for adults and teens, the Puppets at Night series returned with the season opener, “Flying Lessons,” a stunner with graceful, mysterious shadow puppetry by Caitlin Brzezinski and Libby Schap. 

The hands of the puppeteers are often hidden during puppet shows – inside a puppet, beneath the stage, or behind a curtain. But, hidden or not, those hands are needed to tell the story, create the excitement, and bring the puppets to life. Today, we at Puppet Showplace are asking you to lend us a hand. 

Over the summer, Puppet Showplace hosted a hugely popular series of free outdoor puppet performances in Brookline. We offered six weeks of summer education programming to aspiring puppeteers, aged 7-10. And, this fall we welcomed audiences back to our historic theater with “A Season of Friends and Neighbors” featuring in-person and virtual shows, and hosted a 5-week adult puppet making class with Veronica Barron.

We are planning for another year of amazing puppetry, featuring classic favorites, new friends, and plenty of puppet antics for all to enjoy: mainstage shows, vacation week programming, a third round of our Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers, physical upgrades to make our theater more accessible to performers and audiences, and new educational offerings for children and adults. 

If you have given before, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity: Puppet Showplace is here today because of you! If you are new to Puppet Showplace: Welcome! Whether you are a longtime friend of the theater or new to this magical place, please consider giving to our year-end fundraiser, because every puppet needs a hand!

With gratitude,

Margueritte Murphy

Board President

Puppet Showplace Theater Seeks Candidates for Board of Trustees

Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity? Do you love puppetry, art, and theater? Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts seeks candidates to join our Board of Trustees! This is an opportunity to bring your expertise and passion for the transformative power of the arts to help guide our vision and the business of Puppet Showplace Theater.

Puppet Showplace Theater is New England’s home for puppetry arts, founded in 1974 by visionary educator and puppeteer Mary Churchill. We are dedicated to presenting outstanding professional puppetry to diverse audiences through performances, workshops, and community outreach. As we look toward our theater’s 50th anniversary in 2024, we envision a vibrant, welcoming, and culturally responsive puppetry center that inspires creativity and invites participation by people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. 

Puppet Showplace Theater values diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility and provides equal opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We encourage Board members from all backgrounds and abilities to apply. 

We are always looking for candidates with experience in law and policy, human resources, finance, fundraising, non-profit management, early childhood education, arts education, marketing, community outreach, and diversity and inclusion. We also seek Brookline residents to join our Board. We value all candidates with a sense of humor.

If you have a passion for performing arts and would like to learn more about joining our dedicated team of professionals, parents, and puppetry fans, please attend an upcoming information session:

• (Online via Zoom) Tuesday December 14, noon-1:00 pm

• (In-person at Puppet Showplace Theater, 32 Station Street, Brookline MA) Date TBD

To RSVP, please email board@puppetshowplace.org. 

Ready to apply? Please submit a letter of interest and resume or short bio to board@puppetshowplace.org. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Puppet Showplace, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation as defined by Chapter 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.  As a nonprofit, the theater is governed by a volunteer board of trustees who are empowered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to act as fiduciary stewards of the organization.

What does the Board of Trustees do?

Our trustees are volunteers who play an active role in shaping the theater’s direction by providing governance and non-profit management. In addition to providing checks and balances and overseeing Puppet Showplace Theater’s finances, human resources, ethics, and success, we provide direct support to the theater through fundraising, outreach, special projects, and participation on committees. We also have a lot of fun!

Why should I join the Board of Trustees?

As a Puppet Showplace Theater Trustee, you will:

• Have a meaningful impact on a cherished arts organization that serves people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

• Gain valuable non-profit Board and leadership experience.

• Practice and apply your skills in a new environment, with dedicated people who value your knowledge, expertise, and opinions.

• Focus on issues and projects that matter most to you.

• Shape the future of the theater at an important moment of change, and as we plan for our 50th Anniversary in 2024. . 

• Serve the community.

• Help Puppet Showplace Theater to cultivate imagination. 

• Meet great people and work collaboratively to ensure art, theater, and creativity are part of everyone’s childhood.

What are the requirements for becoming a trustee?

Your love for the performing arts and desire to make Puppet Showplace Theater accessible to everyone are the most important requirements. More specifically, we:

• Serve three-year terms, with the option to serve two consecutive terms.

• Meet every other month as a full board. Committees typically meet monthly.

