Center for Puppetry Arts
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The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia was founded in 1978 by Vincent Anthony. It is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to the art form of puppetry and focuses on three areas: performance, education and museum.
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[edit] Performances
Each year the Center for Puppetry Arts presents the Family Series, a collection of adapted classic stories and new works performed in a variety of puppetry styles by the Center company. National traveling puppetry troupes set up shop at the Center during SummerFest and perform a variety of works for families, while teen and adult-oriented shows by Atlanta artists and visiting companies comprise the annual New Directions Series.
[edit] Education
In addition to presenting productions, the Center offers a variety of classes and workshops for adults and children alike. Create-A-Puppet Workshops, offered in conjunction with Family Series performances, encourage children to build a puppet of their own that is related to the show. Adults can learn more about different aspects of puppetry in the Adult Education Series. And the Distance Learning program reaches students across the U.S. with a virtual field trip experience.
[edit] Museum
The Center’s museum and special exhibits present puppets from various time periods and countries around the world. Exhibitions of puppets are considered essential to enhance understanding and appreciation of performances. Puppets: The Power of Wonder is an interactive museum, which provides hands-on educational fun with over 350 puppets from around the world. Puppets in the collection include Wayland Flowers' Madame, two of the mask prototypes created by Julie Taymor for the Broadway smash-hit, The Lion King, and Jim Henson's Pigs In Space.
[edit] History
The Center for Puppetry Arts opened to the public on September 23, 1978, when Kermit the Frog and his creator Jim Henson cut the ceremonial ribbon.
A young puppeteer from Florida, Vincent Anthony, began touring with Nicolo Marionettes under the tutelage of Nicholas Coppola based out of New York. By 1966, he was ready for a smaller community where he could be an active partner and make a difference. His vision was to create a center that would promote puppetry and become a vital part of the community. He decided to call Atlanta home and created Vagabond Marionettes with Mitchell Edmonds.
The Vagabond Marionettes traveled around the southeast and presented several seasons at Atlanta's Woodruff Arts Center. In 1978, Anthony found a permanent home in the former Spring Street Elementary School and the Center was born. That first season, the Center mounted an exhibition of puppets, presented shows for adults and families, and hosted community-based workshops and activities that continue to this day.
Since its inception, the Center has worked to serve the diverse populations of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and the country at large. The Center reaches the community through its focus on core programming: performance, museum and education.
[edit] Awards
The Ford Foundation recently selected the Center as one of only 28 national organizations to be recognized for success in management and innovative programs. The Kresge Foundation awarded the Center three different grants to support its capital campaigns. The Center was also the only theater group chosen by the 1996 Olympics to participate in all four years of its arts festival program, garnering recognition from Newsweek as "one of the most exciting companies in American theater."
