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Opening Statement
On this website you will find a sampling, presented via photo and newspaper/magazine
documentation, of my career as a Professional Puppeteer. This career has
encompassed many different phases from Practicing Artist (which includes
conceiving, writing, designing, building, performing and trucking the shows)
with The Pandemonium Puppet Company, to Advocate (in the form of the National
Puppetry Institute [NPI] which has now become the Ballard Institute and
Museum of Puppetry [BIMP]), to Educator (Workshops, Lecture/Demonstrations,
Master Classes, Symposia, Academies and Programs), to Organizer (of Training
Programs, Productions, Performance Series, Workshops, Master Classes, Academies,
Festivals and Events), to Diplomat (representing the U.S. at UNIMA-International
and serving as a bridge to China, as it became a national member of UNIMA-International,
and Taiwan, as it develops definition and seeks recognition).
My initial cognitive thrust was to be a Theatre Practitioner, training first
in performance and later in the technical aspects of Theatre. By fluke (honestly)
I was led to the Puppet Arts where I found total satisfaction for my myriad
interests, skills and needs of expression. Within this form I found a sincere
need to advocate the possibilities of the various voices of the Puppet Arts.
I am constantly overwhelmed by the potentials of this field. There is always
something new to learn. There is always something new to study.
It is an ancient expression, yet it is as new as today! |