• Contribute to Puppet Showplace via fundraising, donations, and/or in-kind support. 

• Volunteer when needed at Puppet Showplace shows, workshops, and events. 

As part of the onboarding process, trustee candidates are connected with a mentor (a veteran trustee) and are encouraged (but not required) to undertake a project of their choosing to help Puppet Showplace Theater, and to provide you with an opportunity to interact with our Board and Leadership team. 

Want to learn more?

There are several ways to connect with us!

• Visit https://www.puppetshowplace.org/board-of-trustees to learn about us. 

• Send questions or an application (a letter of interest and a resume or short bio) to board@puppetshowplace.org. 

We are excited to talk with you about your interest and experience; the theater and the board; and to answer all of your questions.

We look forward to meeting you!

Announcing: A Season with Friends and Neighbors

We are so excited to resume in-person events! Virtual performances will also be available. Learn more and purchase your tickets here!

FALL 2021 SCHEDULE

• “Lisa the Wise” by Sarah Nolen, Resident Artist (Sat 10/23 - Sun 10/24).

• “Hansel and Gretel” by Tangelwood Marionettes (Sun 10/31).

• “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” by CactusHead Puppets (Sat 11/6 - Sun 11/7).

• “The Perils of Mr. Punch!” by Modern Times Theater (Sat 11/13 - Sun 11/14).

• “Squirrel Stole My Underpants” by The Gottabees (Sat 11/20 - Sun 11/21)

• “Sir George and The Dragon” by Pumpernickel Puppets (Sat 11/28 - Sun 11/29)

Learn more about our policies on the Public Health & Programming page!

Farewell from Paul!

The cast of “Word Play” after a field trip.

Dear Puppet Showplace Friends,

Over my nearly 10 years of employment at Puppet Showplace, I managed the box office, helped to build our field trip and touring client base, created and performed original music for a number of productions and pieces seen on stage, and served as a welcoming face (literally and figuratively) for all visitors to the theater. It is with bittersweet emotions that I announce my departure from my position as Box Office Manager, which I have held since 2015. 

Parading down Station Street.

PST has been a home base for me since I joined as an intern back in 2011. I had just moved to the East Coast after finishing a B.A. in music and psychology from UC Davis, and in applying for the position on a whim, I inadvertently discovered a world of creativity and camaraderie to dive headlong into. My first experience of watching a live puppet show was a performance by Sparky’s Puppets, and I was enchanted from the start by the rapid-fire jokes (many of which were squarely aimed at the adults in attendance), by the call-and-response audience engagement, and by the sheer virtuosity and endurance necessary for one puppeteer to perform all the characters, sound effects, and scene changes. I didn’t get to have  the experience of live professional puppetry until I was already an adult, so getting to be a part of an organization that is a regional hub for this art form and facilitating this experience for kids and others was very rewarding.

I consider myself exceptionally lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from and contribute to the organization over these 10 years, and I'm very grateful for the connections and friendships I have made with the artists, business & cultural partners, patrons, and staff. Going forward, I'll still be in the Boston area, and without a doubt I'll be an audience member at future PST shows! You may even see me performing in Good Hearted Entertainment's “Word Play”, or you might hear my music in some yet-to-be-created production. By the way, if you’re interested in checking out my concert music (if you happen to be a fan of both puppets AND contemporary chamber music), you can find some of my recordings at https://soundcloud.com/pitchfieldpaul.

Station Street Sidewalk Sale, Spring 2021.

Thank you all for making me a part of the Puppet Showplace family, and I hope our paths will cross again soon. Until then!

Best wishes,

Paul Watkins

Announcing: Summer Saturdays Outdoor Series!

Live puppet shows are BACK this summer with a FREE outdoor series exploring Brookline’s beautiful neighborhoods, parks, and community spaces. Specially designed for families to safely gather, these shows feature a wide variety of puppetry styles with safe-distanced seating in open-air locations. RSVP here to reserve your spot!

