Members Only Presale January 26 - January 28! Become a member →
Non-member registration begin Monday, January 29.
Sessions
July 15 (Mon) - July 19 (Fri) | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Half Day with Sarah Nolen of Puppet Motion
$300 Regular / $270 Members
$180 Junior Puppet Counselor / $150 for members
Registration deadline: June 15
WAITLIST ONLY
Aug 19 (Mon) - Aug 23 (Fri) | 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Full Day with Sarah Nolen of Puppet Motion
$700 Regular / $650 Members
$400 Junior Puppet Counselor / $350 Members
Registration deadline: July 19
WAITLIST ONLY
Aug 26 (Mon) - Aug 30 (Fri) | 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Full Day with John and Megan Regan of CactusHead Puppets
$700 Regular / $650 Members
$400 Junior Puppet Counselor / $350 Members
Registration deadline: July 26
About the Program
Puppetry is exercise for your imagination! Join the Resident Artists of Puppet Showplace Theater for one week of fun puppet-building and performance activities. We'll also explore how puppeteers use movement, sound, and other performance skills to bring characters to life. Students will learn how to design, construct, and perform puppetry, culminating in a short performance for families on Friday afternoon!
Open to rising 2nd - 6th graders.
Rising 7th - 9th graders can apply to be Junior Puppet Counselor!
Half-Day Program
Every day we’ll make a new “pocket puppet” — a puppet that you can carry with you to put on a puppet show at a moment’s notice! Kids will learn to see creative inspiration in found objects and materials, and will learn techniques for sewing, cutting, and gluing. Each day we’ll take a break in the outdoor courtyard — don’t forget to pack a snack!
If the morning session fills, we will open up an afternoon session! To stay in the loop, sign up for our newsletter.
Full-Day Program
Each week will take a deep dive into one style of puppetry — from marionettes, to hand puppets, to shadow puppets, and more — while offering a taste of other puppetry styles. Kids will learn techniques for for sewing, cutting, and gluing while making their own puppets. The week will also include mini-performances by the instructors, group games, outdoor activities, courtyard lunch and snack breaks, and daily creative challenges.
Junior Puppet Counselors
Do you enjoy making things out of everyday objects? Cheering on your friends when they face a challenge? Designing the latest yarn hair style? If yes, then it sounds like you would make a great Junior Puppet Counselor at Puppet Showplace Theater! An exciting way for children entering 7th to 9th grades to serve as a role model for younger puppeteers, assist with the art of puppet making, and help the flow of a creative space!
Junior Puppet Counselors are by application only; please complete the application form to be considered.
Financial Aid
We are pleased to be able to support a limited number of scholarships. To apply for a scholarship seat, please complete our scholarship request form as early as possible.
Health and Safety
Your child’s health and safety are our highest priority. We will follow health and safety procedures as recommended by the CDC.
Cancelation Policy
If registration must be canceled, 80% of the fee will be refunded before May 1 for the July program and June 1 for the August programs. Registration cannot be refunded after this date.
About the Instructors
Sarah Nolen is a puppeteer and filmmaker originally from Austin, Texas. As Puppet Showplace Theater’s resident artist, she performs regularly for youth and family audiences and teaches puppetry in camps, workshops, residencies, and evening adult classes. Her three original productions, The Fairy Tailor, Judy Saves the Day, and Lisa the Wise, are all available to tour. Sarah recently designed puppets for Wee the People's My Night in the Planetarium, Metropolitan Chorale's The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore, and for Suffolk University's Loss of Breath: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe. She is currently directing a production for UNIMA-USA featuring puppeteers from across the North American continent that will be performed in Bali this spring at the World Puppetry Festival.
In addition to her work in puppetry, Sarah is an experienced filmmaker. In 2015, she received the Mister Rogers Memorial Scholarship in support of her television pilot Treeples, a show geared towards empowering girls, which screened at film festivals across the U.S.
Sarah earned her BFA in film from Southern Methodist University, and an MFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut.
CactusHead Puppets, Puppet Showplace Theater’s resident touring company, are known for their playful performance style and exuberant creativity. The West Springfield-based company was started in 2010 by married couple John and Megan Regan. Since then they have toured throughout the Northeast with their original family-friendly shows, several of which are based on favorite and familiar folktales. CactusHead Puppets is the Resident Touring Company of Puppet Showplace Theater
Megan is originally from the Kansas City area, where she worked with Paul Mesner Puppets, now known as What is Puppets. John is from Western Massachusetts, and is honored to be performing at the same venues where he saw puppet shows growing up. Megan collects pop-up books, and John has a love for giant monster movies. Both Megan and John are graduates of the University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts program, and were interns at Puppet Showplace Theater way back — they are excited to return to Boston to share their work as professional puppeteers!
