January 14, 2024 

Join us in an event co-sponsored by UNIMA-USA to hear a Zoom-based conversation about masks with 3 French-speaking theater artists: Céline Pagniez from Belgium, Léa Ros (La Femme Invisible) from France, and Emilie Racine from Canada. Ros and Racine both performed at Charleville this year, debuting “Femme Invisible” and “Habite-moi,” respectively. Pagniez is the director of "Habiter" ("Alive" in English), the new show of her company El Caracol. In addition to this show, she is leading a series of visual theater workshops for women. The three will speak about their current practices and how masks allow them to explore themes essential to their work. Another form of material performance, masks are seen much less than puppets—especially in the United States. Racine, Ros, and Pagniez can shed light on ways that other countries may foster a stronger presence of mask work. This event is co-sponsored by the Women and Masks Project at Boston University and hosted by academic committee chair and assistant professor Felice Amato. There will be time for Q&A at the end. Translation from the French will be provided. 

Moderator: Felice Amato

Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

Presenters & Titles: 
Céline Pagniez
Léa Ros
Emilie Racine

October 15, 2023 

Zoom around the world with UNIMA-USA members whose research on puppetry takes them across oceans to Benin, Korea, and Indonesia. While the forms they will speak about are old, their insights regarding repatriation, modernization, and intercultural theatre are up to the minute. Catch up with the May 2023 UNIMA-USA Workshop that followed the International Council Meeting/Festival in Bali and think forward toward attending the UNIMA-International’s 2025 World Puppetry Festival/Congress in Korea.

Moderator: Kathy Foley

Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

Presenters & Titles: 
Heather Jeanne Denyer: Restitution and Resurrection: The Process of Repatriation of African Masks/Objects from European Museums in the case of the Royal Dahomian Treasures
Mina Kwon: “2025 UNIMA Congress and Festival in South Korea & Traditional Korean Puppet Theatre”
Karen Smith: “Dancing with Puppets; Wayang Workshop, Denpasar, Bali, 2-7 May 2023”

June 11, 2023

The world is opening up after a long isolation. People can‘t wait to travel again, it’s the same for puppeteers. If you want to know some tips about how to make connections with international puppet festivals and work with puppeteers around the world, please join us at this special zoom event. 




Moderator: Kathy Foley

Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

Presenters & Titles: 
Tom Lee: Walking the Road Together: Puppetry and Collaboration in Japan
Denise Greber & Federico Restrepo: On the Road
Spica Wobbe: Curiosity, Adventure & Sharing

March 19, 2023

A Zoom event for World Puppetry Day, streamed live on Sunday, March 19th 2023. Both the Puppeteers of America and UNIMA-USA presented various American puppeteers to give awards and talk about their current work.



February 12th, 2023

Historically puppeteers have created works that celebrate the cultural or religious heritage of groups. What works are contemporary companies sharing in our diverse society?

Moderator: Kathy Foley

Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

Presenters & Titles: 
Manuel Antonio Morán Martínez: Dream of Kings: Storytelling, Shadow Puppetry, and Sing-Along Production
Stephen Kaplin: Chinese Theatre Works' Annual Touring Production Celebrates the 12 Animals of the Chinese Zodiac Using Traditional ‘Budaixi’ Hand Puppets, Music, Song and Games
Matthew Isaac Cohen: Wayang Esther: Performing the Book of Esther as a Javanese-Style Shadow Puppet Play for the Holiday of Purim

January 8, 2023

Three experts give us the skinny on how to make puppets work their best to serve the needs of moving media.

Moderator: Kathy Foley

Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

Presenters & Titles: 

Lee Armstrong: High and Low Tech for Puppet PSA

Camilla Henneman: Gorillas, Monsters and Demon Dolls: 20 Years of Making Creatures for Film

Colette Searls: A Galaxy of Things: The Power of Puppets and Mask in Star Wars and Beyond

August 28, 2022

Scenographers, puppet makers, and stereoscopic filmmakers explore puppetry, talking about 2D, 3D, and the frame busting filmic worlds they are creating. 

Moderator: Kathy Foley

Digital Director: Sara Burmenko

Presenters & Titles: 
Bradford Clark: Lies, Damned Lies, and Puppets: designing Baron Munchausen
Steven Widerman: Puppetry in 3D Video
F. Elaine Williams:Designing for the Center for Puppetry Arts