March 17 - April 30, 2006

Makers of puppets are artists of wide-ranging skills. Their handmade, sculptural works must function practically in performance yet are often beautiful and intriguing objects exemplifying Art in Motion.

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		BONNIE BERKOWITZ received her B.A. in Art Therapy and has worked as a therapist for 28 years with women, emotionally disturbed adolescents, their families. When appropriate, she teaches puppet construction and script writing with her patients as a form of therapy. Berkowitz also received her M.A. in fiber arts and is the recent recipient of the 2003 Fellowship Award from New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Combining her love of fiber arts, book arts and puppetry, her works serve as a vehicle for a variety of themes including environmental and politically themed work as show in this exhibition. Says the artist: "I have held to the idea that we carry our stories with us, internally. And what better vehicle to conceal and reveal stories that we keep, stories about ourselves, and the world around us than inside a puppet?"
		LESLIE WEINBERG & ROBERT BRESNICK have been artistic collaborators for the past twenty years and are the co-founders of both Azdak's Garden and Puppetsweat Theater. Ms. Weinberg was the first woman accepted into the MFA program in puppetry at the University of Connecticut under Professor Frank Ballard. Mr. Bresnick received a Fulbright scholarship to study theater in Berlin and was the founder of the Protean Theater in Hartford, CT.
		MARSIAN DE LELLIS, savvy puppet mogul, is well-known for his contributions to puppetry at Rhode Island's late-night puppet salon, Blood From a Turnip. He is also the creator of Growing Up Linda: The Life and Times of Linda Carvel, Heir to the Throne of the Carvel Cake Empire. This story features the character, Linda Carvel and tracks her childhood as the daughter of a famous ice cream cake mogul.
		FAYE DUPRAS has earned a BFA in "Drama for Human Development" from Concordia University in Montreal and is currently writing her thesis to complete an MFA in Puppetry from the University of Connecticut. She has apprenticed and worked under Noreen Young, one of Canada's top puppeteers, since 1997. She is co-founder of the international puppet company Foreign Landscapes, under which she co-created the UNIMA award-winning show "By the Willow" which she toured across the eastern US and Canada, and is currently producing internationally. Faye has worked as a freelance performer, designer, and teacher in both Canada and the US, including performing in the 2003 Festival Internationalle de la Marionette in Charleville - MŽzieres, France with the show Butterfly Dreams. Since 1990 she has worked as a coordinator, director and facilitator for various organizations in Quebec and Ontario creating and implementing non-traditional educational and recreational theatre and arts based programming for diverse populations.
		BOB FAPPIANO has been working as a professional puppeteer for over 22 years and has designed, constructed, operated and technically supervised literally hundreds of puppets, for numerous network and cable productions. From initial inception to complete realization of an original idea, he brings his unique talent and experience with puppets, producing and character design, as well as an understanding of parents' needs and concerns to the arena of imaginative children's entertainment.
		SARAH FRECHETTE is a Green Mountain vagabond determined to puppeteer herself across the globe. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Connecticut's unique Puppetry Arts Program. As Artistic Director of PUPPETKABOB PRODUCTIONS, Sarah continuously designs and develops her own puppet productions and workshops- presenting at festivals, theaters, schools, and universities.
		MICHAEL GRAHAM established the Spring Valley Puppet Theater in 1977 featuring hand, and hand and rod puppet productions. He has been performing professionally ever since. His first Spring Valley Puppet Theater productions featured bilingual Latin folktales and Aesop's fables with popular fairy tales added later. He performs primarily in schools, libraries, park and recreational departments and camps, and has performed at the Puppeteers of America, Inc. regional festivals at Franklin & Marshall College and the University of Connecticut.
		ELISA HEVIA received her degree in sculpture from Armando Reveron Institute in Caracas, Venezuela. Since then, she has co-founded Puppet Tears, a new theater group that sees the use of puppetry as a plastic way of expression whose goal is to create a universal language for all ages, languages and creeds.
		ULYSSES JONES is a third year MFA student in the Puppet Arts Program at the University of Connecticut. He is a two-time participant at the Eugene O'Neill puppetry conference. Stage appearances include Margo and Rufus Rose: A Portrait of Storytellers and A Legacy of Puppetry (Documentary, University of Connecticut), Peter Pan (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), Balloon (CRT), and Miss Poppy's Place (benefit performance). His puppet designs were last seen on stage at CRT's world premiere of William Gibson's Jonah's Dream.
