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“I Can Study That?!”: The Puppet Arts Major and Minor at the University of Connecticut

I Can Study That?!

The Major/Minor

This week’s featured program is the Puppet Arts Major and Minor at the University of Connecticut. From the website: 

Puppet Arts are a crossroad of many disciplines. Our students develop skills in storytelling, design, sculpting, engineering and problem-solving, musicality, dramatic acting and comedy, directing, video making, writing, criticism, and other areas as well. Students work autonomously and collaborate in groups, develop their own original work, and honor and emulate global traditions of puppetry ranging from Indonesian wayang kulit to Punch and Judy.  

The program offers coursework in theatre production, fundamentals of theatre and puppetry, puppetry techniques, theatre and puppetry theory and history, theatre design, and a practicum. 

Two Interesting Courses

DRAM 1501: Introduction to World Puppetry

Introduction to the global culture of puppetry, from Punch and Judy and Javanese shadow theater to robots, sports mascots, and Burning Man. Puppet performances in terms of their combination of visual art, performance, text, music, social, political, and religious contexts of puppet performances. 

DRAM 5609: Marionette Construction

Design, construction and performance of a full-figure string puppet.

Five Possible Complementary Majors/Minors at the University of Connecticut

Unique Opportunities within the Major/Minor

The University of Connecticut’s Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry:

…is a unique resource for understanding the past, present, and future of puppets and material performance. As part of the University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts, it complements UConn’s Puppet Arts Program in building and disseminating knowledge about our field. The Ballard Institute presents exhibitions, performances, workshops, forums, and online resources about puppetry around the world; its collection of over 3,000 puppets and its archival resources offer further insights into puppet history.

Sample Similar Programs