Who we are, and what we are about?
The Puppet Co. is a non-profit organization, founded in 1983, which creates puppet theatre, especially for children, as an art form synthesizing the visual and performing arts. Hand Puppets, rod puppets, body puppets, marionettes and shadow puppets are used in the fully staged productions of the stories, traditional and original, which comprise our ever-growing repertory.
Allan Stevens, Christopher and MayField Piper have combined their varied sculptural, mechanical, costuming, scenic and administrative talents to form the artistic and managerial core of The Puppet Co.. Together, their training amounts to over 100 years of hands-on puppet experience. The Puppet Co operates in cooperation with the National Park Service, Montgomery County and the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture which administersGlen Echo Park for many artisans.
The Puppet Co Playhouse is a 200-seat theater created in June of 1989, and is the only year-round theatre between New York and Atlanta dedicated entirely to the Art of Puppetry. This resource to the Washington DC area brings great music and literature to life for students, teachers and parents with live, fully-staged productions of some of the finest children’s theater in the country.
The Puppet Co has about 20 productions in repertory. Productions change
approximately every six weeks with performances each week, totaling more
about 475 performances each year. Besides our own work, we feature
productions by other puppet companies about twice a year.Our annual spring exhibit, “Puppets, Puppets, and More Puppets!” presents an up close view of the artist work. About 6000 people attend the week-long display of new and favorite works. Hands-on areas offer attendees a chance to experiment with some of the safer puppetmaking materials. Slide shows, an interactive computer presentation and demonstrations round out the activities. In addition, we occasionally feature other puppet companies performances as part of our season.
The Puppet Co. is a member of the National Capital Puppetry Guild (Mid-Atlantic Region), Puppeteers of America, and UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionette).