Summer Saturdays 2021 SCHEDULE

• “Jack and the Beanstalk” by Dream Tale Puppets, July 24 at 10:30 am at Emerson Gardens in Brookline Village

• “The Bella Show” by Brenda Huggins and Phil Berman, July 31 at 2:30 and 4:00 pm at Babcock Street Tent in Coolidge Corner

• “Bugsy and Friends” by Pumpernickel Puppets, August 7 at 10:30 am at Murphy Playground in Brookline Village

• “Punschi: The Adventures of Kasper” by Sandglass Theater, August 21 at 6:00 pm at Brookline Place, Brookline Village

• “Sock Monkey Circus” by Good Hearted Entertainment, August 28 at 6:00 pm at Brookline Place, Brookline Village

• “Cardboard Explosion” by Paper Heart Puppets, September 4 at 6:00 pm at Brookline Place, Brookline Village

Learn more about our locations, seating, and policies on the Outdoor Shows: Plan your Visit page!

Thank you to our supporters!

This series is supported by a grant from the Brookline Community Foundation. The Brookline Community Foundation (BCF) creates opportunity and promotes equity through the transformative power of giving. To support this mission, each year BCF makes grants that address needs and opportunities in the community, encourage collaborations and partnerships to better serve the town and our residents, and strengthen local non-­profits.

Meet The New Leadership Team!

Dear Friends of Puppet Showplace Theater,

We—the new leadership team—are honored to step into our roles as co-directors of this historic 47-year-old organization. After the unprecedented challenges that Puppet Showplace endured these past 16 months,  we are energized by all of you who heroically came forward in your own times of crises to make a donation, send support and kindness, and share trust where trust had been lost. 

It is thanks to you—the artists and puppeteers, the families young and old, patrons past and present, community supporters, local businesses, and so many dear friends—that Puppet Showplace is entering this new era stronger than ever! We believe that Puppet Showplace founder Mary Churchill would be proud to know that her vision continues to be shared by so many.

And now, allow us to introduce ourselves!

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Hannah Swartz, Managing Director

“My name is Hannah Swartz and I am the new Managing Director. An experienced arts administrator, I have built my career working at the intersection of artistic presentation, education, and fundraising, mainly in the museum world. A Toronto native, and most recently a resident of New York City, I spent most of my adult life in the Greater Boston area and will be moving to Brookline with my husband and two young kids, who are already enthusiastic fans of puppetry.

The first time I attended Puppet Showplace was for Puppet Playtime with Harry and Good News Gus. I watched my toddler roll over with the most gleeful belly laugh I’d ever seen. He instantly fell in love with the silly voices, familiar songs, and playful sleight of hand, while I was taken by the welcoming feeling of the space, the intimacy of the experience, and the remarkable talent. Although I am myself fairly crafty and even performative on occasion, on a day-to-day basis I use my creativity to manage teams and solve problems in support of artists and audiences. I’m deeply dedicated to making storytelling and the arts accessible and affordable to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

I look forward to witnessing a whole new generation of will-be puppetry lovers and storytellers experience the same joy that my son felt.”

Leslie Burton, Artistic Director

“My name is Leslie Burton, and I am the new Artistic Director. As a theater-maker, arts facilitator, scholar, and puppeteer, I have made my way around the USA and Europe pursuing a multiplicity of perspectives on puppetry arts. Though I am new to Brookline and the Boston area as a whole, I am struck by a profound sense of home-coming: I'm returning to this country after living for a decade in southern Ireland, and in joining the Puppet Showplace team, I feel that I have landed in the right spot to keep exploring and sharing the many possibilities of this enchanting medium.

As passionate as I am about the art form of puppetry itself, I am equally devoted to sharing it with as many people as possible. In 2014, whilst studying in Ireland, I presented a show that I wrote, designed, built, and directed. As any puppeteers reading this might guess, I was also a performer, so by the end of the run, I was absolutely exhausted. I don't remember that, though; what I remember instead are two pieces of feedback. One came from a woman in her 60s, who with a soft voice and a childlike sparkle in her eye took me aside and said, “I had no idea puppetry could do that!” The other came from an 8-year-old boy, via his father. At the end of the show, his son had turned to him and, with the air of a seasoned critic, informed him that “that was an excellent puppet show.”

Inspiring that sense of wonder in adults and expertise in children is now my mission. I can't wait to get started.”

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We are ever so eager to reopen our door to the public and welcome each one of you back into the theater: to draw the red curtains, lift our puppets, and see you smile and laugh together as a chorus.

A theater is more than a space to enjoy performances—it is also a treasure trove of memories and hopes for the future. At its best, a theater is a gathering place that invites an end to separation, offering common touch-points of experience that transform individuals into communities. What draws us to the theater is the promise of connections between friends and strangers, between children and their caregivers, between artists and audiences. 

