DEADLINE EXTENDED. Apply for the National Puppetry Conference through Friday, March 15th at 11:59pm PDT. 

If this is your first time applying to the conference, we recommend this role for you.  This role is also appropriate for returning participants and advanced artists, as each year is challenging and inspiring in different ways. We are open to artists in all fields: you needn't have any experience in puppetry, simply the desire to learn.  In this role, you will work with our guest artists in one of many strands. View the strands available to you by going to the 2013 Conference page.  You will also have access to master classes and be able to support/create your own and/or someone else’s participant project which is a 2 -5 min puppetry piece. 

The role of Participant is part of the main conference as well as the pre-conference intensive. You may apply to the main conference, the pre-conference, or both. The eight day main conference cost is $1,000 USD and includes tuition, room, and board.  The cost of the three day pre-conference intensive is $500 USD and includes tuition, room, and board. There is a $75.00 discount if you attend both programs for a total of $1,425 USD.

To apply as a participant, please download the Participant Preplist [PDF or MS Word] and then proceed to the Application. 

For an idea of what this strand is about, please read this description. It written by the people who took the writing pre-conference last year:

For those of us in the business of telling stories, it is incredibly important to understand how and why our stories work. This class is a great opportunity to push yourself as a writer and a show-maker: to see what you've got to offer, to pull it apart, to break it down, and to offer it again. Whatever stage of your career you are in as a writer, there will be something for you to take from this workshop. Not only does it give both the newbie and the jaded practitioner an opportunity to engage and develop the writer within, it enhances that opportunity by exploring the notion that story and presentation are equal partners in a show, each contributing to the storytelling in a way that creates narrative unique to the medium of puppetry. This class will give you the encouragement and support to trust your own ideas, try them out in a script, and gain insights in how it can be improved and strengthened. Don't think about what you think you know, think about what you can learn about what you don't know. This class offers valuable time for peer critique and self-discovery that is unachievable anywhere else; only a fool would deny himself of such an opportunity. On completing this class, you will have tactics and structure that will serve you in the pursuit of any storytelling endeavor.

Participants in this strand will explore the writing of autonomous character-based scripts, and investigate the construction of narratives by a single author. At the end of the week, participants will have a clear idea of the style of work in which they like to work best, and a host of tools and techniques for achieving that work. The goal is to leave with a clear blueprint for the next stage of the work.

The eight day main conference cost is $1,000 USD and includes tuition, room, and board. If you wish to also attend the pre-conference intensive, your cost for those three days is an additional $500 USD, which includes tuition, room, and board. There is a $75.00 discount if you attend both programs for a total of $1,425 USD.

To apply for the Writing the Puppet Narrative strand, please download the Writing Preplist [PDF or MS Word] and then proceed to the Application.

The Emerging Artists Strand identifies participants during each conference who appear to be at a critical juncture in their careers as puppet artists; a place in their lives where working intensely on a particular project or aspect of their work could lead to important breakthroughs. Those artists may apply to the program, describing in detail what their work during the conference is likely to be and how they will work with mentors in writing and directing, as well as other artists from the Conference staff as needed, to achieve their project goals. The Emerging Artists are given the option of showing the results of their work during the public performances that conclude the conference.  Emerging Artists will be under the guidance of Richard Termine and Derron Wood.

Emerging Artists are encouraged to attend the pre-conference in addition to the main conference. If accepted as an Emerging Artist, you will be awarded a scholarship reducing your fee to $750.00 USD total for both the pre-conference and the main conference. 

To apply as an Emerging Artist, please download the Emerging Artist Preplist [PDF or MS Word] and then proceed to the Application. 

This role is for those who have attended the conference previously. Your focus for the main conference will be supporting the work of the Emerging Artists and the Artist in Residence to develop their projects by working under their direction for the majority of the Conference day. Resident Company Members will also be allowed create Participant Projects in the evening. While this role takes place during the main conference, you may also attend the pre-conference.  Resident Company Members will be under the guidance of Jane Martineau.

Resident Company Members are not charged for tuition for the main conference, simply housing and meals at $500 USD.   If you wish to also attend the preconference intensive, your cost for those three days is an additional $500 USD, which includes tuition, room, and board. There is a $75.00 discount if you attend both programs, for a total of $925 USD. 

Please download the Resident Company Member Preplist [PDF or MS Word] and proceed to the Application.

A Music Participant is given the unique opportunity to collaborate with puppetry artists as they create new works for the stage.  As a music participant you will work with the artists and directors to help tell their story with music.  You will be challenged with evoking the mood of scenes and characters from multiple pieces, ranging from playful to dark and haunted themes.  Ideal candidates are composers with a strong performance and improvisation background.

What can you expect?  Your schedule will change as you and the puppeteers prepare for two public performances at the end of the wee, fully comprised of original work created at the conference. Roughly, each day you can expect about three to five hours of directly collaborating in ensembles, three to five hours of private composition, and an hour or two of workshops and masterclasses.  You may optionally end each day mingling and networking at the campus bar where participants entertain each other in boisterous nightly puppet slams. 

Compositionally, you may optionally write for or collaborate with the other music participants to create rich scores for live performance.  Although the emphasis will be on live music, you will also find opportunities to pre-record work, especially when using electronic music elements.

Music participants will be mentored by composer/performer Bradley Kemp.  You will also receive mentoring from the puppetry directors, including individuals who’ve performed the Jim Henson Company, and performed on stages across the world.

This role is part of the main conference, but you also may apply for the pre-conference.  Please note that involvement in the pre-conference intensives may be subject to qualifications of the applicant.

Music participants are not charged tuition for the main conference, simply housing and meals at $500 USD. If you wish to also attend the preconference intensive, your cost for those three days is an additional $500 USD, which includes tuition, room, and board. There is a $75.00 discount if you attend both programs for a total of $925 USD. There is also a Music Participant Scholarship for which you may apply. 

To apply as a musician, please download the Musician Preplist [PDF or MS Word] and then proceed to the Application.

This role is for the more experienced puppeteer, though previous attendance is not required. This role will allow you to focus on the development on an area of your choice, be it aesthetic, career, a specific problem in a piece, or to rehearse a part of a piece in progress. You may bring your own cast, for a fee of $750.00 per performer. This entitles them to all of the conference's activities and workshops as applicable, as well as housing and meals.  You may also use the Resident Company Members.  Past Artists in Residence include: Ronald Binion, Marc Weiner, Bonnie Remsberg, Richard Termine, Heather Henson, Jane Henson, Ulysses Jones & Megan McNerney, Scott Hitz, and WonderSpark Puppets.  

Artists in Residence are part of the main conference.

Please Note:  This strand is by invitation only.