wo and a half miles outside of the Storrs campus there is a remote campus where parking is not an issue, where creativity seems to seep out of the walls and a $1.5 million building renovation is overlooked. Welcome to puppetry arts.
The puppetry arts program, which has seen vast improvement from its former location in the basement of Sprague Hall, is now nicely situated on the Depot Campus off of Route 44. The plain brick building looks like it is more suitable for storage than anything else, but once inside it's plain to see that this building has amazing creative potential.
The building used to be a home for the mentally handicapped, according toBart P. Roccoberton Jr., the director of the pupperyt arts program. The buildings sat vacant for years until three years ago when massive improvements were made, making it the new home of the puppet arts program.
The walls are filled with a creative backdrop of former projects, pictures, retired sets and quotes. In the entryway is the former backdrop to the stage of Margo and Rufus Rose, the creators and puppeteers of "Howdy Doody." The backdrop was signed in 1946 by many of the founding puppeteers of America. The sign, which survived a massive house fire, serves as a little inspiration for those who are aspiring in the world of puppetry.
The walls are not the only thing that makes the puppetry school so special. The program itself is one of a kind. There is a puppetry undergraduate program at West Virginia University and there is a small graduate focus program at the University of Hawaii, but nothing as expansive as what UConn has to offer.
The students get a very different kind of education - they spend most of their time right in the puppetry building, partly because it is such a distance from Storrs and also because they enjoy the atmosphere.
"It's a real sense of community here," said Paul Spirito, a 1st-semester puppetry graduate student. "It's like a community energy and everyone is helping one another."
Touring the facility is an interesting experience. The students there have no need for a dining hall because they have their own kitchen and they have a library which is filled with Roccoberton's personal collection of movies and books. They have costume rooms, prop rooms, a studio and they also have a vegetable garden. Canning tomatoes is the plan for next week, Roccoberton joked.
Most importantly, however, they have a common room. The common room has 25 desks, one for each of the students. They are all in the same room working and studying.
"Everybody is allowed to leave their desks creatively engaged," Roccoberton said. "When it becomes storage, then we ask them to clean it up."The large room houses works of progress from beginning drawings to finished projects and Roccoberton is proud of what his students have accomplished and happy to show off the works in progress. The group is currently working on creating puppets for the Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) presentation of Peter Pan later in the semester.
The CRT production will include puppets and props made out of everyday things, like a wolf made of shears, some bent metal and a small disco ball eye. There were other uncompleted projects lying around from found objects, which will also be included in the production.
One of the students' main resources is Roccoberton himself, who is the sole teacher in the puppetry program. The program is currently waiting on their guest artist to arrive for the semester.
"You don't become a puppeteer by going to classes six hours a week," Roccoberton said. "This is their first chance for networking. The alumni are really interested in who's coming through."
Alumni have certainly proven their worth. One of the most recent success stories is Rob Saunders, a UConn alumnus from the puppetry program, who was recently the puppeteer for Dr. Octopus in "Spiderman 2." Saunders also just finished work on "Team America," a film by the creators of "South Park." Roccoberton gets phone calls from many places asking for alumni or current students to work on big projects. For example, the Travel Channel called last week.
"They're on 'Sesame Street,' they're on 'Between the Lions,'" Roccoberton said. "Two of them are in 'Avenue Q' on Broadway."
"They keep working is the trick," Roccoberton said. "A good puppeteer will never have to wait tables for a living like some good actors will."
The Henson family has been a supporter of the UConn puppetry school for some time aswell. Jane Henson, the late Jim Henson's wife, stops by to visit on occasion and Jim used to send checks to Roccoberton in support of the program. Henson thought puppetry was much more about performing than it is about classes, but he still supported Roccoberton's work here.
And so the program continues to thrive. The school might get overlooked by other students, but rest assured they're still there.
"I don't think they know we're out here," said Julia Darden, a 3rd-semester puppetry student.
The public knows they exist - the museum receives at least 5,000 visitors a year. The museum, which showcases some of the puppetry work, is open Friday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
"There is a major richness out of this career," Roccoberton said.
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