Stay tuned for announcements about our spectacular Saturday summer series and the theater’s official reopening. We look forward to welcoming everyone back into this space that belongs to all of us. Expect both familiar faces and brand new surprises just around the corner!

Until we meet in person, please get in touch with your questions and concerns at the email addresses below. Contact Hannah at business@puppetshowplace.org with queries about sponsorship, funding, and other ways to support the theater, and contact Leslie at artistic@puppetshowplace.org about artists, program content, and school and community partnerships. Now is a great time to update your contact information with us as well.

Sincerely,

Hannah & Leslie

P.S. To read our bios, visit our Staff page!

Celebrating Roxie's 11 Years as Artistic Director

Artistic Director Roxanna Myhrum is off on a new adventure! Catch her at virtual performances this May and June, and read her letter below sharing memories from her time at the theater, 2010-2021.

Roxie working at First Night Boston, December 2019. Puppet characters by Paul Vincent Davis.

Dear Puppet Showplace Friends and Fans,

After 11+ wonderful years as Puppet Showplace Theater’s Artistic Director, the time has come for me to pass the top hat to someone new. My last official day at the theater will be June 30, 2021. After that, I hope to remain a friend, fan, and supporter for many years to come.

I’m immensely proud of all that we’ve done together, of the connections we’ve made and the artistic expression we’ve enabled.

While every creative encounter made an impact on me, I wanted to share with you some of the projects and initiatives that have been most challenging, memorable, and definitive of my time at Puppet Showplace.

Incubating New Works by Local Artists

When I started at Puppet Showplace, I realized that the theater had an impending “supply chain” problem. Several extraordinary puppeteers were nearing retirement, but years of underinvestment in public arts funding, stagnant municipal budgets, and shrinking opportunities for in-school performances meant fewer artists were entering the field. While Puppet Showplace historically had only worked with performers who had completed full-length shows, I saw an acute need for us to support and invest in new works by local and emerging artists.

A scene from Squirrel Stole My Underpants by The Gottabees, 2013 (Photo: Liz Linder).

 In 2012, we retooled the theater’s “Incubator” meet-up group to focus on supporting local puppeteers through the multi-step process of launching full-length touring productions. In 2013, we debuted 2 new works, Squirrel Stole My Underpants by Bonnie Duncan of The Gottabees and Tall Tales by Brad Shur and Chris Monti.

That first year was a nail-biting experience. There’s a saying in the puppetry world, “You can do whatever you want, as long as you call it Cinderella.” Would our audiences show up for these fantastic but unfamiliar original shows? 

John and Megan of CactusHead Puppets with characters from Magnificent Monster Circus, 2020.

The answer was a resounding “YES!” These shows were a hit, and both went on to reach thousands of people on tour across the region (or, in the case of Squirrel, across multiple continents). To date, the Incubator Program has launched 15 new works by 7 different Massachusetts-based companies. I’m glad this program has helped revitalize new work in New England’s touring puppetry ecosystem, and I’m grateful to all the brave puppeteers who worked so hard to imagine new stories and bring them to life. 

International Collaborations

The Swan by Le Théâtre de Deux Mains.

Puppetry is a global art form. As New England’s puppetry center, we typically focus on showcasing work by artists from our region. At the same time, we participate in cultural ambassadorship by welcoming guest artists from around the world.

 As a relatively small organization, undertaking international presentations is incredibly daunting, made more difficult each year as visa requirements and travel expenses become more onerous. Luckily, we have had many partners, including fellow cultural organizations and diplomats, who have helped make these presentations possible.

My first international presentation was in 2013, when Les Sages Fous (Québec) graced our stage with the magnificent Orphan Circus. Since then, we’ve presented five additional companies from Québec (Le Théâtre de Deux Mains, Des mots d'la dynamite, Puzzle Theater, Lost & Found Puppet Co., and most recently Théâtre des Petites Âmes, who performed Ogo in 2019). In 2018, we also hosted a month-long cross-cultural artist residency with Montreal’s Casteliers Festival, sending Boston-based artist Veronica Barron to Montreal while welcoming Montreal’s Caroline Bernier-Dionne to our theater.

The Brothers Čampur at Puppet Showplace in 2016.

