Member Companies
The National Capital Puppet Guild supports the business and performance endeavors of all its members.
Find out more in the bios and links below!
Alex & Olmsted (Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas) have been making puppets together since 2010. In recent years, they have performed at LaMaMa NYC, The Puppeteers of America Festival, Bread and Puppet Theater, and two National Puppet Slams. Their signature piece, "Milo the Magnificent" is about a magician with a variety show of magic tricks and science experiments which don't always go as planned. It was awarded a 2017 Jim Henson Foundation Grant.
“Barefoot Puppet Theatre's award-winning performances have thrilled audiences throughout the country and internationally since 1997. Their touring programs feature imaginative and interactive scripts, innovative staging, original music, beautifully crafted puppets, and fun. All puppets and staging elements are crafted by hand in their Richmond-based studio using sustainable, locally sourced materials whenever possible.”
Honey Goodenough is a puppeteer, producer, costume designer, educator, clown, and magician. She earned her MA in Educational Theater from NYU, and a BA in costume design and technology from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a four-time recipient of Heather Henson's Puppet Slam Network grant to produce PUPPET PANDEMIC, a showcase of puppetry works developed at the Eugene O'Neill National Puppetry Conference.
If you're looking for a birthday party magician, Matt is not your guy. But if you're looking for an actor, artist, designer, puppeteer, consultant, and teacher that can bring a world of hand-made magic to your productions, projects, or stories, then look no further! With Matt McGee on your side, every story you wish to tell will be so much more magical ....Matt-a-Magical.
“What began as a fun garage project collaboration with a fellow special effects student turned quickly into a full-time business as her reputation spread. Lex is the recipient of a BSC (Hons) in Special Effects and has studied at the O'Neill National Theatre Puppetry Conference. She was also a contestant on the Jim Henson Creature Shop Challenge show. Her work has appeared on stage, film, television and even in toy stores around the world.
Walking through a beech forest is like being in a Gothic cathedral. The trunks are tall, the bark looks smooth and silvery, and the branches reach up and out like human arms. Likewise, on a visit to Chartres cathedral in France, we clearly felt that here was a space meant to uplift the human being. In that spirit, we want Beech Tree Puppets to create such a space.We find that, when a puppet enters the stage, people can connect to the story directly. Puppets can break down barriers.
Pointless Theatre Co. is dedicated to creating bold, visceral, and affordable spectacles that gleefully smash the traditional boundaries between puppetry, theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts. Through our work we excite a passion for adventurous art in the nation's capital and nurture a diverse, active, and inspired audience.
“Founded in 1974, dedicating every performance to excellence in theatre, art, music, and fun. A graduate of Gonzaga High School and The University of Scranton, Michael served in the Peace Corps and Caritas poverty programs in the early seventies. For 8 years Michael was adjunct professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland. He is on the board of directors of Dance 4 Peace and is currently oversees the company's 1000+ shows a year.”
Dustin wanted to explore and produce various forms of puppetry with a global approach and a focus on the Shadow Theatre. The Company believes puppetry is for everyone and it strives to provide access at low or no cost to under-served and disadvantaged populations.
“A Washington tradition for 30 years. The Puppet Co. is an award-winning resident children's puppet theater, located in Glen Echo Park, MD. Performing classic fairy tales with sock puppets, hand puppets, shadow puppets, rod puppets, and marionettes for children and families.“
“Since 1980, Baltimore's Black Cherry Puppet Theater, a non-profit association of artists and performers, has presented thousands of performances and workshops for adults and children throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Our theater is housed in Southwest Baltimore right next to the historic Hollins Market.”
Beale Street Puppets has been delighting family audiences since 1988 with its musical marionette shows! Our Owner and Gracious Queen is Jill Kyle-Keith, who graduated in- cough cough- 1979 with a Bachelor's Degree in Performance Theatre from the University of Maryland. Luckily for Jill, the theatre department at that time also taught puppetry, and she's been working as a professional puppeteer ever since.
Tom Knoll is an award-winning author, artist, landscape designer and avid nature lover. For the 15 years he lived in Manassas, Virginia, he was known for his imaginative white bicycle fence at his home, where he decorated them for major holidays. The concept was expanded to other areas in the DMV. Currently, there are 2 “Bicycle Fences” one in Washington, DC at the Heart of Bloomingdale park at Rhode Island Avenue/1st Street NW and in Somerset, OH.
Ventriloquist, musician, composer, and performer Valerie Leonhart Smalkin was one of the writers, performers, and co-producers as well as the head puppeteer of the Emmy award winning television program It's Kindertime on Baltimore’s ABC affiliate WMAR-TV 2. Val’s CD, A Gentle Halloween, received a Parents’ Choice Fun Stuff award in 2015, and in 2016 her follow-up CD, Sing! Sing! Sing!...and Dance!, garnered a Parents’ Choice Approved award. Her current CD, Love Bug! received a Parents’ Choice.
"Dinorock co-creator Michele Valeri, who wrote and performed The Great Dinosaur Mystery with Joe Pipik and Ingrid Crepeau, with combined forces of Michael Stein on Dinosaur Rock!, has an unerring ear for appealing musical hooks and witty lyrics. Each Dinorock tune is a singable, danceable, highly informative nugget of kid-friendly pop. Dinorock will knock the socks off your Jurassic-loving tot!"
“Joe Santoro has been expressing his creative mind through puppets since 1990 with shows throughout West Virginia’s state parks, county fairs, TV shows, and private birthday parties. In the winter of 2007, Wonderment Puppet Theater became his artist’s canvas and home for the Wonderment Puppets.”
“Founded by Jeanne Wall and Joe Pipik in 1994 the Goodlife Theater has collaborated with a number of skilled entertainment professionals over the years. The GoodLife Theater has thrilled audiences at The Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, Maui Arts and Culture Center, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, & hundreds of schools, libraries, theaters, parks, country clubs & family celebrations.”
“PUPPETS TO GO was founded by Bob and his wife, Elise, in 1979. In addition to performing at schools, museums, theaters and libraries, he has performed at regional and national puppetry festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada. Wherever he performs, Bob, along with his cast of unforgettable characters, educates the mind and entertains the imagination.”
Building supplies for all your puppetry needs!
Barry Gordemer is an award-winning puppeteer, writer and producer. He's been designing, building & performing puppets since 1983. In 2003, He received a Telly award for his puppet designs and performance as Alphie the Alligator on the video series, "The Sound and the Furry." In 2000, Barry performed on the CD "Dreamosauraus." It received a Grammy nomination for "Best Musical Album for Kids.” Barry is a veteran writer, producer and editor for NPR's award-winning news magazine "Morning Edition".