The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry to Host 'THE FUTURE OF PUPPETRY AT UCONN' Forum

As part of the 2016 Fall Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present a discussion about The Future of Puppetry at UConn, including UConn Puppet Arts Program alumni prominent in their fields, and moderated by Puppet Arts Program Director Bart. P. Roccoberton, Jr.

The forum will take place Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.

Over the past 50 years, UConn's Puppet Arts Program has played a major role in shaping the nature of American and international puppetry. What will the next 50 years bring to the world of puppetry, and how can UConn best prepare its students to make substantial contributions to the future? In this compelling discussion Bart. P. Roccoberton, Jr. will be joined by puppeteer and voice-over artist and Sesame Street performer Pam Arciero, who is also the Artistic Director of the O'Neill Puppetry Conference in Waterford, Connecticut; puppet designer and performer Stephen Kaplin, the Co-Artistic Director of New York's Chinese Theatre Works and a founding member of Great Small Works theater company; and Rob Saunders, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Animax Designs in Nashville, Tennessee, which develops high-quality animatronics and puppet characters for the theme park and attractions industries.

Upcoming 2016 Fall Puppet Forums include:

November 16: Object, Image, Text: The Bread & Puppet Press, with Max Schumann (Printed Matter) and Clare Dolan (Museum of Everyday Life)

December 7: Making Marionette Theater with Frank Ballard, with Steven Brezzo (Opar, Inc.), FrEd Thompson (Eugene O'Neill Theater Center), and Steve Abrams (Editor, Puppetry Journal)

Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. Come early, and experience our puppet exhibitions, as well as the video resources in our library nook. Forums will be broadcast via Facebook Live. Visit bimp.uconn.edu or call 860.486.8580 for more information.

Pictured: A scene from Dust by UConn Puppet Arts MFA alumna Ana Cr?ciun-Lambru. Photograph by Gerry Goodstein.

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