Becky Becker

INDIVIDUAL - SCAD ID - #126



Contact

becky@beckysboxofpuppets.com
843.209.6467
www.beckysboxofpuppets.com
Charleston County, SC


Discipline

  • Theatre


Geographical Availability

  • Upstate
  • Midlands
  • PeeDee/ Grand Strand
  • Low Country
  • Western Piedmont
  • Olde English

About

Artist Bio

Becky Becker is a self-taught puppeteer. Her career began at the Charleston Museum in 1980. She had offered to teach a class on how to make puppets but was invited to perform instead. For 2 years, she created shows loosely based on the museum’s displays. Soon after, she auditioned at the Dock Street Theater for the South Carolina Arts Commission. Becker passed her audition and was placed on the SCAC artist roster. This began her career as a teaching artist.

She joined Puppeteers of America in 1982 and is still currently a member. She has attended and participated in numerous national and regional puppet festivals. In her quest to learn her craft, Becker participated in a puppet course held at Washington State University to study with Joseph Krofta, director of the internationally known puppet company Drak located in Czechoslovakia. She furthered her studies with award winning puppeteer, Luman Coad. She received a scholarship to attend Puppet Fest Midwest in Trenton, Missouri.

She began a friendship with the Colla Family Marionettes in 1989 when this 3rd generation Italian puppet company came to perform for the Spoleto Festival. She hosted the fifteen-member company in her home for dinner and has continued to host the company on their many subsequent return visits.

During one Spoleto, they performed Cinderella that inspired Becker to approach the then posh shoe store, Bob Ellis, asking to design a window display. Her puppets and the tag line, “Cinderella Knew, It’s All About the Shoe!” won 1st place in the Spoleto Festival USA window display contest.

Becker has enjoyed collaborating with others. She worked with musician and sound engineer, Bert Elliott of Bert Elliott Sound in Atlanta to record the soundtrack to her Nutcracker puppet show. Working with Blue Ocean Books, she created original puppets and then performed on the video, Magical Journey Through the Library. She worked behind the scenes, sewing and assisting Basil Twist’s production of La Bella Dormente Nel Bosco (Sleeping Beauty in the Woods.)

For Spoleto Festival USA, Becker’s work has been seen on TV, video, live performances at schools and festivals, libraries, and special events. Her shows are family friendly. She is a teaching artist and specializes in working with elementary students.

In 1994, Becker formed the Creativity Consortium to explore a wide variety of topics. Art and creativity are at the cornerstones of the group.

In 2018, she traveled to Prague to meet doll artist, Eva Hodinkova.

She has a love for art dolls and designs. She makes one-of-kind dolls. In July 2023, she attended the National Institute of American Doll Artists.

Becker’s devotion to the art of puppetry continues with lively performances that will excite and delight future generations.

Artist Statement

I am a puppeteer.

This medium combines my interest in nature, textiles, the performing and visual arts, fairy tales, dreams, and the imaginal world of Carl Jung’s archetypes. The archetype I identify with is the Jester.

Making a puppet takes deliberate and thoughtful planning. While aesthetics matter, along with scale, dimension, texture, color, and materials—my goal is to make a puppet that moves with ease. I make simple drawings deciding on what materials to use. Clay sculpture heads or soft sculptured? Realistic or Fantasy? Paper Mache or Needle felting? Stage performance or classroom use? My puppets range in size from 4 inches to 8 feet.

I sew my puppets’ costumes often repurposing vintage finds. While not duplicating a style of dress from another culture, I strive to portray the essence of that time and place. I make hand, rod, and shadow puppets.

I am a puppeteer because I want to connect with others. I want to keep learning about myself so that I can understand the world. Why do people feel as they do? Why do they act and react as they do? Can I offer a moment of lightness to shift the sadness they might be feeling? I trust puppets implicitly. During personal trauma, puppets have been a refuge. These little shamans have the power to pull back a veil, so the world of the subconscious is made visible. Nothing is black and white. The wolf in the forest can become my ally. As I learn more about me, I learn more about you.

I’m a puppeteer so I can feel and ultimately be healed.

My small-town school in Michigan did not have an art program. My working parents were busy raising 6 kids. Artistic endeavors and experiences were rare. But I have 3 memories that still sparkle and speak to a future of arts. The first was a visit to the Ford Rotunda. It was Christmastime and the Ford Motor Company sponsored a massive indoor holiday display—much like Disneyland, but without the rides. Winter scenes were enacted with doll-like characters that moved. I was enchanted.
In 1965 Cinderella aired on television with Lesley Ann Warren playing the lead. I was drawn into the story and the beautiful music. Another enchanting moment!

Around the same time, I was invited by a neighbor to see The Nutcracker ballet. I’d never been before. Being in the audience was transformative. The music, the colors, the movement, the story—it found a place in me and quietly waited. Little did I know that one day, I would be on stage performing The Nutcracker with my puppets. My hope is that I can instill a sense of wonder and joy whether I’m performing or working as a teaching artist. My shows and residencies are tailored for young children. Early Elementary is where my talents shine.