Theatre Professor Participates in National Puppetry Conference

Associate Professor of Scenic Design Tom Burch was a participant in the National Puppetry Conference hosted June 8-12 by the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. Led by Artistic Director Pam Arciero, a principal puppeteer with Sesame Street, the annual National Puppetry Conference was founded 30 years ago to encourage and advance puppet artists and develop new works for puppet theatre. Participants collaborate with renowned guest directors, puppet artists, and playwrights to create innovative productions. Burch’s participation in the conference was funded in part by a 2019-2020 Regional Artist Project Grant from the Arts & Science Council.

Burch enrolled in the workshop Making Political Puppet Art with renowned artist/performer Edwin Salas. Subtitled “From Isolation to the World: We are not alone or are we?” the workshop explored the use of direct manipulation puppets through political art. During the workshop Burch created a short puppet film titled Those Who Can’t Share.

Burch, who was recently named the associate chair of the Department of Theatre, is also working on a toy theatre/puppet commission for Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, adapting and directing Peter Reynolds’s classic picture book, The Dot. Learn more about his teaching and creative research in his bio.

Want to see his puppet film? Watch here (Those Who Can’t Share comes last).