In 2014, we partnered with Great Small Works to present a group of international toy theater artists on tour, including Facto Teatro from Mexico and Barbara Steinitz from Germany. In 2016 and 2017, The Brothers Čampur from Indonesia shared their contemporary Wayang Kulit work and led incredible puppet making workshops. Israel’s Yael Rasooly also visited in 2017 with her internationally acclaimed show Paper Cut. In 2018, we welcomed Commedia dell’arte troupe Teatro Giuliare from Italy, followed by the pioneering Hijinx Theatre from Wales.

Meet Fred cast members arrive from Wales, 2018.

The Hijinx collaboration, supported by a NEFA Expeditions grant, was one of the biggest projects I had ever undertaken, with a neurodiverse cast of 8 artists on tour, multiple presenting and community partners, and performance locations across New England. After over a year of planning, it was a joy when the company finally arrived, and extremely gratifying to hear how much their show Meet Fred impacted Boston audiences. 

In 2019, we hosted Taiwan’s I Wan Jan Puppet Troupe, who astonished us with their Bu Dai Xi hand puppetry skill. This presentation was made possible thanks to the organizing and translating work of puppeteer Margaret Moody, who had studied in Taiwan decades earlier with the company.

With Margaret Moody and the cast of I Wan Jan Puppet Theater Co (Taiwan), 2019.

I hope that international collaborations continue, perhaps with new and exciting virtual formats, as they did this year for World Puppetry Day, when puppeteers from Mexico, Canada, and Japan all performed live in our virtual puppet slam. Thank you to everyone who helped make these collaborations possible…grazie, merci, gracias, danke, תודה, and 谢谢 !

Building Fantastical Worlds with Resident Artists (and Friends!)

One of the highlights of my job has been working in support of our resident artists. When I started at Puppet Showplace in 2010, puppeteer Brad Shur had just begun what would become an 8-year tenure. While we mostly focused on developing his solo touring shows and workshops over those years, we often found ourselves scheming about bigger creative projects that could tap into Brad’s talents as builder/designer and my experiences as a theatrical stage director. We also wanted to create employment opportunities for local puppeteers who were highly skilled but who weren’t necessarily interested in creating puppet shows on their own.  

The cast of Spooky Story Station, 2011.

Brad and I each had a thing for Halloween, and for highly interactive puppetry experiences. In 2011, we created “Spooky Story Station,” a fantastical walk-through experience at the theater designed to enchant young Trick-or-Treaters. About 30 performers, designers, and alumni from our adult classes took part. Even with a shoestring budget, the piece was a unique delight for all who attended. That said, given the enormous amount of work involved, we vowed not to undertake another Halloween project until we had a proper sponsor. 

In 2016, the Franklin Park Zoo asked us to turn an unused corner of the grounds into a fantastical Halloween attraction with an ecological twist. That October, The Midnight Zoo was born. This project ran for 5 weeks outdoors and was seen by over 4,000 attendees. It featured the work of 14 builder/designers, 20 original creatures, and had 28 nightly performers and crew. It was an incredibly rewarding challenge, not only for the creative camaraderie that it fostered, but also for the lasting impact it made on audiences. One family even sent us a picture of a Blood Beast ornament their child made for their Christmas tree.

Lord Midnight and the Blood Beast (created by Big Nazo Labs) in The Midnight Zoo, 2017.

In 2017, Sarah Nolen became Puppet Showplace’s Resident Artist, bringing to Boston her enormous talents as a puppeteer and filmmaker. In 2019, we undertook our own fantastical collaboration. Metropolitan Chorale, a 100-voice choir, wanted to stage Menotti’s madrigal fable The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore using puppetry to bring the story to life. One of my most thrilling nights as a director was sitting with Sarah for hours and dissecting the vocal score, listening to recordings, and asking in each moment, “What do you think is happening here?” Together, we dreamed up answers with larger-than-life characters, which Sarah then designed and built. I worked with a fantastic cast of puppeteers to bring the show to life.  Somehow, everything came together for a single sold-out performance for an audience of 400 that ended with a resounding standing ovation (read coverage of our dress rehearsal on the Wonderland Blog).

With Conductor Lisa Graham, Sarah Nolen (center, under the Gorgon), and the cast of “The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore,” 2019.

Expanding Education

Students in Puppet Adventure Program with instructors Sarah Nolen, John Regan, and Honey Goodenough, summer 2019.

