American Puppetry

Phyllis T. Dircks is a professor of English at Long Island University in Greenvale, New York. A specialist in contemporary American drama, she lives in Huntington, New York.

“recommended”—Choice; “A wonderful new research guide and reference for the theatre historian and puppetry aficionado. American Puppetry: Collections, History, Performance not only lists and describes the major puppet-related collections located throughout the United States, but also explores the lives and histories of American puppetry’s most innovative and dynamic practitioners. This book’s essays provide the perfect springboard into deeper research of the unique and always fascinating history of puppet theatre. I heartily recommend it.”—Puppeteer Phillip Huber.

• Table of ContentsForeword      Introduction      PART I. AMERICAN PUPPETRY TODAY AND YESTERDAYA Snapshot of Puppeteers of the United States and Canada      A Short View of American Puppetry      PART II. SIGNIFICANT COLLECTIONSPuppetry and Related Materials in the Harvard Theatre Collection      Asian Puppets at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History      The Center for Puppetry Arts Museum Collection      The Bread & Puppet Theater Company Collection      Puppets and “The Iconography of Drama”: The BranderMatthews Collection at Columbia University      The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry Collection      Paul McPharlin and Puppetry at the Detroit Institute of Arts      The Bil Baird World of Puppets at the Charles H. MacNider Museum      The Puppet Collection of the American Museum of Natural History      The Burr Tillstrom Collection and Archives at the Chicago Historical Society      The Marionette Theatre of Peter Arnott at Harvard University      The Lou Harrison Collection: Music and Puppetry East to West      The Dwiggins Marionettes at the Boston Public Library      The Puppet Collection of the National Museum of American History      PART III. PUPPETRY IN ACTION“Bringing Together Man and Nature”: The Theater of Julie Taymor      Exhibitions and Collections of the Jim Henson Company       Howdy Doody in the Courtroom: A Puppet Custody Case      The Fundamentals of Marionette Care      Puppetry in Cyberspace: Developing Virtual Performance Spaces      Appendix A: Selected Additional Puppetry Collections      Appendix B: Films and Videos on Puppetry at the Donnell Media Center of the New York Public Library       Selected Bibliography      About the Contributors      Index