860487231 · AZ ↑ parent cluster ·
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Great Arizona Puppet Theater Inc

AZ · EIN 860487231 · $449K rev · operational · azpuppets.org
profile

Great Arizona Puppet Theater Inc is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing and promoting the art of puppetry through entertaining and educational performances. Primarily serving children and families, the theater offers year-round puppet shows and traveling performances across Arizona. Founded in 1983, it aims to enrich the cultural climate of the state.

activities · 26

what they do

direct service · 22
  • Deliver free educational shows to underserved communities School-Based Dental Outreach
    Provides no-cost puppet performances focused on dental health to Title 1 schools, Head Start programs, and low-income child care centers as part of its outreach mission.
  • Host Private Events
    Hosts private birthday and special occasion parties at its venue, which include a puppet show, craft activities, and child-size performance stages, offering discounted or free rentals for members.
  • Hosts private birthday and special occasion parties at its venue, which include a puppet show, craft activities, and access to child-size performance stages. Discounted or free party rentals are offered to members.
  • Hosts "Deliverance in the Blues," a program that uses hands-on arts and crafts, poetry, narrative, and puppetry to highlight stories of social justice, community, and imagination.
  • Host public puppet theater performances year-round Youth & Family Theatrical Productions
    Operates as Arizona’s only year-round public puppet theater since 1983, open five days a week with performances for both children and adults. Maintains a repertoire of over 60 shows, including original works and adaptations of fairy tales.
  • Host puppet slam events and maintain online community presence
    Organizes and promotes Puppet Slam events through its Arizona Slam Facebook page, providing updates and announcements. Puppeteers have performed in regional, national, and international festivals, and solo pieces have been selected for National Puppet Slams.
  • Offers workshops for both students and teachers to engage them in the art of puppetry.
  • Offers workshops for students and teachers related to puppetry.
  • Offer annual membership benefits
    Provides annual membership packages to immediate families, which include benefits such as free or discounted party rentals and other exclusive access.
  • Offer private events and birthday parties with puppet shows Children's Themed Birthday Parties with Educational Activities
    Hosts private birthday and special occasion parties featuring puppet shows, craft activities, and child-size performance stages. Provides discounted or free rentals for members, including free parties for Gold Members hosting up to 25 guests.
  • Operate a Dental Show Program School-Based Dental Outreach
    Operates a dental show program that provides educational puppet shows focused on dental health to Title 1 schools, Head Start programs, and low-income child care centers at no cost.
  • Operate and maintain historic theater facility Historic Building Restoration & Adaptive Reuse
    Purchased and renovated a historic building in 1996, converting a former chapel into a performance space and the social hall into an auditorium after years of work. Received the Governor's Heritage Honor Award for Historic Preservation in 2019 for these efforts.
  • Produce and Perform Puppet Shows Youth & Family Theatrical Productions
    Produces and performs a diverse repertoire of over 60 puppet shows, including original stories, fairy tales, and educational content, for audiences of various sizes and age groups, primarily children. These shows are performed at their theater, as touring productions at schools, libraries, and community centers, and via streaming to classrooms.
  • Produce and Perform Puppet Shows
    Produces and performs a diverse repertoire of over 60 puppet shows, including original stories, fairy tales, and educational content, for audiences of all ages. These shows are performed at their theater, toured to schools, libraries, and community centers, and offered as streaming performances to classrooms, reaching an annual audience of nearly 85,000 people, primarily children.
  • Produce and distribute promotional newsletters Member Newsletter & Magazine Distribution
    Produces and mails a triannual newsletter postcard featuring upcoming show schedules, contact details, and sponsor information to promote programming and engagement.
  • Produce and perform educational puppet shows for children Youth & Family Theatrical Productions
    Creates and performs original and classic puppet shows with educational themes such as dental health, environmental conservation, and social-emotional learning. Shows are tailored for different age groups and curriculum goals, and include titles like "Terrific the Tooth," "Creepy, Crawly, Wild, and Wooly," and "The Little Red Hen."
  • Produce original documentary and award-winning content
    Created a documentary titled "Imagine This" about puppet theater and has received multiple awards, including The UNIMA-USA Citation for Excellence in Puppetry for its original "Cinderella" production and the Mayor's Environmental Award for environmental-themed shows.
  • Provide ASL interpretation for performances Physical & Sensory Accessibility Accommodations
    Offers American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for puppet shows when requested with approximately two weeks’ notice, ensuring accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
  • Provide Educational Resources
    Creates and updates study and activity guides for its shows, coordinating them with Arizona State Learning Standards and national art standards, to provide educational content and critical thinking activities for students and teachers.
  • Provide Educational Resources for Shows
    Creates and updates study and activity guides for its puppet shows, coordinating them with Arizona State Learning Standards and national art standards. These guides include information about the shows and puppets, critical thinking activities, and puppet-making instructions, and are available for download by students and parents.
  • Provide streaming puppet performances for classrooms Puppetry & Theater Skills Workshops
    Offers virtual access to puppet shows via private YouTube links for one week, allowing up to five classrooms per school to view streamed performances directly in educational settings.
  • Tour puppet performances to schools and community venues Youth & Family Theatrical Productions
    Delivers traveling puppet shows to schools, libraries, child care centers, and community centers across Arizona, serving an annual audience of nearly 85,000 people, primarily children. Offers performances in various formats suitable for audiences ranging from small classrooms to large rooms of up to 400 people.
capacity building · 4
  • Develop educational study and activity guides
    Creates and distributes study and activity guides for its puppet shows that include show information, critical thinking exercises, and puppet-making activities. Guides are aligned with Arizona State Learning Standards and updated to reflect new state and national art standards.
  • Engages interns to support special projects within the organization.
  • Involves interns in supporting special projects, such as Mae Ortiz who began as a summer intern in 2021 before becoming a part-time staff member.
  • Offer workshops for students and teachers Puppetry & Theater Skills Workshops
    Conducts educational workshops for students and teachers to support learning and professional development in puppetry and related arts.
strategies · 17

