I work as a puppetry director, collaborating with performers, directors, and designers to integrate puppetry into theatrical productions with clarity, intention, and expressive specificity. My primary focus is teaching actors to use puppets effectively, supporting disciplined, coherent puppet performance that is fully integrated into the storytelling of the production.
While I do not primarily work as a puppet builder, I am experienced in communicating with designers around the functional and performative needs of puppets, ensuring that design choices support clarity, sustainability, and expressive range in performance.
Scope of the Role
As a puppetry director, I am engaged to support productions that include puppets, objects, or non-human performers. I work alongside the primary director to develop puppet movement, manipulation, and ensemble coordination, and to support alignment between performance and design.
This work may include:
- Training actors in puppet manipulation and performance technique
- Establishing a unified performance language for puppets
- Coaching ensemble coordination and shared focus
- Supporting integration of puppetry into blocking and staging
- Communicating with designers about functional design considerations
- Aligning puppet performance with lighting, sound, and scenic elements
Puppetry as Performance Practice
I approach puppetry as performance rather than as an object-based specialty. This means treating the puppet as a living presence on stage, with attention to breath, impulse, rhythm, and relational exchange.
My work emphasizes:
- Clear focus and intentional eye lines
- Consistent physical logic and specificity
- Ensemble listening and responsiveness
- Thoughtful visibility and neutrality of the performing body
- Sustainable physical practices for long-term use
Design Collaboration (Without Construction)
Many productions seek a puppetry director who also builds puppets. While I am capable of constructing puppets when needed, my preferred role is to collaborate with designers by articulating how puppets must function in performance.
This collaboration may involve:
- Advising on scale, weight, and balance
- Discussing points of articulation and control
- Anticipating performer visibility and fatigue
- Aligning design with movement vocabulary and staging needs
This approach allows designers to focus on craft while ensuring that the puppet supports the demands of performance.
Credentials and Puppetry Background
I bring extensive professional puppetry experience to my work as a puppetry director.
For seven years, I worked full-time with MicheLee Puppets, touring statewide as a puppeteer. During that time, I developed a new show annually, each featuring a different puppetry form and performance approach. This sustained creative practice allowed me to work deeply across multiple traditions while performing regularly for diverse audiences.
My puppetry experience includes development and performance in the following forms:
- Shadow puppetry
- Tabletop puppetry
- Arm and rod puppetry
- Marionette
- Object performance
- Czech black theatre
I have also trained twice with the Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, deepening my ensemble practice, performance technique, and understanding of puppetry within contemporary theatre contexts.
Rehearsal Process
My puppetry rehearsal processes are structured, practical, and responsive to the experience level of the performers. I work with both seasoned puppeteers and actors new to puppetry.
Key elements of my process include:
- Establishing shared vocabulary and foundational technique
- Incremental layering of complexity
- Repetition and refinement for consistency
- Consent-aware and body-conscious physical practice
- Ongoing communication with stage management and design teams
This Work Is Well-Suited For
- Productions incorporating puppets or object performance
- Regional and experimental theatres
- University and conservatory programs
- Ensembles seeking puppetry training without in-house builders
- Interdisciplinary and visually driven projects
Inquire About Puppetry Direction
If your production includes puppetry and requires focused direction centered on performer training, ensemble coordination, and performance clarity, I would welcome the opportunity to collaborate.