We are a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to sharing the magic of puppet theatre through education outreach, performances, and special events

OUR MISSION:

We are a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to sharing the magic of puppet theatre through education outreach, performances and special events

WHERE WE STARTED:

Formed in 1957, under the guidance of Pat Platt and Kay Kitchen,  the Guild began when 12 local San Diego puppeteers banded together to become the  5th guild chartered by Puppeteers of America (PofA), our national organization. Under the P of A umbrella, we hosted one national (1966) and five regional puppetry festivals (1963, 1976, 1980, 1988, and 1996) that drew puppeteers from around the region and across the country. For its first 37 years, the Guild held monthly meetings in members’ homes sharing demonstrations, talks, workshops, and performances combined with social get-togethers. In 1963, the Guild began a six-week summer series of performances for young children in the Puppet Theater in Balboa Park. Gradually over the years, the series was extended until, in 1983, we began performing year-round.  In 1994, wishing to better serve the greater San Diego Community, we obtained our official nonprofit status.

WHERE WE ARE NOW:

In 1994, we were a loose-knit group of puppeteers performing our own shows for audiences of young children. In the thirty years since our mission has broadened. We have had five homes: the Puppet Theater, the Children’s Museum, a storefront in Clairemont Town Square, our studio in Space 4 Art, and the Performance Annex in City Heights. Where we have mounted many of our exhibits and performances since 2010. Other exhibit sites have included libraries, shopping malls, schools, universities, and the San Diego Airport. We offer training and internships for those who want to learn the art. We create and perform shows for adult and family audiences as well as for small children. Our education outreach  program started in a single 4th grade classroom in 1998, and we now teach, train and inspire students from pre-school through college and beyond. Our giant puppet parade programming currently produces parades for up to 600 participants. We bring guest artists from across the country and around the world to perform and teach. We collaborate with local theaters, other art organizations, and middle, high school, and college theater departments. 

We invite you to join us in the coming years as we continue to grow the magic of the puppet theatre experience here in San Diego.

Meet the Team

  • Armando De la Torre

  • Lynne Jennings

  • Felix Diaz

  • Crystal Mercado

  • Jason Johnson

  • Silvio Diaz Fernandez

  • Mindy Donner

  • Abril Diaz

  • Angi Ramirez

  • Giancarlo Hernandez- Cervantes & Marty Rodriguez (interns)

  • Brandon Ross

  • Nathaniel Allenby

  • Lucy Forton

  • Marypat Hutt

  • Miriam Esparza

  • Kayla Adorno

  • Gordon McLauchlan

  • Joyce Buxbaum

  • this man bullies Lynn a lot

    Kyle Koerber

Our board

Executive Director, Lynne Jennings

With more than 35 years experience in the field, Lynne is a builder, director, writer, mentor, teacher, and administrator.  She holds awards for service from both regional and national puppetry organizations and has received the County of San Diego Board of Supervisor’s Bravo San Diego “Spirit of Arts Education” Award and the Bravissimo Award for Excellence in Theatre Education from the SDETA. She has been on staff for over two dozen regional and national puppet festivals and directed two. She served thirteen years on the board of the UNIMA-USA (US branch of the International Puppeteers’ Organization), and she is currently on the board of the International Puppetry Museum. She studied with Henson artists in the summer of 1994, at the National Puppetry Conference at the O'Neill (1995-97), the Puppet Theatre Writer’s Conference (2002-2004), and she holds a BA from Middlebury College.