#Puppetry classes near me professional#

#Puppetry classes near me professional#

Kevin Clash, who gained fame as the voice and hand behind Elmo but now faces charges of sexually abusing minors, is probably the most famous example of this route to professional puppetry, but there are many others like him. He said things like, “when you make a seam-that means when you sew two pieces together …”) They built their own puppets out of found materials and got their start on local television programs. (Henson’s gift for speaking to children is obvious in those delightful shows. Many television puppeteers were fascinated as children by the work of Jim Henson, watching every program Henson made about the art of Muppetry. The vast majority of professional puppeteers are either self-taught or learned the trade through an apprenticeship. But the programs are small-the University of Connecticut graduates just five or six puppeteers every year. Formal puppetry education has its advantages: It condenses a lifetime of practice into three or four years of intensive study, it builds a professional puppeteering network, and graduates have a slightly easier time finding work in Hollywood and on Broadway.

The University of Connecticut, along with a few other universities, offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in puppetry. The Los Angeles–based Puppet School and performance arts colleges offer classes. There are a handful of opportunities for formal puppetry education. Do most puppeteers, like engineers or financiers, learn their trade in college? The couple met cute at a puppetry class at the University of Maryland in the 1950s. Jane Henson, the widow of Muppets creator Jim Henson, died on Tuesday.