Upcoming Events
“Marvelous Metamorphoses!” Earth Day performance
Sunday, April 21, 2024 @ 10:30am & 2pm
Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses!” performance
Sunday, May 5, 2024 @ 10:30am & 12:30pm
Battery Park Playscape, NYC
“Marvelous Metamorphoses!” performance
Saturday, May 18, 2024 @ 11am
Milford Arts Council, Milford, CT
ASAP! Summer Arts Camp
August 5-9 & 12-16, 2024 [daytime]
Rumsey Hall School, Washington, CT
Past Events:
ARTalk: “Puppetry - Sharing Art to Make Lasting Connections”
March 10, 2024 @ 2pm
Ridgefield Library, Ridgefield, CT
Dragon Puppet Making to Celebrate the Lunar New Year!
Feb. 10, 2024 @ 3pm
Play Pop, Hudson, NY
“Marvelous Metamorphoses!” performance
Sunday, January 14, 2024 @ 2pm
East Lyme Community Center, 41 Society Rd, Niantic CT
Storytelling & Puppet-Making time together!
December 27, 2023 @ 2pm
Troutbeck, Amenia, NY : Event & Ticket info
Storytelling & Puppet-Making time together!
December 3 @ 11am & 2pm
Troutbeck, Amenia, NY : Event & Ticket info
Cow Chip Raffle, cow puppet making workshop
November 18 @ 10am
The Barns at Bellamy Preserve, Bethlehem Land Trust
Enchanted Woodland Hike
November 11 @ 1:30pm
Franc’s Preserve, Bethel, CT
Greenwoods Puppet Festival “Puppet Parade”
October 14 @ 3pm
meet Titania and Oberon as they stroll the green of Norfolk, CT
“Fantastical Footpaths” @ the Arts Festival in the Park
Oct. 1
Waveny Park Conservancy & Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
“Butterfly Wishes” puppet-making station & Parade Puppet Walkabouts
Sept. 30
Great Mountain Forest Association, Norfolk, CT
Newtown Arts Festival “Puppet Station” cancelled due to weather*
Saturday, Sept. 23 from 10am-4pm
make, take & perform the art of puppetry with us in Newtown, CT
“Monarchs, Meadows & More!”*
Sunday, Sept. 24 from 12:00-2:30pm
Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, Newtown, CT
“Puppets in Paradise” short form performances, including “Bee Resilient”
Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 9 & 10, 2023, 10am-4pm
Sandglass Theater’s fundraiser performances @ Brattleboro Retreat Farm
“Let It Grow” Performance & Pop Up Puppet Workshop
Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023
Battery Park Conservancy, “at the Playscape,” NYC
“Marvelous Metamorphoses”
Saturday, Aug. 5 & 12
Puppet Showplace, Brookline, MA
ASAP! Summer Camp 2023
July 31- Aug. 11, 2023
Rumsey Hall, Washington, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses”
Saturday, July 8 @ 11am
Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry, Storrs, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses”
Friday, June 30 & Saturday, July 1 at 10:30am
Wolf Trap Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, Vienna, VA
“Marvelous Metamorphoses”
Sunday, June 25 @ 10:30am & 1:30pm
Battery Park Conservancy Playscape, NYC
“Woodland Puppetry Workshop: Toddlers, Autism & Adapting Nature Games”
Saturday, June 3 @ 10am-12pm
The Cattail Gathering @ White Memorial Conservation Center, Litchfield, CT
Past Events 2022:
Newtown Arts Festival “Puppetry Walkabouts”
Saturday, Sept. 17 from 11am-Noon
meet Titania and Oberon as they stroll the festival welcoming guests & attending artists!
“Monarchs, Meadows & More!”*
Sunday, Sept. 25 from 12:00-2:30pm
Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, Newtown, CT
Puppeteers of America Regional Festival Northeast
Oct. 7-9 (Adelka parades with friends Ibex Puppetry’s animal puppets)
Coney Island, NYC
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” LIVE performance
Saturday, Nov. 5 @ 2pm & Sunday, Nov. 6 @ Noon
LaMama Kids! NYC
“Fantastical Footpaths”a fairy walk
Sunday, Nov. 13 from 1-3pm
Franc Preserve, Bethel, CT (entrance about 1 block east of Blue Jay Orchards & hosted by Find Us Outside Nature Immersion with the Bethel Land Trust)
“Fantastical Footpaths” an enchanted hike!