how they think

Theories of action extracted from this org's own source material. Click any to see the full field of orgs running the same approach.

named programs · 3

what they call their work

Educational Puppet Shows
Delivers educational content through puppet performances, particularly targeting Title 1 schools.
Field Trip Program
Allows schools to book field trips to attend shows at the theater, providing discounted rates for students.
Traveling Shows
Offers a repertoire of puppet shows that can be performed at schools, libraries, and community centers across Arizona.
relationships · 21

who they work with

  • Arizona Commission on the Arts Funder — Provides general operating support.
  • Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation Funder — Funds the dental show program for Title 1 schools, Head Start programs, and low-income child care centers.
  • Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation Funder — Provides financial support that enables the organization to deliver puppet performances.
  • First Things First Funder — Funds the dental show program for Title 1 schools, Head Start programs, and low-income child care centers.
  • Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam Partner — Lisa Haslbauer helped to found and performed with the Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam.
  • Jim Henson Foundation Funder — Awarded two grants to Matt McGee's show "Under the Sea with Dredgie McGee."
  • Monster Improv Partner — Hosts "The Neighborhood" by Monster Improv, one of the longest-running storytelling-based shows in Arizona.
  • NIDCD Partner — Links to the NIDCD website for additional information about American Sign Language.
  • Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture Funder — Provides partial funding for programming through appropriations from the Phoenix City Council.
  • Puppet Slam Network Partner — Listed as a donor/supporter.
  • Puppeteers of America Funder — Supported the production "Grand Canyon Condor."
  • Puppeteers of America Network — Member of the Puppeteers of America.
  • Quintron and Miss Pussycat Partner — Hosts "Banana Fest part 2" featuring Quintron and Miss Pussycat, who perform genre-defying music and puppet shows.
  • The Arizona Community Foundation Funder — Listed as a donor/supporter.
  • The Bears Upstairs Partner — Lisa Haslbauer worked with the children's band The Bears Upstairs.
  • The Jim Henson Foundation Funder — Provided support at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.
  • The Puppet Slam Network Funder — Provides generous support for puppet slams.
  • The Torosian Foundation Funder — Listed as a donor/supporter.
  • Thistle Theater Partner — Lisa Haslbauer worked as a puppeteer with Thistle Theater.
  • University of Connecticut Partner — Lisa Haslbauer studied for a Master's degree in the Puppet Arts program at the university.
  • info@azpuppets.org Partner — Primary contact email for receiving mailing list sign-up information.