Details & Registration
Tuesdays Mar 18 - Apr 22 2025 | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Early Bird Special: save $20 when you register by Feb 25!
$250 Regular
Location: Puppet Showplace Theater
Members receive 15% off classes, discount tickets, priority seating, and more! Become a Member →
Registration Deadline: March 4
About the Class
Bring your puppets to life with ventriloquism! Ventriloquist, children’s entertainer, psychologist, and activist Susan Linn has been seen everywhere from the set of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood to the front page of The New York Times. Now, you can learn ventriloquism directly from her and her dynamic, emotive puppet friends.
During this six-week class, students will focus on developing the character and voice for one puppet, while practicing the essential skills of ventriloquism. Topics covered include:
talking without moving your lips
pronouncing difficult sounds, like those beginning with b, f, p, m, and v
directing the audience’s attention to your puppet
separating yourself from the puppet while conversing with it
how to avoid common ventriloquism pitfalls
and more!
This class is great for puppeteers of all skill levels, and anyone looking to explore ventriloquism and character building.
Recommended for adults and teens ages 18+
Supplies
Students should bring a puppet to use in each class — the puppet must have a soft mouth (like a sock puppet, not cardboard lined), and should be an animal or creature (non-human). Some examples are this dog puppet and this mood monster puppet. You may also borrow one of Susan Linn’s during the class.
About the Instructor
Susan Linn, Ed.D., is an award-winning ventriloquist, psychologist, author, and world-renowned expert on creative play, and the impact of tech and commercial marketing on children. Her astonishing career has taken her from the set of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood to the front page of The New York Times. Through it all, Audrey Duck, her ageless avian sidekick, has provided cheeky, occasionally neurotic, always truthful commentary.
Dr. Linn is internationally known for her use of puppets as therapeutic tools for children. She pioneered this work at Children's Hospital Boston and the Children’s AIDS Program, where she used puppets to help children cope with illness, hospitalization, death, loss, and other life challenges. She has written and performed in a number of award-winning video programs designed to help children cope with issues ranging from death and loss, racism and other bigotries, and most recently, various stresses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Fred Rogers’ production company, she created the acclaimed video series, Different and the Same: Helping Children Identify and Prevent Prejudice. Different and the Same has been used in classrooms in all 50 states and won numerous awards, including the two top prizes from the International Communication Film and Video Competition and the Media Award from the Association of Multicultural Educators. Among other honors, Dr. Linn received an UNIMA-USA citation for excellence, a special award for puppet therapy from Puppeteers of America; A Champion of Freedom Award from the Electronic Privacy Information Center; The Creative Leadership Award from the Puppet Showplace Theater; The Fred Rogers Integrity Award from Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association for her work on behalf of children.
A passionate advocate for children, Dr. Linn was Founding Director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (now called Fairplay) from 2000-2015. She lectures internationally on the importance of creative play, the impact of tech, media, and marketing on children, and on puppetry as a therapeutic tool.
