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Photo: Richard Termine
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.
“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
Literacy and Learning through Puppetry (K – 6th grade-up to 50 minutes each)
Master Puppeteer Larry Engler will lead your class in puppet construction and through the use of key pieces of grade appropriate literature, he will guide the children as they perform simple skits with their puppets. The focus is on verbal communication and non-verbal expression using puppetry and literacy.
In workshops and residencies students will accomplish some of the following goals as custom designed with artist and teacher:
- Work cooperatively in a group
- Sequence their story
- Develop the mood of their character within the story
- Interpret and express their story to their peers
- Gain hands-on experience in the art of puppeteering
- Construct a Puppet
- Learn about the types of puppets
- Learn about other cultures and countries through puppets
*****Schools will receive a complimentary copy of his book, and DVD, “Making Puppets at Home and School”, in advance of the artist’s visit.
Two Workshops per day: $525 *Plus $10 per class material fee
Four Workshops per day: $665 *Plus $10 per class material fee
Five Day Residency: (4 classes per day) $2,665
Curriculum Links: Language Arts, Visual Arts, Social Studies, Theatre
CCT Funding Available
STUDY GUIDE: Study Guide – Poko Puppets
WEBSITE: http://pokopuppets.com/
Teacher Professional Development also available-please refer to Professional Development Section: Teachers
Young Audiences Arts for Learning Connecticut: Our mission is to integrate the arts into the lives of children in educational and community settings. Our vision for Connecticut is that all children realize their potential through the arts; that the arts are valued for their ability to improve our schools and communities; that, by participation in the arts, children come to understand and value themselves, their neighbors, and the world cultures they share.
We are an Affiliate of VSA arts… an international nonprofit organization that is creating a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.
We offer educational classroom workshops, school cultural programs, school arts programs, assembly programs, arts integration programs, artist in residence programs – bringing theater, music, drama, puppetry, visual arts, storytelling, drawing, painting, history and cultural arts to the classroom.