Scattered Happy Memories of Puppet Friends by a 93-Year-Old

Video by George Riveron

Curated and designed by Matt Sorensen

Nancy Staub created and directed the Puppet Playhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana for over 10 years. She organized the 1980 World Puppetry Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, DC, where she acted as an Associate Producer of Theatre for Young Audiences for a few years. She co-founded the Center for Puppetry Arts Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, along with its founder/director Vincent Anthony. She considers it her most important legacy. She was a consultant for the inception of the Jim Henson Foundation and the first Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater in NYC. She served on several boards and committees of Puppeteers of America and UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette) of which she is proud to be a Membre d’honneur. Nancy has written over 50 published articles in journals and books including WEPA (World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts) of which she served as one of the original editors.

Matt Sorensen is a puppeteer, theatre artist, educator, filmmaker, and exhibition curator & designer based in Connecticut and New York. They are currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in Dramatic Arts at University of Connecticut’s Puppet Arts Program, where they also earned their MFA in 2022. Matt is looking forward to serving as the Interim Artistic Director of UConn’s Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry in the 2026/27 academic year. Their company, Puppet Bucket Productions, has designed and fabricated puppets for theater and film around the world.

LES Gallery
Opening: August 12, 4:30 PM– 9:00 PM
August 12–16: Daily, 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
August 17–29: Daily, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Closing: August 30, 4:00 PM