Programs
While the central business of Mock Turtle is to produce new works and new ways of using puppets, the theater is anchored in a series of community programs. Based at the theater’s loft stage at The Charles Brown IceHouse in Bethlehem, these programs include a ten to twelve performance family series, a spring field trip program for the schools and a summer series of shows and workshops for summer campers.
Community Programs
In pursuit of our mission, Mock Turtle has worked with a wide group of Valley organizations on a broad set of projects ranging from special education to the environment; from substance abuse to literacy. Our ability to partner with such a variety of institution stems directly from the seemingly unlimited flexibility of Puppetry itself. In these programs we have made use of the discipline’s ability to attract diverse demographic groups and create group focus in a non threatening way.
Major Community Initiatives
- Programming Assistant- (Musikfest I and II)
- Rose Garden Children’s Festival (Co-founder)
- IceHouse Performing Arts Center (founding member)
- Saturday’s Child Family Series (Director- fourteen year run)
- Welcome to Our Family- A Child Abuse Prevention Program (Through Lehigh Co.)
- Social Service Programs
- Roster Artist- Arts in Special Education
- Drug and Alcohol Program- Marvine School
- Community Values Program- Broughal Middle School
- Video Production- Lehigh Valley Hospice
- Early Childhood Reading Programs- Lincoln and SPARK
- Parent-Child Reading Project- Lincoln Pre-School
- Video Production-Wildlands Conservancy and National Canal Museum
- In-Service puppetry workshops- Schools and Service Organizations
- Puppet Assemblies- Schools and Service Organizations
- Centennial Show- Bethlehem Public Library
- Charter members Pennsylvania Artists on Tour PennPAT
Artist in Residency Programs
- Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
- Delaware Council on Arts
- New Jersey Council on Arts
Artistic Collaborations
- Touchstone- Don Quixote
- Lehigh University
- Pennsylvania Sinfonia
- Omoja African Dance Theatre
- People’s Light and Theatre Company
- Lehigh County Office of Children and Youth