Saturday, Nov. 19 from 1-3pm
Great Mountain Forest, 201 Windrow Rd., Norfolk, CT (hosted by the Norfolk Library & please dress warm)
* “Fantastical Footpaths” a 2022 environmental project includes programming created by Adelka Polak, Artistic Director of Sova Theater, through an “Artists Responds Grant round 2” with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the federal ARPA.
Funny Fairy Tales - Early Learning puppet-making summer camp!
July 5-8, 2022 from 1-4pm daily
Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Strawberry Festival 2022
Sunday, July 10 from 1-4pm (Storytelling @ 1:30 & 3pm with puppet-making in between)
North Salem Historical Society, North Salem, NY
Art in the Park: Monster Puppet-making
Monday, July 11 from 1-4:30pm
Real Art Ways (public park outside), Hartford, CT
JumpStart! (only for CSDNB students entering Grade K)
Monday-Friday running July 18 - Aug. 5, 2022
Butterfly & Pollinator Puppet Summer Camp (Ages 3-6)
Aug. 1-5, 2022 from 9am-12pm daily
Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” LIVE performance outdoors with workshop in between
Saturday & Sunday, August 6 & 7 at 10:30am & 12:30pm
Battery Park Conservancy, NYC
ASAP! Summer Camp
Aug. 1-5 daily
Warren, CT
Animal Tales! Summer Camp (Ages 3-6)
Saturday, Aug. 22-26 from 1-4pm daily
Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Pollinator Puppets: Busy Bees!
Saturday, Aug. 27 from 11:30am-12:30pm
Darien Library, Darien, CT
Pollinator Puppets: Butterflies!
Saturday, Aug. 27 from 1-2pm
Darien Library, Darien, CT
Ocean Shadow Puppet Workshop
Monday, June 27 from 5:30-6:30pm
Norfolk Library, Norfolk, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” LIVE performance outdoors
Saturday, June 25 at 10am
Mill River Park, Stamford, CT
Met Museum Mile puppetry walkabouts with Ibex Puppetry!
Tuesday, June 14 from 6-8pm
Metropolitan Museum of Art outdoors, NYC
“The Rabbit and the Moon”storytelling & puppet-making*
Sunday, June 5 @ 11am
Cattail Gathering, White Memorial Conservation Center, Litchfield, CT
LaMama Coffeehouse Chronicles honoring Vit Horejs & CAMT
Saturday, May 28 from 2-4pm
La Mama, E.T.C., NYC
“Spring into Storytelling” Greek Myth of Melampus
Saturday, May 7 from 2-4pm
Wilton Historical Society, Wilton, CT
“Feathered Friends” paper masking-making
Saturday, April 30 @ 1pm
Darien Library, Darien, CT
“Enchanted Forest” hike*
Sunday, April 24, 2022 @ 2pm
Franc’s Preserve, Bethel, CT
* “Fantastical Footpaths” has been created by Adelka Polak, Artistic Director of Sova Theater, with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the federal ARPA.
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” outdoor Earth Day event performances
Saturday, April 23, 2022 @ 11am & 2pm
Darien Nature Center, Darien, CT
Past Events 2021:
Professional Development for Teachers
Oct. 20 & Dec. 8, afternoons available
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Curious Critters - Early Learning puppet-making!
Tuesdays from 2-3:15pm (Oct. 26 - Nov. 23, 2021)
Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
“Family Fun Day” LIVE in-person fairy walkabout with Kendra!
Postponed to Sunday, Oct. 31 from 1-3pm (due to weather)
Westport Playhouse, Westport, CT
“Halloween” puppet-making and costume parade!
Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021 from 12:30-2:30pm
Aquila’s Nest Vineyards, Newtown, CT
Autumn Stories - Early Learning!
