THE LITTLE RED HEN Comes to The Ballard Institute This Month

As part of its 2025 Summertime Saturday Puppet Show Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present The Little Red Hen by New York City's WonderSpark Puppets on July 26 at 11 a.m. in Betsy Paterson Square in Downtown Storrs.

WonderSpark company member (and UConn Puppet Arts program alumna) Julia Darden presents the classic story of a Hen who needs YOUR help to make some bread. The Little Red Hen is an interactive tabletop puppet show that gets kids moving their bodies, calling out and laughing. Every animal on the farm wants to eat the Hen's bread, but no one wants to help make it. The audience learns the benefits of helping and teamwork while exercising and singing along!

WonderSpark Puppets is a New York City-based puppet theater company led by Chad Williams and UConn Puppet Arts Program alumna Z Briggs. The company's mission is to spread joy, spark imagination, and share laughter through high-quality puppet performances. They have partnered with NYC Public Schools, the New York Public Library, and such companies as CAMP and Bed Bath & Beyond, and have toured original productions and puppetry workshops internationally to festivals in Thailand and Taiwan. 

Reservations are not required. Chairs will not be provided, and audience members are encouraged to bring their own blankets and seating. Seating space will be first come, first served. In case of rain, the shows will take place in the Ballard Institute Theater at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. For more information about the show, visit bimp.uconn.edu/2025/06/24/wonderspark-2025/.