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puppets and puppetry
Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry
The museum, located in Stoors, Connecticut, promotes puppetry technology and creativity. There are many wonderful doors to open at this site. From an artist's roster, to events and workshops, publications and even puppetry traditions from around the world complete with stunning pictures. In addition, there is a section on Construction & Materials illustrating how to construct puppets out of various materials with detailed instructions complete with intricate diagrams.
Working to promote, encourage, and generate awareness of puppet, mask, and object theatre their mission is to provide a meeting place for creative exchange for anyone interested in puppetry. Take a cyber visit and find out how to join, learn about their guild meetings, puppetry events, and browse through the directory of puppeteers and performances and links to related artist's sites. There is also an online listerv to join as well.
This is just one of the many pages from the Family.com site which is devoted entirely to puppets. A great site for teachers, librarians, parents, storytellers, puppeteers and anyone who works with children. There are pages and pages of ideas and craft activities for making puppets, puppet scripts, storylines and easy to make stages and theaters. There is also information and links on puppetry books and products. A fun site to visit!
The company's roots go back to the late 1960's, in Watertown, MA. This small business venture has become the premier manufacturer of plush puppets. With almost 200 puppet designs there is something to fit everyone's needs: animal puppets, marionettes, finger puppets as well as animal puppets can be found here. Folkmanis also offers three specific themed lines of puppets: Therapeutic, Storytelling and Environmental.
Puppetry Links and Resources. Many links to other puppet sites and products. This site is chock full of information, everything you always wanted to know about puppetry and more.
"PuppetART's belief is that the strength of our nation lies in cultural diversity, driven by the conscious preservation of traditions and beliefs of each and every individual culture." Founded by a group of puppeteers and artists trained in the former Soviet Union all members of the PuppetART troupe are masters of puppetry art theater. In many of their presentations they are joined by young, talented Detroit -area puppeteers, who work side by side with their Old World counterparts. They offer workshops and classes in puppet making, manipulation, and animation, costume and set design and construction, for children, parents, teachers, college students and theater professionals.
Puppeteers of America, Organization of Puppetry
Puppeteers of America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1937. This site is a treasury of information on puppetry in the USA. There is information on festivals, publications, consultants and an audiovisual library. "Share the enchantment of puppetry with professional puppeteers, puppet builders, teachers, librarians, therapists, youth leaders, hobbyists and audience members who are enthusiastic about puppetry."
Puppetstuff - The Place For Hard to Find Puppetry Items
Larry Engler, the proprietor of Puppetstuff.com, has been a professional puppeteer and puppet collector for over thirty years. His website is full of puppetry items you will not commonly find in local stores: imported toy puppets and marionettes, one of a kind puppet antiques, rare puppetry collectibles, as well as specialized materials for making puppets, and useful books and videos on all aspects of puppetry.
The first puppetry center in New England is a non-profit performing arts organization committed to excellence in puppetry for all audiences. Located in Brookline, MA they have been presented puppetry since 1974. This site is easy to navigate and full of terrific information for both the beginner and profession puppeteer. Their Guild meets regularly every other month and hosts special events, including PuppetSLAM/Boston, an occasional adult cabaret. They offer weekend shows during the school year and also during the summer months as well as conferences, field trips, touring, and puppetry workshops for both adults and children.
We all know that UNICEF does wondrous things around the world but puppets? Well according to UNICEF they are "using puppets for social change." Learn how puppetry was used to capture not only the imaginations of children around the world but how they transformed a group of teenagers, who used to live on the streets, into a fine troupe of puppeteers. Puppets have the ability to "work the edge between entertainment and information. They line up alongside drama, storytelling, drumming and dance as art forms that can also teach and persuade." Travel to South Africa, Iran and Hong Kong and observe how easily puppets can pull all the right strings!
A free resource for the puppetry community that is dedicated to helping people connect with the world of puppetry. They accept no classified ads. How refreshing! So all you will find here is useful, accurate, helpful information about anything and everything to do with the world of puppetry. The site is divided up into sections on puppet new, festival, organizations, awards, museums, performance companies and you can even submit a classified ad. You want more? Then just click on "Other Puppetry Sites and Resources" and continue on to newsgroups, activities, magazines and more. This is the site to bookmark!
Union International de la Marionnette
(UNion Internationale de la MArionnette) is a Non-Governmental Organization affiliated with UNESCO. UNIMA has a long history dating back to its original inception in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1929. The original organization was begun with representatives from 14 countries. UNIMA connects people throughout the world concerned with the Art of the Puppet Theatre. Their mission is to "serve through their art the idea of peace and of mutual understanding without distinction as to race, political ideas or religion." This site offers a directory of touring companies, professional puppetry services, information on puppetry publications, locations of puppetry festivals and conferences and scholarships...all with no strings attached!
University of Connecticut Puppetry Program
In 1962, Puppetry was added to the University's curriculum offerings. Students can earn a B.F.A., M.A. or M.F.A. in the field of puppetry! Since 1964 more than 600 puppet productions have been presented by the students. "To express their observations they need a broad palette of choices and experiences. A student of Puppetry is a student of the human endeavor. They must know the past, as well as the present, so the future can be greeted with caring and enthusiasm. In their training at The University of Connecticut, our students are given scores of opportunities to develop a working knowledge of different tools and materials, examining their uses and possibilities in reference to historic examples so, as they face the challenges of their professional careers, they will have the confidence to apply them in unique and expressive ways."