The Puppeteers of America presents awards to persons or organizations that have made significant and unique contributions in the field of Puppetry. The next Award presentations will be made at the 2009 National Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. The selections of the Awards committee must be approved by the P of A Board at its midyear meeting. Please let us hear from you. If you are a member of Puppeteers of America and you know a person or group that you feel should be recognized for one of these awards please send your nomination/s to:

The current Award’s Committee Chair, Jody Wren. The committee receives nominations from the membership and studies them. Nominations may be sent to Jody Wren at 7107 N. Howard Ave Tampa FL 33604 (813) 932-9252 jodymcat[at]aol.com All nominations are carefully considered and it is sometimes very hard to make the final decisions.

The Deadline for sending in Nominations for 2011 will be announced soon

Those receiving awards have contributed much more than these brief profiles can show. Each recipient receives a special PofA medallion along with a certificate.

THE PRESIDENT'S AWARD for outstanding contributions to the Art of Puppetry.

THE TRUSTEE'S AWARD honors outstanding service to the Puppeteers of America.

THE PUPPETEERS OF AMERICA AWARD recognizes contributions to puppetry by persons or groups not immediately involved in the field.

THE JIM HENSON AWARD FOR INNOVATION recognizes innovation in puppetry that is technological, dramaturgical or collaborative in nature.

THE GEORGE LATSHAW AWARD FOR WRITING recognizes accomplishments in writing and publishing in the field of puppetry.

THE MARJORIE BATCHELDER McPHARLIN AWARD for contributions in the field of puppetry in education and therapy.

2009 Awards

PRESIDENT’S AWARD - given for outstanding contributions to the Art of Puppetry. This high honor is for lifetime achievement.

• ALLIE SCOLLON - At the age of seven Allie Scollon started turning her dolls into marionettes and making up shows. Allie’s childhood fascination became the passion and profession of a lifetime. Her commitment to the art of puppetry grew as she did.  She researched and taught herself all she could about building, costuming, manipulating, and writing for puppets.
  
  Allie married and soon her husband got involved with the marionette building. Even as a busy young mom, Allie found time to perform original puppet shows for birthday parties and organizations. In the late 1950’s when a new TV station opened, she saw an opportunity and became star of her own TV show, The Bar J Ranch in Syracuse, NY.  In the 1960’s the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio.  With growth of the enclosed shopping mall Allie realized that when people gathered at mega-shopping complexes, they needed to be entertained.  She and her husband founded Scollon’s Marionettes, Inc. In a rented storefront they produced four new marionette shows and developed portable staging especially for shopping center promotions. The company hit the road touring across the US with marionette and hand puppet shows.
  
  Dozens more people were trained as puppeteers to meet the demand for performances and over the years, she has personally trained hundreds of people in the art of puppet making and performing.  Costume character shows were added to the mix in the late ‘60’s.  By the mid 1970’s the costume character business had also grown to include creating costume mascots and cartoon characters for theme parks, sports teams and companies around the world.
  
  In 1982, the company moved to Chapin, South Carolina, just outside Columbia.  Allie returned to her roots and established a non-profit theatre dedicated to the art of puppetry, The Columbia Marionette Theatre.  With a Board of directors, a slate of crowd-pleasing shows, a rented warehouse converted into a theatre, funding from her own pocket, her son John and a small staff of volunteers, she opened the doors to the theatre in the autumn of 1988.  The theatre was a hit. 
  
  The next step was acquiring a permanent home for the theatre.  Allie didn’t want to renovate an existing space. Her vision was to design and build a marionette theatre from the ground up. The new home of the Columbia Marionette Theatre opened its doors on May 11, 1995. 
  
  For tens of thousands of audience members, Allie Scollon is responsible for countless looks of wonder, squeals of laughter and smiling faces   She deserves to be recognized for her lifetime of work and commitment to the very first passion of her life. Puppetry.
  
  http://www.columbiamarionettetheatre.org/
  

TRUSTEE’S AWARD given for service to the Puppeteers of America

• MARIANNE AND TOM TUCKER - Marianne and Tom Tucker have each  served the organization on individual endeavors and often they’ve worked together on projects. Each has presented many workshops in his and her own field of expertise at puppetry festivals regionally and nationally.  Tom served on the Board of Puppeteers of America also serving as the president from 1991-1993.
  
