Puppet Showplace Theater Seeks Candidates for Board of Trustees

Do you love puppetry, art, theater, and community-embedded cultural organizations? Do you have a passion for arts education and programming? Would you like to be part of a vibrant, creative community, support the arts, and make a difference in the lives of all ages, including young adults, young people and their families, and creative professionals?

Puppet Showplace seeks candidates for our Board of Trustees. We are eager to hear from all who are interested in contributing in this vital way, and we especially seek those who wish to contribute to:

• Building partnerships with arts organizations and the community 

• Financial stewardship & strategy

• Fundraising with individual donors, corporations, foundations

• Renovations and theater operations

• Culture building: how can we deepen relationships with the artists, audience memberships, staff, and wider community? What does it mean to be a “third space” in the lives of our community? How can we be a welcoming community and creative center at Puppet Showplace?

In the midst of celebrating our 50th anniversary, it’s an especially exciting time to be on this Board! This is a rewarding 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.

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, non-profit management, and ensuring we have sufficient resources to fulfill our mission. In addition to providing oversight of Puppet Showplace Theater’s finances, 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 celebrate our 50th Anniversary.

• Serve the community.

• Help Puppet Showplace Theater to cultivate imagination. 

• Meet great people and work collaboratively to bring the joy of art, theater, and creativity into childhood and beyond

What are the requirements for becoming a trustee and how much time is involved?

YYour love for the performing arts and desire to make Puppet Showplace Theater accessible to everyone is a priority!

Attendance at board meeting and committee meetings is required and trustees are encouraged to spend time at the theater and getting to know fellow trustees, staff, artists, audiences, and our communities. 

All Board members are expected to support the theater’s fundraising needs, through activities such as personal giving, crowdfunding among personal networks, planning & executing fundraising initiatives, securing grants and sponsorships for the organization and demonstrate fundraising leadership; we have a “give or get” requirement of all board members. Terms are three years, with the option to serve two consecutive terms.

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.

Ready to apply?

Submit your interest via this form.

About 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.

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.