Apply for the 2025 National Puppetry Conference

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Calling all puppet artists: Our friends at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT, are now accepting applications for the 2025 National Puppetry Conference! Apply now to grow your skills and develop exciting new works of puppet theater. This year’s renowned instructors include Alice Laloy, Noel MacNeal, Maiko Kikuchi, Chamindika Wanduragala, Liz Hara, Jim Kroupa, Kurt Hunter, Alice Gottschalk and more! Applications will be accepted until February 6, 2025, at 11:59pm PST.

Learn More: https://www.theoneill.org/pup

Apply Now: https://theoneill.submittable.com/submit.

Call for Papers - Theatralia: Journal of Theatre Studies

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Theatralia: Journal of Theatre Studies is inviting you to submit your proposals for the upcoming spring issue of 2026. 

Issue topic: Puppetry with(out) Classics

Issue Editors: Kateřina Dolenská (DAMU, Prague, Czech Republic, Editor-in-chief of Loutkář [Puppeteer]) and Gabriella Reuss (PPCU Budapest, Hungary, and KU Ružomberok, Slovakia)

We invite research articles (4,000‒7,000 words) that explore the tradition, theory, practice, and even the avoidance of adapting classical works to the puppet stage. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

  • the simplified classics – the repertoire and dramaturgy of the travelling puppeteers and their role in popularizing and disseminating classical plots and narratives

  • performances of classical drama that aim to elevate, emancipate and/or legitimize puppetry as a theatrical form equal in artistic power to actors’ theatre

  • the performance of classical texts with the meaningful co-presence and interplay between the puppet and the visible puppeteer, adding layers to the interpretation

  • references/allusions/traces of classical texts in puppet productions that play with the distance, the emergence of visuality, and give room for an increased role of object theatre and technology

  • reasons, examples and tendencies of avoiding performing classical /canonized dramatic texts

For the Events, Archive, and Review sections, we welcome contributions (1,000‒1,500 words) that highlight recent puppetry-related publications, festivals, conferences, performances, or report on projects/workshops/trainings or materials and techniques that should be preserved, or brought to focus, within the context of contemporary theatre studies.

Important dates

 Proposal/abstract submission deadline: 15 April 2025 – Decision: 25 April 2025

Manuscript submission deadline for peer-reviewed sections (Yorick, Spectrum): 25 July, 2025

Manuscript submission deadline for non-reviewed sections (Reviews, Archive, Events): 30 November 2025

Issue publication: Spring 2026

 

All issue-related enquiries as well as submissions should be sent to the issue editors: theatralia@phil.muni.cz.

General guidelines for submission, formal requirements, article template and citation style are available at the section for authors on the Theatralia website. 

Theatralia is a peer reviewed journal of theatre and performance history and theory, issued by Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, and indexed in SCOPUS, EBSCO and ERIH Plus and listed in the Ulrich’s web Global Serials Directory.

Resources for LA Theater Artists in Need from the NEA

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News for the Field from the National Endowment for the Arts

Our thoughts are with our colleagues affected by the devastating wildfires in the southern California region. I’ve been in touch personally with many of you, and one thing that has resonated with me is that your first thoughts were not for your organizations, or your current productions, but for your immediate communities. It says something powerful about who we are as theater people that in moments like these, we turn first to those around us who need help, before focusing on our own needs. In that spirit, we at the NEA are focused on how we can help YOU; your theaters, your community of artists, and you as individuals weathering a crisis. We also know that the arts are a vital piece of the recovery, and a much needed resource for communities in the healing process of any mass tragic event, so the health of your organizations will be vital to these efforts. As a starting point, we’ve compiled a list of resources that we hope will prove helpful to you in this moment. Please let us know what else we can do to help, and know that we are here for you.

- Greg
Greg Reiner
Theater & Musical Theater Director

NEA award recipients in the affected areas of LA County: if you have questions about your award, including potential changes to your approved project, please contact the Grants Office by email at grants@arts.gov or phone at 202-682-5403.

Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Resources

Arts Grants and Financial Assistance

The following grants and financial assistance resources may be helpful to theater artists and organizations in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. 

Arts Emergency Disaster Response Lists

The following complied emergency disaster response resource lists may be helpful to theater artists and organizations in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. 

Please contact the organizations/ agencies listed directly for additional assistance or questions. The National Endowment for the Arts does not endorse one specific organization/ agency. The resources for artists in LA County is expanding, so the lists shared may not be comprehensive. 

NEA Arts & Disaster Resource Page 

The NEA recently launched a resource page on disaster readiness, response, and recovery for the arts and culture sector. Resources include case studies, state-specific networks, and preparedness tools. Please consider this as a resource and guide should it be needed.

View More

Gratitude

Thank you to the arts service organizations and performing arts unions who compiled and shared resources for this newsletter.

  • Actor’s Equity Association

  • Grantmakers in the Arts

  • International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)

  • Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA)

  • New York Foundation for the Arts

  • Opera America

  • Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and Foundation

  • Theater for Young Audiences / USA / ASSITEJ

  • Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA)

  • United States Institute for Theater Technology (USITT)

Contact Us

Theater & Musical Theater Director
Greg Reiner: reinerg@arts.gov

Assistant Grants Management Specialist
Natalie Donovan: donovann@arts.gov

General Inquiries
theaterandmusicaltheater@arts.gov

Theater & Musical Theater Specialist
Ouida Maedel: maedelo@arts.gov
(organizations A-L)

Theater & Musical Theater Specialist
Ian-Julian Williams: williamsi@arts.gov
(organizations M-Z)

Grants Management Program Specialist
Tracey Alperstein: alpersteint@arts.gov
(Musical Theater)

Save the Date: UNIMA-USA Puppet Zoomie!

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UNIMA-USA Puppet Zoomie
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 5pm EST 

TransAtlantic Puppet Masters, Alison Duddle and Sandy Spieler: A Conversation Between Friends

REGISTER NOW

Puppetry and mask artists Sandy Spieler (Founder of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, USA) and Alison Duddle (A Bird in the Hand Theatre and Quiddlestick, UK), have nurtured a trans-Atlantic bond for the past 30 years, after working together on In the Heart of the Beast’s May Day Parade in 1995. Spieler became a mentor for Duddle, as she has been for many in the puppetry community. Out of this connection, came a deep and enduring friendship–– even as the two have worked thousands of miles apart. Join us for a conversation between these two influential and innovative puppet and mask artists, who exemplify the transformative power of puppetry at the community and international level. They discuss their friendship and their artistic practices, and how, in the words of Sandy, "Art wakens us to the wonder of our everyday lives.”  

Sandy Spieler is a Minneapolis-based puppetry artist. Known for her teaching and community engagement, she is one of the founders of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and served as its Artistic Director for 45 years. She is a two-time recipient of the UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry Award. Read full bio HERE.

Alison Duddle is a freelance visual artist, maker/designer, and director based in West Yorkshire, UK. She has worked extensively across the globe and is the director of both A Bird in the Hand Theatre and Quiddlesticks, where she creates imaginative outdoor work for family audiences with a passion for the natural world at its heart. Read full bio HERE.

Moderator: Felice Amato
Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

Thank you to the Center for Puppetry Arts Digital Learning program for hosting this zoom webinar!

Presented in partnership with Women & Mask: An Arts-Research Project

Don't miss the Ellen Van Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival!

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As part of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the Ellen Van Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium brings together practicing Festival artists with scholars to consider the intersection of puppetry with other disciplines and ideas.

The Symposium is free and will be available to stream through Howlround!

Location: Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

Full Lineup:

January 18 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium Panel 1 – The Puppet that Brings Us Together: Thoughts on Intercultural Puppetry Arts

This event centers on the experiences of the following artists: Peter Balkwill (Old Trout Puppet Workshop, Canadian Academy of Masks and Puppetry, University of Calgary, Canada), Ty Defoe (writer, actor, interdisciplinary artist, Ojibwe + Oneida Nations), Teng Teng Lam + Kevin Chio (Rolling Puppet Alternative Theater, Macau), and Dr. Paulette Richards. Moderated by Gabrielle Houle (University of Lethbridge, Canada).