Puppetry can sometimes seem intimidating or unfamiliar when you’re just starting out. Early on in my tenure, it became clear to me that Puppet Showplace needed to create more opportunities for people of all ages to enter and explore the field, learning skills along the way that empowered them to express themselves through puppetry. Over the past decade, I’ve worked hard to expand our education programs for learners of all ages. This has been possible thanks both to innovative instruction by professional puppeteers, and to schools, community groups, and other partners who have co-created programs with us.

In 2017, Honey Goodenough joined our team as the theater’s first Resident Teaching Artist. She taught in and expanded on our many summer collaborations, and in 2018 helped us pioneer Summer Puppet Academy in partnership with BU’s Wheelock Family Theatre. This summer, she’ll be leading our safe-distanced on-site vacation programs, and I’m thrilled that after such a difficult year, kids will have the opportunity to learn and create with her all summer long.    

Adult puppet building class with Ronald Binion, 2017.

I’m also really proud of our adult education program, which has attracted inspiring, ambitious students of all backgrounds and abilities who have gone on to create and share their own fantastic short-form work. Resident Artists Brad and Sarah both put countless hours into creating and preparing adult classes, as did other amazing puppeteers like Jon Little, Faye Dupras, Brenda Huggins, Bonnie Duncan, Harry LaCoste, Sarah Frechette, Ronald Binion, and many others. 

While at Puppet Showplace I have also had the privilege of teaching students from Pre-K to adult, primarily through college residencies and community-based workshops. In October 2019, I offered my first adult evening class, “Introduction to Puppetry Performance.” The participants were bursting with talent, creativity, and curiosity, and I loved the scenes that they co-created.

A tabletop scene from “Introduction to Puppetry Performance,” 2019.

I hope that the theater’s education programs will continue to thrive and expand to include more sequential / advanced instruction, more diverse teaching artists and puppetry styles, and more opportunities to experiment with original new work.   

Supporting New Work by Black Puppeteers

Puppet Showplace serves an incredibly diverse audience, but that diversity has not always been reflected on our stage. To address this, our Board and staff have made deep commitments to supporting artists of color, and to making puppetry more widely accessible to our community. 

Tanya with Puppet Inno, Sarah Nolen, Innosanto Nagara, and me at a work-in-progress showing, 2019 (Photo: Tess Scheflan).

In 2019 we launched My Night in the Planetarium, a two-year undertaking led by Tanya Nixon-Silberg of Little Uprisings. Sarah Nolen and I collaborated with Tanya and with author/activist Innosanto Nagara to bring his powerful illustrated memoir to life.

Working with Tanya was an unforgettable experience. In addition to her deep insights about unjust systems that perpetuate racism and other forms of inequality, she understands how to tap into children’s innate sense of fairness, as well the connections between puppetry, play, joy, and collective liberation. 

After many conversations with artists and fellow administrators about structural barriers to entry in our field, in 2020 we launched the Black Puppeteer Empowerment Initiative, a national artist residency and grant program to support early-stage creative research by Black puppeteers.

It was both healing and inspiring to come together and create during the pandemic. As one participant wrote of the experience, “With all of the turmoil happening in the world at the time...the virtual connection and feedback felt like social medicine, and validation that as puppeteers we were still alive, relevant, and thriving.”

The first cohort of Black Puppeteer Empowerment Grantees, September 2020.

I am glad that our organization is deeply committed to this ongoing work, which I know will strengthen our entire puppetry community moving forward.

So Many “Thank Yous!”

Fairy Tale Tea Party staff, trustees, artists, and volunteers, 2017.

There are so many more memories that I will treasure, from the hundreds of shows and puppet slam acts I’ve witnessed, to the whimsical galas and festivals we’ve planned, to the thousands of heartfelt interactions I’ve had with audience members of all ages. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who made these adventures possible, including the visionary artists, the generous donors, and all the members of our dedicated staff and Board. I hope that everyone who has encountered Puppet Showplace’s work during this time feels the same spark of joy and inspiration that I get every time I walk through the theater’s doors. 

Looking ahead, I can’t wait to celebrate the theater’s 50th anniversary in 2024, and to see what excitement the next generation of artists and audience members have in store. 

