Explore Puppetry Series

Center for Puppetry Arts

Center for Puppetry Arts
1404 Spring St NW
Atlanta, GA
puppet.org/programs/education/education-programming/
404-873-3391

The Explore Puppetry Series offers courses for adults ages 18+ who want to learn more about puppetry. Different classes are offered throughout the year.

The Joy of Puppet Mechanisms - Mail-Order Kit + Video Classes

Mike Oleon

roughhousetheater.com/store-2/p/mechanisms

Create your own mechanized puppet with this kit and online class. Whether you're a maker, a crafter, or a puppeteer, the Joy of Puppet Mechanisms will show you how delightfully easy it is to use simple "mechs" to make a magically moving puppet. When you purchase this class, we will mail you a puppet kit that includes a link to a class library of videos to help you build your puppet and show you the ropes of basic puppet mechanisms. Plus, we offer email support for any mechanistic questions you may have! We’ll mail you hand-crafted puppet kit that has nearly everything you need to *literally* make a new friend! Stream lessons online to complete at your own pace. We’ll take you through the assembly of the puppet as well the principles behind the techniques.

$150

Professional Training Internship

WonderSpark Puppets

Photo by: WonderSpark Puppets

The Jim Henson Carriage House, NYC
225 E 67th St
New York, NY
wondersparkpuppets.com/puppet-workshops-adults

Are you interested in a hands-on deep dive into the world of puppetry? WonderSpark Puppets offers a customizable internship program that can enhance your puppetry skills. Our program has been the first professional training many newcomers received on their journey to become skilled working puppeteers. The program runs 2-3 months and classes meet once per week, with homework on the side. Interns engage through structured learning with performance and building. Interns are provided with the support of a skilled mentor to assist and enhance critical hands-on learning. We offer a university-recognized internship credit to be issued at the completion of the program and comply with New York State laws regarding internships - you will not be doing unpaid labor. The program runs seasonally and seats are limited.

January 1 - December 31, 2024
Ongoing, seasonal

Free

What A Puppet Can Do - Applied Puppetry in Theory and Practice - ONLINE

UNIMA

Zoom
unima.org/en/asdfadfwhat-a-puppet-can-do-applied-puppetry-in-theory-and-practice-news/

Organised by the UNIMA Education, Development and Therapy Commission, the series will feature online lectures, workshops, exchange of ideas, and examples of good practice in all three fields: education, development and therapy. A number of themes are already being considered: the benefits of using puppets in education, specific means of expression in puppetry, the development of a scientific/theoretical basis for therapeutic puppetry, social and emotional learning with puppets, puppet play as a tool for self-expression, the possible role of puppets in education, the puppet approach to ethics, etc. The webinars will be held once every two months, in English, Spanish or French (the official UNIMA languages). Duration: 40 to 45 minutes plus 20 to 40 minutes for Q&A and sharing experiences with participants. Maximum duration: 90 minutes.

February 26 - April 29, 2024
Webinar No. 1
Livija Kroflin: The Language of Puppets
Monday, February 26

Webinar No. 2
Cariad Astles: Puppetry Healing Stories in Hospital Care
Monday, April 29

Shadow Puppetry II - Linda Wingerter

Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival - ONLINE
chicagopuppetfest.org/spring-2024-workshops/

Shadow Puppetry 2 (Level 2) focuses on the introduction of different mechanism for shadow puppets beyond the basic jointed puppet. The realization of ideas in shadow puppet form stem from concepts and design.

April 24 - May 3, 2024
5 sessions over 2 weeks
Wed, Thurs, and Fri: 7 – 9pm CDT

$250

How to Start Carving Wooden Puppets - ONLINE

Bernd Ogrodnik

Zoom
https://worldsofpuppets.com/day-in-puppet-builders-workshop/

If you're craving deeper inspiration, advancements, and mastery as an artist, performer, teacher, or student – you're in the right place. You see, Puppetry is an umbrella that holds every type of artistic expression. From illustration to sculpting to carving to textile to painting to performing to storytelling to creative writing, and we could go on and on…This is your opportunity to spend some quality time with one of the Puppetry's most prolific designers and performers in the intimate setting of his workshop sanctuary. Bernd Ogrodnik will share his personal approach to puppetry and why he promotes the art of the wooden puppet. You'll receive concrete instructions on how to get started and keep honing your craft.

