How long is each show?
Each of our in-theatre performances is approximately 45 minutes long. The lengths of our traveling shows vary. See the Traveling Shows page.
How much are tickets?
General admission tickets are $7 per person. Children under two are free.
Will my preschooler child enjoy this?
We get this question often and our answer is always the same, “It depends on the child.” Though our shows are designed to be fun for all ages, only you know your child well enough to know what they may or may not enjoy. If you’re not sure, try bringing them to a performance. If they don’t like it, try again when they’re a bit older. Being exposed to performing arts is an important step in a child’s cultural and artistic growth. If you’re not sure how to introduce your child to the performing arts, read Katherine Kopp’s Six Steps to Teaching a Child to Appreciate Performing Arts.
What does all ages mean?
All ages means each of our family productions is designed to entertain everyone from the smallest of children to the eldest of adults. We want the grown ups to have just as much fun as the kids!
Do I need advance tickets?
No, we have plenty of seating and tickets are available at the door.
Is your building accessible to people with disabilities?
Yes.
Where do you get the puppets, props, etc. from?
Lyon Forrest Hill, our Artistic Director, constructs nearly all of the puppets you see on the CMT stage. Karri Roper Scollon, one of our board members, sews the costumes and helps construct hand puppets. Other puppets were made by our founder, Allie Scollon. Just about everything you see in one of our productions is made in-house.
How do you make the puppets talk?
If you look closely, you’ll notice that our marionettes’ mouths don’t move! Instead, through body movement and pre-recorded CD, we give the illusion that they are talking. Before each production opens, our staff spends time with John Scollon, our Executive Director, at his home studio recording the voices that bring our puppets to life. Performing to pre-recorded voices allow our puppeteers to fully concentrate on their puppetry.
Why wasn’t Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio? Where’s the singing teapot from Beauty & the Beast? Why didn’t Baloo sing “The Bare Necessities?”
Our company and others like Disney, use what is called artistic license to bring stories to life. Artistic license means that in our retelling, we may change a story a bit — we may add or remove a character, make a character a girl instead of a boy. Characters such as Jiminy Cricket are Disney characters and do not exist in the original stories. For us to use characters created by other companies would be copyright infringement. Instead, we go back to the original stories and find new ways to tell the tale.
Why don’t your puppets look like Muppets?
Muppets are a specific type of puppet developed by Jim Henson. There are many types of puppets around the world. Some things you may not think of as puppetry got their beginning and are based out of the long-standing puppetry tradition. A short list of different types of puppets: animatronics, automata, bunraku, computer animation, object manipulation, marionettes, rod puppets, shadow puppets, stop motion, toy theatre, ventriloquism. Most of our shows are based on the art of marionette puppetry, but every now and then, you may see a hand puppet or a shadow puppet. We try to use the best type of puppet for the job!
Why do you only perform on Saturdays?
Our public performances are each Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and the third Monday of each month at 10:00 a.m. We are a small non-profit organization with only a few full-time staff members. Often, during the week our puppeteers are performing at schools or we may have school groups in the theatre for field trips. Also, we all wear many hats in the theatre. Not only do we perform, but we also make everything you see and maintain the building.