Here’s to 11 years of puppeteers! 
Sincerely,
Roxanna “Roxie” Myhrum
Puppet Showplace Theater Artistic Director, 2010 to 2021

My desk at Puppet Showplace, with mementos from artists and partner organizations over the years, including old license plates from the puppet van used by the theater’s founder Mary Churchill and Resident Artist Emeritus Paul Vincent Davis.

P.S. If you want to learn more about my time at the theater, check out these articles about our work! 

“The Puppet Whisperer,” Puppetry Journal, 2020

“Puppet Showplace Debuts Grant for Black Artists,” The Bay State Banner, 2020

“Creating a Feminist Punch and Judy Show,” HowlRound, 2019

“Meet Roxanna Myhrum” Boston Voyager Interview, 2018

“Life on a Tabletop: An Ancient Art Form Thrives at Puppet Showplace Theater,” Harvard Magazine, 2015

“Celebrating 40 Years of Puppetry,” Brookline Tab, 2015

“Chatting with Slam Curator Roxie Myhrum,” Puppet Slam Network, 2012

Celebrate World Puppetry Day 2021!

The cast of Rock the Boat by Sandglass Theater. Join our voyage on March 21st at 3:00pm ET!

Hi everyone! My name is Elle and I have just begun my journey as an intern here at Puppet Showplace Theater. I am a senior studying Arts Administration. I am looking forward to diving into the arts world in the coming years!

 World Puppetry Day (March 21st) is just around the corner and in celebration, Puppet Showplace Theater is presenting two free, virtual shows with a global focus. 

Myra Su will perform her multi-media show “Inked” in the Puppet Showplace Slam on March 20th.

First, The Puppet Showplace Slam LIVE Virtual Extravaganza for adults and teens will be honoring World Puppetry Day with special guest artists from Mexico (Lormiga Títeres), and Quebec (Les Sages Fous, Caroline Bernier-Dionne), as well as artists from across the United States. The versatile line up will showcase live, short-form puppetry acts, over Zoom on Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 8pm. Learn More / RSVP

Next, Rock the Boat is a NEW family-friendly show by Sandglass Theater that will be presented in film form on Sunday, March 21 at 3:00 pm, followed by an interactive Q&A with the cast and creative team. This show features a cast of animal characters (including a hippo poet!) and explores themes of refugees, inclusion, and respectful curiosity.  In the spirit of World Puppetry Day, kids and families will learn about welcoming new friends from near and far. The show also provides a platform for a multi-ethnic ensemble to combine puppetry, movement, music, and poetry for an entertaining, educational, uplifting experience. Learn More/ RSVP.

So what exactly is World Puppetry Day? This yearly celebration held on Sunday, March 21 was launched by international puppetry organization UNIMA in 2003 with the goal of celebrating the vast diversity of global puppetry. In the United States, Puppeteers of America and UNIMA-USA coordinate celebrations and events. Each year, artists from across the world celebrate with their own theatrical performances and workshops. 

As I research this celebration, I am struck by how artists from across the globe are adjusting to COVID responses and using their art for educational purposes. One Kenyan puppeteer, Fedelis Kyalo, has been making public health puppet episodes with his "Ask Dr. Pamoja" series. 

In Japan, a renowned Bunraku puppet master Kanjuro Kiritake has been spending his quarantine sharing his art by making puppets for children and passing down the sacred Bunraku techniques that he learned from his father. 

Another artist, an inspiring young woman from a rural community in Qalyubiyya, Egypt,  21-year-old Basma has built her very own at-home puppet theater from which she broadcasts a weekly puppet show on Facebook. Her show is designed to convey serious messages in a fun way and tackle subject matter such as Covid prevention, positive parenting, and issues affecting young girls in her community. 

Celebrating artists around the world draws attention to the diversity of the global puppetry community and helps introduce the art to new generations of puppeteers. Without such celebration, puppetry practices can be overlooked and even lost in time. 

As arts organizations, it’s important for us to work together to celebrate global puppetry, raising awareness of these cultural traditions and innovations. 

As a new intern at Puppet Showplace Theater, I have experienced just how welcoming puppeteers can be! Just as the world of puppetry is made stronger by every character, puppeteer, and culture that takes part, Puppet Showplace Theater invites YOU, our audience, to become part of puppetry’s global story by joining us for World Puppetry Day weekend, March 20-21, 2021. 

Let’s celebrate World Puppetry Day together!  I look forward to learning from each and every one of you! 

Elle