April 27, 2024
12:00pm EDT

Free

Deep Puppetry - ONLINE

Laura Geiger

Zoom
laurageiger.com/deeppuppetry

Join Laura Geiger for an eight-week online certificate program in using puppetry for anti-oppression and applied animism. Deep Puppetry is an applied puppetry approach focused on the personal process of making and ensouling objects in order to explore and divest from our learned orientation toward oppression, abjection, and hierarchy and to practice creating the conditions for development, liberation, and mutuality.
Earn your certificate and learn how to engage with puppetry in radical depth for yourself, your family, your work, and your community. Perfect for teachers, therapists, community workers, activists, parents, artists, art practitioners, puppeteers, group facilitators, changemakers, and folks who are just plain curious. ?

April 27 - June 15, 2024
Saturdays, 6pm-9pm Central European Summer Time, 12pm-3pm Eastern Daylight Time
April 27
May 4, 11, 18
June 1, 8, 15

$599

Page to Stage - Puppet Zoomie Event

UNIMA-USA

UNIMA-USA, Online
zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kX9fuSzTS5a1oiZD3_2vbw#/registration

Have you ever read a book or story and thought “That would make a great puppet show!” How do you go about getting permission to use copyrighted material? Join us as three award winning puppeteers and producers guide us through the process of doing just that. Therese Aun (Center for Puppetry Arts), Mike Horner (What If Puppets) and Brian Hull (Wishing Chair productions, Nashville Public Library) will present their journeys going from page to stage, working with authors and other artists to achieve a successful puppet production. Moderator: Marianne Tucker, Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

April 28, 2024
5:00pm ET

The event is free but advance registration is required.

An Exploration of Marionettes

Madison J. Cripps

Puppet Showplace Theater
32 Station St
Brookline, MA
puppetshowplace.org/calendar/2024/05/18/an-exploration-in-marionettes-workshop-with-madison-j-cripps

How do you make a marionette move? What connects its parts and pieces? Can you (yes, you!) make your very first marionette in an hour? Learn all this and more in an afternoon workshop with the incomparable Madison J. Cripps! In this workshop you will make a simple marionette, and also have the opportunity to use the puppets from A Slice of Crazy Pie to explore the relationships of gravity, pendular momentum, and active and passive movement. All those interested in exploring the construction and manipulation of string marionettes are welcome in this workshop!

Registration Deadline: May 11

May 18, 2024
1:00pm - 4:00pm

$75 / sliding scale $60 & $90

Possibilities of Matter with Poncili Creación - ONLINE

Open Eye Theatre

Zoom
openeyetheatre.org/full-moon-workshop-possibilities-of-matter

Poncili Creación’s workshop ‘Possibilities of Matter’ will focus on taking a different approach to the production and creation of ideas in our modern world, with the intent on delivering a crash course on object manipulation and the transformation of matter. Every participant will have the opportunity to test new materials and unleash their creativity in an attempt to bring an idea from the mind into the 3D world. Championing DIY culture and artistic risk, the brothers will explain how they see no limits when it comes to acquiring and transforming matter into objects that can come alive and interact with reality. Together, we will go through the steps of conceptualization, sketching, creating, and activating our soft sculptures. The ultimate goal is for you to learn the skills needed to bring an idea to life and create an example — be it a puppet, a tool against the apocalypse, or both. This is not a workshop directly intended for artists; we can all benefit from using our creativity more wisely.

May 18, 2024
9:00am – 12:00pm Central

$30

MASS MoCA Wood Carving and Puppet Design Residency

David Lane

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
1040 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA
assetsforartists.org/workshops-in-residence

The wood carving puppet laboratory returns for another edition in residence at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. This edition, we’ll dig deep into traditional European-style carving techniques and create beautiful, inspired puppets together. Topics include: Character design, technical drawings, band-saw rough outs, knife technique, controls, joints, Fettig mechanisms, painting, and simple costume patterning.

June 6 - 10, 2024
Formal instruction and demonstrations begin each day at 9 am and run until dinner. The evenings will include open studio and specialized programming such as a show-and-tell, and puppet-film night.

$950 USD, Includes materials, single room with shared bath, access to kitchen, lunches, and dinner on the first night.

3D Mixed Media Puppet Painting with Sarah Eaton - ONLINE

Open Eye Theatre

Zoom
openeyetheatre.org/full-moon-workshop-3d-mixed-media-puppet-painting

Create a simple form in the first half of this 2-part class or work on an existing project for the full 3 hours. Let’s get some paint on those puppets! We will go over materials, layering processes and how to paint on different three dimensional surfaces depending on your puppet medium of choice. Explore brush techniques, texturing, color mixing, and fine detail work to bring life into your puppets!

