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NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Posts from the “Puppetry” Category

Behind-the-Scenes of “I’m Your Puppet!” Creative Collaboration – Silk City Chorus Barbershop Harmony & UConn Puppet Arts

Posted on January 20, 2015

Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   A first ever creative collaboration between two extraordinary and highly regarded groups, the Silk City Chorus barbershoppers and the University of Connecticut Puppet Arts Program, titled “I’m Your Puppet!”, is set to take center stage Saturday night, January 24, in Manchester, Connecticut.                               “This is the first time something like this has been tried by the Barbershop Harmony Society, an international organization. The Silk City Chorus (an 80-man chapter) has been working on the collaboration with Bart Roccoberton, director of the UConn Puppet Arts Program, and students from UConn for a year,” Neal Kellogg, director of marketing and communication for the Silk City Chorus, said during a behind-the-scenes interview…

Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry Reflects Unique Educational Opportunity – Kicks Off 2014 Summer Performances

Posted on June 28, 2014

Story & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com Fascinating, fun and festive – the Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry in Storrs, Connecticut reflects a unique educational opportunity. The University of Connecticut is one of a very few universities in the country to offer a degree in puppet arts. In addition to a bachelor’s of fine arts in the field, UConn offers master’s degrees, MA or MFA. According to the university website, it all began in 1964 with the arrival of Professor Frank Ballard to the theatre department and the ensuing immense popularity of puppetry classes he taught there. Soon a “full length puppet performance” was staged on campus at the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre. Today graduates of the program are said to “perform and…