Ballard Institute to Showcase DIRTY GERTS by PuppetKabob for World Puppetry Day
Ballard Institute will present PuppetKabob's DIRTY GERTS in celebration of World Puppetry Day
As part of its 2026 Spring Puppet Performance Series, and in celebration of World Puppetry Day, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will welcome back UConn Puppet Arts alumna Sarah Frechette of PuppetKabob to perform She Thinks She’s Queen Elizabeth But She’s Dirty Gerts To Me on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.
She Thinks She’s Queen Elizabeth But She’s Dirty Gerts To Me is a paper doll and pop-up extravaganza: a groovy blend of historical fiction, 60s pop culture, and colorful confetti in a one-of-a-kind show for families. Come on, get happy!—with middle schooler Carol Lee Bell as she finds the fold to fitting in and discovers the best way is to not actually fit at all!
UConn Puppet Arts alumna Sarah Frechette is an award-winning puppeteer, teaching artist, and stop-motion animation fabricator. As art director for PuppetKabob, she produces original programs, tours internationally, and has received the prestigious UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence for her Vermont-based solo show The Snowflake Man. Sarah has been a guest artist for UConn Puppet Arts classes and led the Marionette Performance strand at the 2024 O’Neill National Puppetry Conference. Sarah's work has been exhibited at Vermont's Shelburne Museum as well as at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry; she is also the co-producer and host of Vermont's Creemee Dreemee Puppet Slam in Brattleboro. In addition to her personal puppet practice Sarah has worked in stop-motion animation, building miniature costumes and large-scale puppets for such films as LAIKA Studios' ParaNorman, and the Netflix film Wendell & Wild. Learn more about her work at puppetkabob.com.
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