LARRY ENGLER

Larry Engler is co-author of the book Making Puppets Come Alive (Dover Publications), which has won national awards from both The American Library Association and The Puppeteers of America. He is currently on the roster of teaching artists for the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism (funding available).

Larry has presented workshops in puppetry for over thirty years for schools all over the country and also at The Kennedy Center, The Wang Center, New York University, Adelphi University, The O’Neill Center, Smithsonian Institution, NY City Board of Education, and hundreds of other venues.

Larry has presented his puppetry workshops internationally as well, working with children and teachers in India, Honduras, Singapore, Israel, The Caribbean and The United Kingdom. Larry is fluent in Spanish, and has done three tours for The U.S. Information Service

Commercial and Industrial clients include Hershey Chocolate, MTV, Sony, Canon, AT & T, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Capital One, General Foods, Prudential, and many others.

Making Puppets Come Alive (K – 6th grade)

Four sessions per day (up to 50 minutes each) in the same room, please select the elements that will address your curricular needs. Based on the methods described in his award-winning book of the same name, each workshop and residency is custom designed to meet the needs of each school.

Workshops usually include these elements:

Working Puppets: Students gain hands-on experience in the art of puppeteering. Finger, wrist and arm movement, moving mouths, creating voices, using props and learning to improvise are some of the skills used in bringing puppets to life.

Puppet Construction: Larry will demonstrate and create a wide range of puppets with students using a variety of materials. From paper bags to socks to paper plates, students will create a range of characters that can then be used in many curriculum based activities. (materials can either be provided by the school, or supplied at an additional cost, depending on what is needed).

History and Multi-Cultural Roots of Puppetry: Students will learn about the five major types of puppets (hand, string, rod, shadow, and mouth), and their origins from Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Cultures, construction, and materials will all be covered in this lively “show and tell” format.

Sponsors who engage Larry receive a complimentary copy of his book, and also his DVD, Making Puppets at Home and School, in advance of his first visit.

Teacher In Service Workshops are also available:

Enliven Teaching and Learning with Puppets (TEACHERS Grade K-6) (Up to 3 hours)

(Developed in conjunction with The Kennedy Center &The State Theatre of New Jersey)

Teachers will explore ways to use puppets in their classroom to bring literature and historical events to life. Teachers will learn to build simple puppets using inexpensive materials and will learn basic performance techniques that will help students in puppet manipulation. Length: 3 Hours

Two Workshops per day: $580 *Plus $10 per class material fee.

Four Workshops per day: $855 *Plus $10 per class material fee.

(In Service Workshop counts as 3 workshops)

Please let us know how many workshops you plan with each class. For example, in a five-day residency, which is 20 workshops, some schools may want one workshop each for 20 classes, or five workshops each for four classes, etc.

Please also let us know if there is one room, such as an art room or library where Larry can set up and classes can come to him, or whether he will need to travel from room to room for each session.

Please be prepared to supply two large tables and easy access to electricity. We must also know if there are any stairs involved in transporting the materials.

Curriculum Links: Language Arts, Visual Arts, Social Studies, Theatre

CCT Funding Available

“Larry was amazing. He was able to tailor his puppetry workshops to the different personality of every class that came in. He made learning fun and was able to handle anything that was thrown at him.”

Gale Rugh, Cultural Events Coordinator, Snow School, Middletown, CT

“The children and their parents has a great time and I especially like the fact that you led the kids in activities to hone their puppetry skills. This is exactly the kind of hands-on program we wanted this summer.”

Elizabeth McKay, Youth Service Librarian, Ferguson Library, Branford CT

“Your workshops were absolutely wonderful!! The children learned so much in the hour that you spent with them. I extend my sincere gratitude to you for sharing your vast knowledge and your great ideas with us. The parents and teachers were equally impressed. I look forward to having you return for more workshops next spring.”

Mary Haussler, Art Teacher, Quaker Farms School, Oxford, CT

PWRT