The O'Neill Puppetry Conference was established by key founding members Jane Henson, George Latshaw, Richard Termine, Bobbie Nidzgorski, Bart P. Roccoberton Jr., and Jim and Margo Rose in 1990.

The mission of the conference is to encourage puppet artists to create and communicate through the visual and kinetic form of the puppet, push beyond their personal boundaries and develop new works for puppet theater, while reinforcing strong dramatic structure. Participants collaborate with renowned guest directors, puppet artists and playwrights to develop innovative productions conceived by guest artists, as well as presentations initiated by the conference participants.

For eight days each summer, puppet artists have the opportunity to explore various performance styles through workshops and rehearsals, master classes, and individual critique sessions. The Conference culminates with two public performances, featuring works which explore the extraordinary range and power of the puppet.

Past conference participants have gone on to work in such puppetry venues as The Henson International Festival of Puppet Theatre (New York City), HERE Arts Center (New York City), The Puppet Showplace (Brookline, Massachusetts), The Sandglass Theatre (Vermont) The Center for Puppetry Arts (Atlanta), Zeum (San Francisco) and on television shows including "Sesame Street," "Between the Lions," "Bear in the Big Blue House," and "Crank Yankers."

The O'Neill Puppetry Conference is sponsored by the Rose Endowment for Puppetry established by Jane Henson and dedicated to the legacies of Bil Baird, Jim Henson, Rufus and Margo Rose, Don Sahlin, Martin Stevens, Burr Tillstrom and Brad Williams and to the spirit with which they shared their artistry and themselves.

Life of a Tree - Rehearsal
Bernd Ogrodnik
Guest Artist - 2006

The Ensemble/Guest Artist Strand provides the participant the opportunity to work side by side with premier puppet artists, learning skills and techniques culminating in a public performance at the end of the conference.

Puppet Film encourages the participants to explore the art and form of the puppet and it's use in film.

Marionette Construction and Performance offers opportunities to construct a marionette or refine one's performance techniques.

Participant Projects are short works created by the participants apart from the regular activities under the guidance of a staff member. All are presented to the whole conference on Saturday morning, and a few are chosen for public presentation that evening.

Writing and Performing Music for the Puppet Theater encourages musicians and composers to create specific 'music scapes' for puppet performances.

The Emerging Artist strand invites previous participants to further develop their works and are provided with the additional support of the conference as well as performers from the Flock Theater of New London for these productions.

The Artist in Residence project provides an invited artist the full support of the conference using both participants and selected puppeteers to further refine a work in progress.

Master Classes are conducted throughout the week by guest artists, staff members and noted experts in the field of puppetry.

3-Day Master Class Intensives: These sessions are held three days before the start of the main conference and are devoted to one subject.

The fee for the entire eight-day conference is $950.
This includes tuition ($500), and all meals and housing ($450) at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.

The cost for the 3-day Master Class Intensives is $400.
This includes tuition ($250), and all meals and housing ($150) at the O'Neill Theater Center.
The Intensives can be attended in conjunction with the Conference or separately.

Want to know what a typical day at the O'Neill Puppetry Conference is like? Download a schedule from a previous year. (Adobe Acrobat PDF)