Leslie Burton speaks to the audience at a 2021 outdoors show.
To the many amazing friends of Puppet Showplace Theater:
I am so happy that my one-year anniversary as Artistic Director occurs at this time of year, when the sun is out, the trees are full of green leaves, and the flowers are blooming again! In the light of the bright June sun, I find myself reflecting on the amazing experiences, challenges, and moments of joy of the past year. However, rather than reflect on the past, today I wish to look ahead because spring is a time for growth, celebration, and springing into summer together!
Upcoming mainstage performance series, Summer Puppet Adventures!
This season, we are thinking about who we are, who we want to be, where we want to go, and how to speak our truth along the way. I can’t wait to present our upcoming series, Summer Puppet Adventures! We’ll have shows about bugs and bears, giants and monsters, magic and mischief — and even more performances about making friends across boundaries, finding one’s place and one’s purpose, and taking a stand even when it seems scary.
A children’s summer program student sews puppets with resident artist Honey Goodenough.
There will be artists rehearsing in the theater all summer long, preparing to bring you amazing new work in coming months; children will spend their days at 32 Station Street, learning from our expert artists, making and performing with puppets during our unique vacation programs.
As always, we will continue to provide opportunities for adults and teens to take classes, get involved, and experience a whole different world of puppetry through our Puppets at Night series. On June 16th we welcome you to join us for a virtual Community Sharing by our 2022 Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers cohort!
The participants and mentors of the Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers on a Zoom call. From left to right, top row: Leslie Burton, Tanya Nixon-Silberg, and Christine Langford. Bottom row: Leah Lara, Zetta Elliott, and Cori Barefield.
None of this would be possible without you! Thanks to your support, we will continue to offer the best of puppet theater from New England, across the country, and the world. Thanks to your support we can provide classes, grants, artistic development opportunities and rehearsal space puppeteers! Thanks to your support, we are making our way past the setbacks of the past couple of years and looking forward to all the wonderful things on the horizon!
Today I’m asking you to look forward with us, and to help us spring into this new season at Puppet Showplace Theater. Whether you’ve been a friend to the theater for many years or our friendship is just beginning, please consider making a donation to Puppet Showplace so that we can Spring into Summer — and beyond!
With gratitude and excitement,
Leslie Burton
Artistic Director