January 19 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium Panel 2 – Humans and Objects

In this panel Pam Arciero (Aanika’s Elephants), Julian Crouch (Birdheart), Choiti Ghosh (Maati Katha), and Gildwen Peronno (I Killed the Monster) extend this reflection by commenting on how their shows interrogate humans’ roles in a variety of ecosystems. Moderated by Dr. Paulette Richards.

January 25 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium Panel 3 – Notes on Sounds and Words

In this panel Craig Leo (Life and Times of Michael K), Yael Rasooly (The House by the Lake, Edith and Me), Paula Riquelme (Organismo), and Anthony Michael Stokes (The Scarecrow), respond to the question: What do sounds and words contribute to the emotional journey of each story? Moderated by Dr. Paulette Richards.

January 26 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium Panel 4 – The Image Aspect of the Puppet

In this panel Alex Bird (Concerned Others), Giulia De Canio (Untold), Plexus Polaire (Dracula), and Josh Rice (Kayfabe) will address the question of how the puppet as kinetic object and the puppet as visual image work together. Moderated by Dassia N. Posner.

2022 Scholarship Recipient Maïté Agopian reflects on her experience

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thanks to Bernd Academy, I am learning to make and tune my instruments to sparkle some joy around. 

For all the hardship Covid brought, while it isolated many, it did open some of my world, giving me the sudden opportunities to learn from many puppeteers, and “meet” a worldwide online community from the comfort of my little alaskan cabin. Bernd Ogrodnick first Academy Class was such an opportunity. I could take the time to learn from a master puppeteer in Iceland how to transform my little workshop into a partial woodshop, how to make wooden puppets from scratch, how to use some tools I was so afraid to touch before, and how to get over performance fear, all on my own good time. Over a year and a half, I started to truly understand how to make various kinds of wooden puppets through repetition, time, well documented lessons, and our monthly facebook Q&A, gaining not only craftmanships but also confidence. 


With Bernd’s new Mastermind Program (AMP), I can continue to learn in this rhythm that works so well for me, as classes are intertwine with my regular life and projects. This year I'll focus on tuning my instrument and steadily grow into a more "rounded" puppeteer. I continue to learn from a community of engaged puppeteers who are willing to share their doubts and concerns as much as their accomplishments. This program as a whole helps to feel connected and spark joy, while being very professional, which is what for me puppetry is all about.

Nancy Staub Publications Award-winning book now in paperback!

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The Nancy Staub Publications Award-winning book The Sicilian Puppet Theater of Agrippino Manteo (1884-1947): The Paladins of France in America by Jo Ann Cavallo has just been released in paperback edition.

This study reconstructs the history of the Manteo family marionette theater in New York City, provides translations of eight selected plays and 270 extant summaries, and offers comparative analyses uncovering how Agrippino Manteo’s scripts creatively adapt Italian Renaissance chivalric poems and nineteenth-century prose compilations.

Praise
We are fortunate indeed that the Manteo family has preserved written scripts of Italian puppet theater in America and that Jo Ann Cavallo is able to provide a context in the history of literature for what was performed daily for the Italian community on the streets of New York in the 1920s and 1930s.

—Professor Charles Ross, Purdue University, USA

This work will be of interest to students of Sicilian culture and of the art of puppetry, as well as to scholars of narratology, intrigued by the appeal of storytelling as such.

—Arthuriana

About the Author
Jo Ann Cavallo (Ph.D., Yale, 1987), Professor of Italian at Columbia University, has published widely on Italian chivalric epic, including The World beyond Europe in the Romance Epics of Boiardo and Ariosto and The Romance Epics of Boiardo, Ariosto, and Tasso: From Public Duty to Private Pleasure.

About Anthem Press
Anthem Press is a leading medium-sized independent academic, professional and trade publisher in established and emerging social sciences, business/law and humanities fields of study with a strong international and interdisciplinary focus.