  Marianne has served on the Board as well as  being a Regional Director for the organization.  She’s served as a past chair of the Scholarship committee. They’ve served as the registrars and/or assisted with registration at numerous festivals, including the 2009 Festival. Marianne and Tom pair co-directed the 1995 National Puppeteers of America Festival in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. They are dedicated professionals in the field of puppetry and staunch supporters of this organization, always willing to help out where needed.
  
  

  http://tuckerstales.dot5hosting.com/INDEX.html

THE PUPPETEERS OF AMERICA AWARD recognizes contributions to puppetry by persons or groups not immediately involved in the field

• BRUCE REGES - When Bruce Reges was growing up with a Mom who was a puppeteer, no one could realize what an impact puppets would have on him and on other lives he touched when he was an adult.  Stationed in Iraq, the army assigned Bruce to help rebuild schools in Iraq. An article in the Washington Post set the scene: “The reaction was immediate when Army 1st Sgt. Bruce L. Reges strode into the classroom in the Baghdad suburb of Baqubah, in the volatile Diyala province. At 6-foot-5 and wearing full body armor, Reges, 57, looked fearsome to the schoolchildren.”
  
  As a teacher and a builder and someone who loved kids, Bruce was profoundly upset to be seen as a monster, and began searching for some way to put children at ease.  How could he help Iraqi children see American soldiers as friends?
  
  He wrote to his puppeteer Mom:  “Please make me two hand puppets for my slash pockets I need them ASAP. ” Soon after he wrote: ”Mom, I need as many puppets as you can send, as quickly as possible.” In a short time the non-profit humanitarian organization, “Peace Through Puppets” was born.
  
  In another he wrote: “Hey Mom, The soldiers in our movement team have started to ask for puppets to give and work with.  One of them told me how kids are coming up to them and using their hands to make a “puppet” sign.  The Iraqi kids are starting to talk about the puppets. They know we are the ones who give them out.” In another e-mail Sgt Reges wrote:  “I think of all the things I am involved with here, the puppets seem to create the most joy and genuine affection.  Despite war, death, and destruction, some things transcend it all. Thanks again for doing this with me.” 
  
  

  http://www.peacethroughpuppets.com/

GEORGE LATSHAW AWARD for accomplishments in writing and publishing in the field of puppetry

• BOB NATHANSON - Bob Nathanson has given us countless laughs over the years.  His wit has been a fun addition in his co-hosting many a late night potpourri at a National or regional Festival. He is the humor consultant  for our organization and has given numerous workshops on how to write humorously for the puppet theater.
  
  But it doesn’t stop there.   He has written a number of articles for the Puppetry Journal relating experiences as a puppeteer, lovingly called “War Stories” to him.  He’s also written about how he, and possibly all of us,  might suffer “withdrawal” symptoms after having attended a great puppet festival.   Always giving his own special humorous take on whatever subject he writes about.
  
  Bob’s most recent accomplishment is the writing and publishing of his book, DIARY OF A DOLL WIGGLER: A Bob’s Eye View into the Wacky Wonderful World of Puppetry.    This book relates Bob’s and his wife Elise’s memoirs of how he got into puppetry and happenings from his nearly 30 years of puppetry career. 
  
  

  http://www.puppetstogo.com/

MARJORIE BATCHELDER MCPHARLIN AWARD for contributions in the field of education

• MATTHEW BERNIER - Matthew Bernier is a registered and board-certified art therapist and puppeteer.  He is an Associate Professor in the Graduate Art Therapy Program at Eastern Virginia Medical School.   Matthew has extensive experience in therapeutic puppetry especially with cases of  child abuse and domestic violence and presently serves on the board of Directors of the American Art Therapy Association.  He has lectured and led workshops in the US, Canada and Italy on a variety of topics including:  art therapy, domestic violence and therapeutic puppetry.  Matthew is a member of MUSE, an educational performing arts troupe of creative arts therapists and has performed “Celebrating the Cycle of Life Through Art, Dance, Music and Poetry many times throughout the United States.  He is the co-editor of “Puppetry in Education and Therapy:  Unlocking doors to the mind and heart.”  He is currently working on a PhD in Expressive Arts: Therapy, Education and Social Change at the European Graduate School in Switzerland.  He brings knowledge and experience in the area of puppetry in therapy and his expertise gives credibility to this very important aspect of puppetry arts.