activities · 26
what they do
direct service · 22
- Deliver free educational shows to underserved communities School-Based Dental OutreachProvides 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 EventsHosts 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.
- Host Private Events and Parties Children's Themed Birthday Parties with Educational ActivitiesHosts 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.
- Host Social Justice Programs Family-Oriented Multidisciplinary Arts ProgrammingHosts "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 ProductionsOperates 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 presenceOrganizes 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.
- Offer Workshops Puppetry & Theater Skills WorkshopsOffers workshops for both students and teachers to engage them in the art of puppetry.
- Offer Workshops Puppetry & Theater Skills WorkshopsOffers workshops for students and teachers related to puppetry.
- Offer annual membership benefitsProvides 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 ActivitiesHosts 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 OutreachOperates 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 ReusePurchased 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 ProductionsProduces 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 ShowsProduces 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 DistributionProduces 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 ProductionsCreates 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 contentCreated 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 AccommodationsOffers 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 ResourcesCreates 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 ShowsCreates 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 WorkshopsOffers 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 ProductionsDelivers 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 guidesCreates 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.
- Engage interns in special projects Structured Internship Programs with Hands-On Nonprofit ExperienceInvolves 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 WorkshopsConducts 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.
- Arts education and cultural celebration through puppetry arts education and cultural promotionUses puppet theater to educate children and families while celebrating Arizona’s culture, heritage, and ecology, and promotes puppetry as an art form through field trips and performances.
- Audience Engagement and Communication multi_channel_engagementThe organization maintains audience engagement and communication through various channels, including physical postcards, email newsletters, and interactive performances, to share information and foster connection.
- Audience Engagement and Communication audience_communicationThe organization maintains audience engagement and communication through direct channels like physical postcards and email newsletters to share information and foster ongoing connection with its community.
- Audience communication and outreach audience_communicationMaintains audience engagement through regular communication using physical postcards and email newsletters to share performance schedules and organizational updates.
- Child-focused high-quality artistic performances child-focused artistic performanceProduces unique, high-quality live puppet performances specifically designed for children, distinguishing its artistic mission and audience focus.
- Cultural Promotion and Community Engagement through Puppetry cultural_promotionThe organization leverages puppetry to celebrate Arizona's culture, heritage, and ecology, and to foster connections between diverse communities, including Native American, Latin@, and 2SLGBTQ+ groups, through artistic expression.
- Educational Programming through Puppetry arts_educationThe organization uses puppet theater performances and related activities, such as field trips and activity guides, to educate children and families on various topics, including dental hygiene, and to promote cultural understanding.
- Educational Programming through Puppetry arts_educationThe organization uses puppet shows and related activities to educate children and families on various topics, including dental hygiene, and to promote cultural understanding and appreciation of Arizona's heritage and ecology. This is achieved through engaging storytelling, field trips, and activity guides.
- Immersive Theatrical Experiences immersive_theaterThe organization creates immersive experiences, such as dedicated party spaces for children's celebrations and unique live performances, to engage audiences through entertainment, creative participation, and interactive elements.
- Immersive Themed Experiences experiential_programmingThe organization creates immersive experiences, such as children's celebrations and adult-oriented events, by combining entertainment, creative engagement, and interactive performance opportunities, often integrating film screenings with live puppetry.
- Immersive and interactive audience engagement immersive_childrens_celebrationCreates immersive experiences for children through themed celebrations and interactive performance opportunities, and engages adult audiences with 18+ events combining film, live puppetry, and audience interaction.
- Inclusive and Accessible Performance Delivery accessibility_inclusionThe organization ensures its performances are accessible to a wider audience by providing services like ASL interpretation and by offering programming tailored for different age groups, including adult-oriented events, to engage diverse community members.
- Inclusive and Community-Focused Programming inclusive_arts_engagementThe organization strives to make its programming accessible to diverse audiences, including offering ASL interpretation, and uses the arts to bridge various community groups such as Native American, Latin@, and 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
- Inclusive and accessible performance programming accessibility_inclusionEnsures accessibility and inclusion by offering ASL interpretation and designing programming that reaches diverse audiences, including underserved communities.
- Promoting the Art of Puppetry and Cultural Celebration cultural_promotion_through_artsThe organization actively advances and promotes the art of puppetry, using it as a medium to celebrate Arizona's diverse culture, heritage, and ecology. This includes creating high-quality artistic performances for children and engaging adult audiences with unique puppet-based events.
- Puppetry-based educational storytelling for children dental_health_education_through_storytellingUses themed puppet shows and activity guides to teach children about topics like dental hygiene and to encourage creative engagement through participatory learning and puppet-making.
- Supporter and volunteer engagement through structured programs project-based volunteer engagementEngages supporters via a tiered membership model and utilizes interns to advance special projects, strengthening community involvement and organizational capacity.
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.