Tuesdays from 11-11:45am (Nov. 2 - Dec. 14, 2021)
Newtown Community Center, Newtown, CT
“Fairy Fall Walk” make fairy houses and walk with “Firefly” fairy
Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021 from 2-4pm
Franc Preserve, 160 Plumtrees Rd., Bethel, CT
Past Events:
“Puppets in Paradise” LIVE in-person performances outdoors
Saturday, Sept. 4 & 5, 2021 daily (Raindate: Sept. 6)
Sandglass Theater fundraiser, Brattleboro, VT
“Animal Ensemble” LIVE Masque Family Theatre show
Saturday, Sept. 11 at Noon, 12pm (ET)
Bethlehem Fair in Bethlehem, CT
Newtown Arts Festival LIVE in person performance outdoors
Saturday, Sept. 18 & 19, 2021
Newtown, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” LIVE in person performance outdoors
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 starting at 11am (EST)
Greenwich Audubon Center, CT
“Paper Bird Masks” drop in workshop (rescheduled from last week due to weather)
Monday, July 12, 2021 ongoing from 1-4pm (ET)
Outdoor Park Art with Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” LIVE in person performance outdoors
Saturday, July 17, 2021 starting at 10am (ET)
Mill River Park, Stamford, CT
“The Rabbit and the Moon” storytelling and puppet-making
Saturday, July 24, 2021 starting at 10am (ET)
Greenwich Audubon Center, CT
Two Coyotes Pups Mini-Camp for Caregivers & Ages 0-5
August 9-13 from 12:30-3pm (M-F)
New Canaan, CT
CT Guild of Puppetry social event: www.ctpuppetry.org
Friday, August 10 from 7-9pm
Aquila’s Nest Winery, Newtown, CT
Silvermine Arts Center Summer Camp (Funny Fairy Tales Ages 4-7)
August 23-27 from 1:30-4:30pm (M-F)
New Canaan, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” LIVE in person performance & online streaming
Saturday, June 26 starting at 3pm (EDT) with workshop at 2:30pm
The Choose Love Foundation, Newtown Community Center
Silvermine Arts Center Summer Camps (puppetry & drama!)
Week 1: June 21-25 & Week 2: June 28-July 2, 2021
New Canaan, CT
“The Rabbit and the Moon” storytelling and puppet-making
Monday, July 5, 2021 starting at 5pm (ET)
Norfolk Library, CT
“Frogs Make Me Hoppy” in person outdoor workshop
Saturday, June 5 @ 3pm
Greenwich Audubon Center, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” VIRTUAL performance & more
Saturday, June 12 starting at 9:45am (EDT)
Mark Twain House & Museum FACEBOOK LIVE
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” outdoor live in-person performance
Saturday, April 24 at 11am & 1:15pm
Darien Nature Center, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” outdoor live in-person performance
Saturday, May 22 at 11am
Fairfield Audubon, CT
Make a Paper Bird Mask workshop
Friday, Feb. 19 @ 7pm
Hosted by CT Guild of Puppetry. Go to https://ctpuppetry.org to prep and sign up.
Make a Paper Bird Mask workshop & mini-performance
Thursday, March 11 @ 4pm
Hosted by LaMama Kids. Go to http://lamama.org/paper-bird-mask/ to prep and sign up.
The Art of the Mask Workshop Series (ONLINE via Zoom - Adults/Teens 90 minutes)
Tuesdays 4:30-6pm (EST) January 12 - March 16 for 10 sessions total. This class will focuses on mask history throughout many cultures around the world while also learning about contemporary applications and how to make your very own mask. Movement techniques to bring the mask to life will be shared.
Email adelkapolak@me.com for more information. You can sign up here. $225 full series.
Professional Development Puppetry Workshops for Teachers, Educators, Parents, Counselors, Literacy Coaches, Librarians and those interested in gaining puppetry skills to better utilize this effective tool in the classroom and at home. Available one Friday from 1-3:00pm (EST) available upon request. Email adelkapolak@me.com for more information & sign up here.
