Virtual Puppetry Residency - International Puppet Festival

Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh-based artist Tom Sarver, with support from Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media and PA Council on the Arts, presents a virtual puppet festival of works created by participants in his Virtual Puppetry Residency (VPR) program on Saturday, December 12, 2020. The online festival will feature works by thirty-two artists from around the world and will consist of a Children’s Show, an All-Ages Show and an Adult Show. Viewing of the shows is free and available through the project’s Facebook page or via Zoom.

This is the second season of VPR, a six-week program developed for puppeteers of all levels to improve their craft and performance concepts. Sarver initiated the program in May of 2020, after the COVID-19 global pandemic cancelled in-person puppetry events and education. The program, run online, features weekly critiques, guest speakers and a final showing of works created in the residency. After the first season of the program, fifteen participants presented their work in an event titled, International Puppet Slam. This took place on July 18, 2020. With twice as many participants in the second season of VPR, the culminating event has been expanded to a festival. Sarver will host the event live, with a mix of live shows, pre-recorded shows and live interviews with performers.

Tom Sarver is an artist, educator and puppeteer.  He was a core organizer of Pittsburgh’s Black Sheep Puppet Festival (1999-2008), Puppet Happening (2011-2015) and The Puppetry Guild of Pittsburgh (2016-2019).