By approaching puppetry as a theatre art and applying some "basic theatre know-how," participants will grow as performers, writers and directors. Theatre games are an interactive way
to introduce the concepts behind puppetry performance in a non-threatening manner. Attendees
will take these games home with them so they can be applied to warm-ups, rehearsals, classes,
workshops, and performances. FUN FOR ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS.
Aretta Baumgartner is a performer/teaching artist specializing in puppetry, mask and movement. Though
she currently calls Cincinnati, Ohio, "home," she's traveled nationally and internationally to share her
passions. A recent Great Lakes Regional Director of the Puppeteers of America, Aretta is also the Artistic
Director of ImagineNation, a core actor and Education/Outreach Coordinator for the artists' collaborative
known as Performance Gallery, and a vocalist for the Steely Dan tribute band AJA. She's been on the
winning end of 5 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and in the cast of 2 "Acclaim Award" productions, and is the recipient of the "Applause Applause Award" from the Puppeteers of America.
Favorite performance
projects include Equus with New Edgecliff Theatre, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with the Carnegie Center for
the Arts and La Comedia Theatre, The Lord of the Rings stage trilogy with Ovation and Clear Stage theatre
companies, Caroline, or Change with New Stage Collective and Fiction with The Drama Workshop. Aretta
is a Teaching Artist for Cincinnati's Tony-Award winning Playhouse in the Park, the Cincinnati Arts
Association, the Overture Academy and the School for Creative and Performing Arts. She's also a member
of the Association of Theatre Movement Educators, the Cincinnati Area Puppetry Guild, the Educational
Theatre Association, the Puppeteers of America and the Union Internationale de la Marionette-USA. In July 2011, Aretta will proudly step into the position of
Education Director at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA.
