Dear Puppet Fans,

We miss you! Luckily, there’s a great way for us to stay in touch while we are all still staying apart.

Introducing, the Puppet Showplace Pen Pals program! How does it work? Write a letter or make a card for anyone in the Puppet Showplace family. Seal it in an envelope, add a stamp, put it in your nearest mailbox, and voila! Pretty soon, a letter from us will be delivered right to your door. Note: Letters sent from us will likely include stickers.

Answers to your questions are below!

• Whom should I write to? You can write to anyone and everyone at Puppet Showplace Theater! That includes staff, resident artists, visiting puppeteers, or even favorite puppet characters. All of us can be reached at the same address.

• What should I write about? We welcome letters about anything! You could tell us about what you and your family have been doing at home, ask us a question, share a Puppet Showplace memory, or send an idea for a creative project.

• Where should I send my letter? Our mailing address is:

  Puppet Showplace Theater
  32 Station Street
  Brookline MA 02445

• What do I write on the envelope? Write our address in the center, on the side opposite the flap. Be sure to include your own address (the “return address”) in the upper left hand corner. Finally, put a stamp in the upper right hand corner. Here’s a great, kid-friendly tutorial!

• Do I need to write words? Not at all! Puppeteers love expressing things with pictures and interesting materials. We welcome drawings, collages, photos—anything that you can fit in an envelope. Grown-ups, if you want to send us clues on how to interpret something particularly abstract so that we can respond appropriately, please do.

• Do I have to write in English? Nope! Please use whatever language you prefer.

• Where do I get stamps? You can visit your local post office, or order stamps online!

• Is this just for kids? Not at all! Letters are for everyone. Puppet fans of all ages are welcome to write to us. Grown ups can use fancy terms like “epistolary correspondence” if they would prefer.

• When will I get a response? If you’re writing to us from Greater Boston, it usually takes 2-3 days for a letter to arrive. If you’re further away it might take a little longer. We’ll reply to letters as soon as they come in, so you should have a response by the following week.

• Will this help support the Post Office? Yes! We started thinking about this program when we learned that USPS was facing tough times during the pandemic. We wanted to celebrate the bravery and contributions of our mail carriers! Enjoy these Top Twelve Facts about USPS and find out more Ways that You Can Support the U.S. Postal Service.

• What will you do with the letters? We will save your letters and create a display for when we re-open. Eventually, we will add them to the Puppet Showplace Theater archive as treasured mementos from this time. For inspiration, we will also share pictures over email and social media.

• Can I just e-mail you instead? We are all getting a little bleary-eyed with so much screen time every day. There are many things that you just cannot express through a computer, and there is something uniquely special about getting a letter in the mail. That said, if you need a quick reply or have administrative questions, you can always E-mail Us and we’ll respond there too.

• What if I have never been to Puppet Showplace Theater? Can I still send you a letter? Yes! Let us know a little bit about you if we have never met. We hope you visit us one day!

• Can we mail ourselves to you? Unfortunately, this is no longer allowed by the post office (though we recently learned this wasn’t always the case). We definitely hope to see you in person one day soon, as soon as it is safe to do so!!

Thanks, pen pals! We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Puppet Showplace Theater

P.S. Interested in supporting puppeteers during closure? Visit CONNECT: Puppeteers Online to discover digital content and contribute on our Take Action! Emergency Fund page. Thank you!