We offer Puppet Museum Tours and puppetry workshops for a wide variety of ages: See below
World of Puppetry Museum Tours:
Groups of all ages can schedule a fun interactive 25- 45 minute tour with puppet demos and tidbits about related cultural histories. Let this eye catching array of puppets entertain you while learning to appreciate the ingenuity of other cultures. Tours are technically free, but we ask for a donation of $10- $15 if possible and this can be used toward a follow-up puppet making workshop.
Preschool groups We love preschoolers and can handle groups of up to 20 or so in our tours. We often recommend finishing the experience with them making their own finger puppet
Boy scouts, Girl scouts, church groups and other community groups are all welcome to schedule a tour and puppet craft making session. The tours demonstrate the puppet movements and stories of various puppets types.
School Classes: We can tailor workshops to classroom needs and curriculum with puppet demonstrations and puppet making. Workshops can be scheduled at the World of Puppetry Museum and/or provided in school classrooms with several puppet types that fit budget and theme. We average 12 to 14 school classes per year, but could accommodate more.
Off site Tours: A travel kit of several of the puppet types is also available for a similarly entertaining puppet history and demo.
WORKSHOPS: We love puppet making and encouraging puppet performance.
Large group Puppet crafts include: Finger puppets, spoon puppets, shadow puppets, Stocking face hand puppets, wanna-be puppets (out of stuffed animals) scarf rod or marionette puppets, talking tube puppets, cereal box puppets, found object puppets and our latest and new favorite: Talking water bottle puppets. Call for more detailed information.
Advance puppet making: Foam head wide mouth puppets, sculpted and cast hard or soft latex puppet heads and hands, marionettes
Stage designs: Made in a variety of shapes and sizes
SUPPLIES AND RESOURCES: We have a wide variety of puppet stages, lots of supplies, lots of puppet making ideas, and a large collection of puppets that can be loaned out.
Contact us at bcfineartscenter@aol.com or 435-723-0740 for more information
Also check out our World of Puppetry Museum here for information on open museum days and special puppet shows.
Don't miss our twice monthly Puppet Story or Music Times geared to preschoolers here
School Puppetry Workshops
Check out our school puppetry workshops- we still have openings for the rest of the 2022- 2023 school year for school classes or community groups. We also have the ability to do outdoor shows and workshops in the summer.
We can manage 15 to 30 students at a time with 1 ½ to 5 hour programming. We include a brief review of puppetry history and demonstrate different types of puppets used around the world. Come workshop at our World of Puppetry Museum or if less than 50 miles we can bring supplies and our travel kit of puppet examples to you.
We have perfected group puppet making of several different types of puppets- many from recycled materials. Our puppetry workshops include helping teachers identify curriculum connections, providing stories and scripts that meet their needs, and collecting all needed supplies. We also provide all needed tools (like hot glue guns and scissors), step by step puppet making instruction, and as desired stages and help directing performances
We find puppetry to be powerful way to introduce art, storytelling and creativity to students. We find that our workshops with hands-on creation of a puppet offer students the chance to explore, invent, and find ways to creatively express feelings and character. With puppets they get to try out different puppet facial features, clothing styles and puppet size props, an art experience that is not readily available in schools anymore. We find puppetry students are often motivated to improve reading fluency and comprehension as they work to portray a story with their puppet character. Puppets enable shy students to step out of their comfort zone and add to their social skills. Lastly, bringing this kind of workshop into school classrooms helps students of all different backgrounds and economic levels to not only experience the creative process, but learn some cultural history and appreciate being part of a group effort. We also are an outside influence that can offer positive reinforcement for a student’s efforts. Feel free to call or email us for questions. Workshops range from $125 to $300 depending on number and age of students, the size of puppets, cost of materials and amount of additional help desired.
For more information call Susan at 435-730-2487. Or email us at SN4bcpuppets@aol.com.
Our puppetry goals in the year ahead include offering more school workshops, more weekly after school or Saturday puppet making classes, more regular family oriented puppet shows on Friday or Saturday afternoons, puppet podcasts with larger than life: Marva, and at least one more big puppet production in the spring.
Puppetry Job Opening:
Title: Part Time Puppeteer & Puppetry workshop instructor Reports to: Brigham City Fine Arts Center’s World of Puppetry Museum Director
Job Summary:
We are seeking an individual who can help us perpetuate and grow our Puppetry outreach program.
This is a job that lends itself well to someone who is energetic and loves working with people of all ages, creating and teaching. The job includes of variety of fun tasks from daily organizing and creating as well as performing. Candidate will start as an assistant and be expected to grow into a team leader/ program director. This is a parttime job that could be expanded for additional hours and income. Located in quaint Brigham City Utah, we have a 2000 square foot museum space representing over 150 puppets from around the world and through the ages. We also have craft and teaching space and 25 years of experience teaching puppet making workshops to community and school groups, building puppet stages, and performing with all types of puppets.
Job description-
Oversee the World of Puppetry Museum exhibits and programming
Provide puppet history demonstrations for the museum
Provide puppet making workshops for the community and in schools
Help mentor or teach puppetry classes in performance and puppet making
Serve as, or mentor a storyteller/puppet performer for a twice monthly preschool program
Serve as part of a puppet performance team and help put together special puppet shows- Smaller ones 6 to 8 times a year, one big show annually
Help make or repair puppets as needed
Collaborate with marketing staff to help with advertisement of programs and shows.
Collaborate with Fine Arts Center staff and help with Puppet program scheduling and records
Skill Qualifications and preferences
At least 2 years of college level education
Significant theater experience and/or teaching accreditation with 2 years experience
Competent typing and computer skills
Good at hands on crafting with an eye for detail
Present a positive role model for students that supports the mission of the Fine Arts Center
Be able to demonstrate behavior that is professional, ethical and responsible
Date to assume duties: Spring -Summer 2023 or as soon as able
Work hours: 15- 20 hours per week as scheduled.*
Week days: Mostly week days within a 9am-3 pm time frame, (May occasionally need earlier start or later for working in schools)
Afternoons: 4-6 pm once or twice a week for scheduled -10 week classes
Evenings: A possible 1 ½ hr weekly evening rehearsal (right now Wednesdays )
Saturdays : Open Museum times twice monthly 2:30 to 5:30 pm. ( No Sundays at this time)
Rate of Pay : Negotiable, starting at $15/ hour
* Hours: While there is some flexibility in the work schedule, candidate hopefully will find comfort in knowing most activities are schedule 1 to 3 months in advance.
Hours include time spent gathering, preparing, and packing up puppet craft supplies. Learning puppet making and performance techniques and sharing them. Hours may also include time spent finding or creating script, making or adapting puppets, and building or developing puppet stage props and back drops. See bcfineartscenter.org /world of puppetry museum for more information about our current puppetry programs. Come join our team.
Other Qualifications:
Must have a valid drivers license and reliable transportation for traveling to local workshop job sites
Must be able to lift 20 to 30 pounds
Contact Us:
Send inquiries and resumes to sn4bcpuppets@aol.com attention Susan