		ROBIN H. McCAHILL has, for many years, used puppetry and theatre as a way of inspiring people to live creatively. Through her teaching at educational institutions such as Southern Connecticut State University and re-habilitation centers such as Forestville Health and Rehabilitation Center she has encouraged people to reach their artistic potential. McCahill's interest in puppetry began at the Guilford Art Center in a 3-D course taught by Arthur Guagliumi. During the years that followed she explored the potential of fibers and yarns, spinning wool, sheep shearing, felt-making and needle-felting. Since then she has been combining these learned techniques to explore the possibilities of this medium to create one-of-a-kind puppets.
		MARY HILDEBRAND NAGLER is a broad spectrum Performing Artist! Schooled in Fine Art, Theatre Arts, Clowning/Buffoonery, Movement, Mask, Mime and Puppetry who brings variety and quality to her performances. For thirty-four years she has entertained children, of all ages, as Hoopla the Clown, as a Puppeteer with the Hildegrini Puppets; through Images in Motion, (Sonoma Ca), and in a variety of characters, venues and styles. She began her professional career working as a Clown with the Greatest Show on Earth, (Ringling Bros. And Barnum and Bailey Circus!). Her performance venues include State Fair, County and Agricultural Fairs, Festivals, Stage shows, Corporate Events, Circuses, classrooms, libraries, and in a thousand living rooms and backyards around California!
		JIM NAPOLITANO is a native of Milford, CT, and a graduate of the University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts Program. After completion of his degree, Jim worked with Bits and Pieces Puppet Theater. He performed around the country and around the world, including The National Culture Center in Japan and The National Theater in Taiwan. Jim's most recent work can be seen on the new PBS show, Between The Lions. Other television credits include The Book Of Pooh, The Weinerville Chanukah Special, A Show of Hands and Stick Stickly . Jim has also worked on programs for Scholastic Home Video and HBO Pictures.
		BOBBI NIDZ is the Managing Director for the O'Neill Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Centre, now in its 16th year. She was the first graduate of The Institute of Professional Puppetry Arts MFA degree program at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Centre and Connecticut College in 1987. Her solo thesis production, Earth Peace, has since been performed at The New England Theatre Conference, The Wadsworth Atheneum's Avery Theatre, The Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Puppetry Festival, the Drama Studio in Springfield, MA and the 1989 National Festival of the Puppeteers of America. She has been the Artist-in-Residence for the Southern Tier Institute, where she performed throughout the Binghampton, NY School System.
		SARAH BETH PARKS works with a variety of materials, with emphasis on the cheap, free, or cast-away. Her background in costuming draws her to fabric-based construction, but she also has a penchant for the sculpting and casting process necessary for work with materials such as neoprene and latex. She relishes the academic process of research-collecting images and text to inform a piece, from the building of puppets to creation of mood and building of script.
		FREDERICK W. THOMPSON'S interest in puppetry began in the mid-forties after he had witnessed a performance by Rufus and Margo Rose, then America's foremost artists of the marionette theater. He has continued to explored this interest to the fullest extent serving as a writer, builder, dancer, historian, teacher and advocate for the puppetry arts. Beginning with his studies in classical ballet and modern dance he developed a better understanding of movement. From there, he began crafting props, masks, puppets and costumes for theaters such as Hartford Stage Company and Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, CT. His contributions to puppet history and construction techniques include numerous written articles as well as teaching and lecturing at Yale, Fairfield University and UCONN. Thompson is the current Resident Craftsman for the O'Neill Puppetry Conference held at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT.
		FROGTOWN MOUNTAIN PUPPETEERS (ERIK, BRIAN & ROBIN TORBEK) is a small puppetry troupe based in Bar Harbor, Maine, and comprised of three siblings - Erik, Brian, and Robin Torbeck. Founded in 1995, Frogtown Mountain has performed at fairs, festivals, theatres, parades, schools, libraries, and some of the finest petting zoos on the East Coast.
		MARC WEINER has an extensive background in the entertainment industry including his early years performing as a mime, juggler and clown. In street performances during the 1970's, Weiner was known as Marco the Clown and performed with the likes of Robin Williams. To get out of the cold, Weiner explored the world of stand-up comedy in New York City and became a regular at clubs such as The Comic Strip. In 1980, he made his national network television debut as a regular on Saturday Night Live. Marc is known for creating and hosting the popular daily children's show Nickelodeon Weinerville, which ran on Nickelodeon from 1993-1996. Recently, he has entertained audiences through commercials as well as providing the voices for characters in the Nick Jr's new hit animated series Dora the Explorer.