June 8 - 9, 2024
10:30am – 12:00pm Central

$30

Marionette Carving Workshop

Puppets in Prague

Puppets in Prague
Holandska 20, Prague, Czech Republic
puppetsinprague.eu

Learn the art and craft of creating a marionette from Czech artisans. Students work under many puppet masters to learn techniques of designing puppets, making technical drawings, woodcarving, painting, and designing a puppet costume, plus how to manipulate puppets and Czech puppet history. You will also see Czech puppet shows, festivals and exhibitions and visit puppet studios. Each student will go home with an original hand-carved marionette - plus the skills to make more. All in a beautiful European city with a rich puppet tradition still very much alive.

June 12 - 28, 2024

Final spots - June Marionette Carving Workshop

Puppets in Prague

Photo by: Ray Baseley

Puppets in Prague Workshop
Holandksa 20
Prague
puppetsinprague.eu

We have a few spots left in our popular summer workshop coming this June! At the workshop, you spend time with leading Czech puppet designers, carvers and puppeteers to learn how to make a professional quality marionette of your own design. You work with a team of ten experts and learn the whole process, starting with design, ending with a beautiful marionette and the skills to make more. This June students are also going to the International Skupa Puppetry Festival, where our students can apply to be part of their puppet slam. They have the option to see more puppetry at the European Regional Theatre Festival in Hradec Kralove and visit the extensive Jan Svankmajer exhibition. You will discover why UNESCO included Czech puppetry on its list of Cultural Heritage as you immerse yourself in the rich puppet community of the Czech Republic. Sign up now!

June 12 - 28, 2024

1,100 Euros

2024 New England Puppet Intensive — Design Edition

New England Puppet Arts

Historic Eclipse Mill
243 Union St.
North Adams, MA
newenglandpuppet.org

Immerse yourself in the ultimate studio experience with NEPI’s fully stocked puppet-making lab set against the backdrop of the beautiful Berkshires. Alongside studio activity, we engage in a mindful and physical practice — providing participants time for reflection, and the opportunity to explore creative impulses that dovetail with expressive design. Curriculum includes: Character Design; Technical Drawing, Sculpting & Casting, Painting, Controls, Joints, Costuming, Lantern Puppets, and more!

July 12 - 22, 2024
Daily training and studio instruction begins at 9 am and continues into the evening.

$1450 USD (includes materials, family style lunches & dinners). Artist-friendly priced accommodations available around the corner at MCLA (not included).

Mini Masks: Roser's Paper Sculpture Methodology with Sarah Frechette - ONLINE

Open Eye Theatre

Zoom
openeyetheatre.org/full-moon-workshop-mini-masks

Legendary puppeteer Albrecht Roser’s Paper Sculpture Technique has inspired artists all over the world. Join acclaimed puppeteer and Roser alumna Sarah Frechette for a hands-on workshop exploring how to discover expressive, sculptural characters in a flat piece of paper. By following a series of unique paper folding steps, participants will learn how to create and adapt patterns for dimensional faces. Along the way, Frechette will introduce Roser’s unified approach to construction and performance. As Roser theorized: “technique and art must serve expression.” This is a great class for designer/builders, educators, paper art enthusiasts, and anyone interested in puppetry design and performance.

July 13, 2024
9:00am – 12:00pm Central

$30

Sandglass Theater's Summer Intensive Puppetry Training

Sandglass Theater

Sandglass Theater
17 Kimball Hill
Putney, VT
sandglasstheater.org/workshops/summer-intensive

Sandglass teaches a method of puppet performance that has been developed over 30 years of workshops around the world. This year’s Summer Intensive training will pilot a new training model allowing for participants to choose a focused track of Puppet Construction (with Ines Zeller Bass), Puppetry Performance (with Shoshana Bass) or Directing for Puppet Theater (with Eric Bass). Classes are scheduled five and a half days per week. Participants will have evening access to work spaces. Applicants must select a first choice and second choice for the afternoon track. We will do our best to accommodate your first choice.

This year Sandglass is able to offer three scholarships for US-based BIPOC participants (inclusive of tuition, housing and community dinners). Scholarships are distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Applications open March 1, 2024. Final application is due in our office on Wednesday, May 1st, 2024. (If sending via USPS, please allow at least 7 working days for the mail to arrive in our office on time). Applications accepted via email as well. Please visit sandglasstheater.org for more information.

July 14 - 17, 2024
Two week program

Tuition and Expenses Course Fee: $1450 Housing: $500 Communal evening meals: $155 Monday – Friday (10 days) Participants are responsible for all travel, other food and incidental costs.

