Squallis Puppeteers
The Squallis Puppeteers promote imagination and artistic expression by bringing puppets to the people and by encouraging people to tell their own stories and celebrate together. Squallis has two full time staff, Jess Myers and Nora Christensen, who conduct all educational programs and two-person performances. Both executive directors are on the Kentucky Arts Council's Arts Education Roster.
The Squallis Puppeteers offer two interactive shows for audiences of less than 150 called "Duncan’s Bad Day" (for audiences in second--eighth grade) and "Little Horse’s Big Adventure" (for audiences in pre kindergarten--second grade). They also offer “Outside,” a new show for assembly-sized audiences with original music and 11 puppets of all sizes (for audiences in second grade and up.)
Educational offerings range from short, one-hour "make and take" puppet-making workshops to three month, in-depth residencies that guide a particular community through script development, puppet design and creation, rehearsal, and performance of original pieces. Squallis staff also manage a troupe of 30-40 volunteers that collaborate in all aspects of performances: creating puppets and sets, writing scripts, directing, performing, and creating original music. Their volunteers produce independent series performances for adult audiences and create large puppets for parades and street performances.