Marionette Carving and Performance Summer Workshop

Puppets in Prague

Puppets in Prague
Holandska 20, Prague, Czech Republic
Prague
puppetsinprague.eu

Immerse yourself in puppetry this summer - all in the magical city of Prague, where marionettes are an integral part of the culture. The first part of the workshop lasts 15 days (including 3 days off):
you go through the whole process of making the wire marionette, learning design, technical drawings, woodcarving, painting, assembly, costume, controller, stringing. In the second part you work with a professional puppeteer, rehearsing an original show and then performing for 2 days at the Letni Letna New Circus and Theatre Festival. During this second half, you learn how to manipulate their marionette and the principles of creating an original show for children. You also get the chance to see many other professional children's theatre performances at the festival. Puppets in Prague has been teaching hundreds of students since 2000.

August 8 - 30, 2024

Pop-Up Book Stages with Monica Leo - ONLINE

Open Eye Theatre

Zoom
openeyetheatre.org/full-moon-workshop-pop-up-book-stages

Pop-up books make magical stages. Each page reveals an entirely different scene and elicits a delighted gasp from the audience. You will learn the best ways to create these as performance spaces. During the workshop, you will create a step-by step mockup. You should have pencils, markers, paper, card stock, poster board, scissors, glue and tape handy.

August 10, 2024
9:00am – 12:00pm Central

$30

Adhesives I Have Loved Along The Way with Sam Cobb - ONLINE

Open Eye Theatre

Zoom
openeyetheatre.org/full-moon-workshop-adhesives-i-have-loved-along-the-way

Proper selection and use of a variety of adhesives in fabricating for all environments and materials commonly found in the making of puppets and puppet rigging. Includes a Q&A for participants to talk through specific project needs and concerns.

September 21, 2024
9:00am – 12:00pm Central

$30

Make it Pop! A Dive into the World of Blacklight Puppetry with Z Puppets Rosenschnoz - ONLINE

Open Eye Theatre

Zoom
openeyetheatre.org/full-moon-workshop-make-it-pop

Blacklight, or ultraviolet light, is one way to make a BIG impact relatively simply. In our Blacklight Lab, we will experiment with materials that glow and materials that hide the glow. We will explore the range of visual spectacles blacklight can provide us with, the materials and equipment needed, and tricks and tips for building and performing a piece that will leave audiences gasping in amazement.

October 12, 2024
9:00am – 12:00pm Central

$30

Distance Learning, The Center for Puppetry Arts - ONLINE

Center for Puppetry Arts

Center for Puppetry Arts, ONLINE
puppet.org/programs/?type=digital-learning-workshop

The Center for Puppetry Arts uses the latest technology to offer nationwide Distance Learning programs for PreK-adult through videoconferencing, webinars, and streamed content. Arts-infused workshops are conducted via videoconferencing and are tailored to specific classroom topics and curriculum for K-12 groups. For K-5, hands-on puppet building integrates with science, social studies, language arts and other disciplines to create a dynamic, interactive virtual classroom for a virtual field trip experience. Middle School/High School programs are discussion based. Programs complement national curriculum standards in language arts, social studies, science, math and other areas. The Center provides a comprehensive study guide and materials list for most programs. Webinars (both live and streamed) and streamed workshops and lectures are available for teachers seeking demos and professional development (also available via videoconferencing). Streamed workshops are also ideal for anyone interested in learning about puppetry.

Puppets in Prague - Online & In-Person Courses

New Workshops!

Puppets in Prague
puppetsinprague.eu

Choose from our wide range of top-quality long-term classes. With us you can turn your dreams into a reality, plus become a part of the flourishing Puppets in Prague community.
Table Top Puppet - February 3, 2024
Miniature Theatre - February-June 2024
Stomper Marionette - March 16, 2024
Toy Theatre & Puppets Online - March-June 2024
Marionette Carving In-Person - June 2024
Marionette Carving & Performance In-Person - August 2024

National Puppetry Conference

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

Photo by: Richard Termine / Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
305 Great Neck Road
Waterford, CT
www.theoneill.org/pup
860-443-5378

The National Puppetry Conference provides a meeting and creating ground for master artisans to pass their craft and ingenuity to new artists in the field of puppetry. Participants gather from across the globe to create works that defy the bounds of contemporary theater and the imagination. Applications for the 2023 National Puppetry Conference are due by January 31, 2023.

May 29 - June 11, 2023