Puppet Playtime (ONLINE) for Preschool-Elementary aged children who like to move, dance & sing. Available Mondays in 2021 at 9am weekly. $14 per 45 minute session or $50 for 4 sessions. Just trying it out for one session: Pay any amount you can via Venmo @AdelkaPolak. Please add your email address, “Puppetry Playtime,” with dates that you are registering for and we will email you the link.
The Moving Body (ONLINE via Zoom - Adults organic fitness class)
Mondays & Fridays @ 10am (EST) ongoing through mid-June 2021
8 class package @ $108; Drop In Rate @ $18 per class
“The Rabbit & the Moon” (virtual storytime or in-person outdoors with your group!)
Email adelkapolak@me.com to schedule a date for this nature puppetry program. Ages 0-12
We can do this program safely following public safety guidelines with your family or group. Fee: $250
Nature Puppetry for Children via Zoom meeting (password-protected)
Mondays 4-5pm (elementary/middle program Ages 6-12)
Sign up via the adelkapolak@me.com Sova Online Learning.
LaMama Puppet Slam! (ONLINE Livestream)
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020 @ 7pm
World Premiere of “Beneath the Surface” work-in-progress; more info at: LaMama, E.T.C.
Raptor Mask-Making workshop & short bird dance performance (ONLINE)
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 @ 1pm
Greenwich Audubon livestream event on Facebook Live.
“Butterfly Puppet Making”workshop via password-protected Zoom meeting
Saturday, July 18, 2020 @ 1pm
Program funded by the CT Office of the Arts.
Contact us to sign up. Click here for materials list we suggest.
“Paper Bird Mask”workshop via password-protected Zoom meeting
Saturday, July 25, 2020 @ 1pm
Program funded by the CT Office of the Arts.
Contact us to sign up your family from anywhere in the world. Free
“Frog Puppet” workshop via password-protected Zoom meeting
Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020 @ 1pm
Program funded by the CT Office of the Arts.
Contact us to sign up your family from anywhere in the world. Free
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” Livestream Performance via Zoom meeting (password)
Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020 @ 1pm
Program funded by the CT Office of the Arts.
Contact us to sign up your family from anywhere in the world. Free
“The Rabbit & the Moon” puppetry family program
Available for booking at your home or organization following current CT state CoVid-19 guidelines.
“Curious Creatures Puppetry”
In person summer camp for Ages 4-7 to learn about butterflies, frogs & more and the way they move!
July 6-10, 2020 from 9:30am-12pm daily
Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
“Puppet Home Visits” (inspired by Arts on Call by the International Arts & Ideas Festival)
We are available for hire to visit your lawn or your friend’s lawn for a short performance!
Sundays in July & occasional evenings throughout the week/August TBD
Your lawn near Bethel, CT (we will travel within 52 miles)
LaMama Kids! (All Ages) Free Livestream, Donations appreciated, for Adelka Polak’s frog puppet-making workshop on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 2pm. Visit LaMama Theater’s website for more info.
Facebook free livestream puppet workshops available: Adelka Polak @sovatheater
Past Virtual Performance, Events & Workshops:
Nature’s Classroom: Methods for Movement in Art (Ages 6-10) on Mondays in June from 4-5pm weekly: through the Silvermine Arts Center Online Learning.
Ibex Puppetry & “Make a Crane” Puppet (All Ages) a Free Livestream workshop that I am teaching Friday, May 29 at 2pm on Ibex Puppetry’s Facebook page. (Note: The video for “Make a Rabbit” puppet is still posted from May 15, so you can see Part I of the “Rabbit and the Moon” story.)
“Arts On Call” in New Haven, CT is offering a 15 minute version of our performance on your lawn on Saturday, June 6 anytime between 11-8pm through the International Arts & Ideas Festival. Book us now for your New Haven lawn. We did one on May 20 with great success and joy brought to a little street in Hamden. Performer Adelka Polak transforms through the art of the mask & puppetry, so you meet many animals in this performance! Book “Marvelous Metamorphoses” on your lawn now.
Fairy Dance Party & Wand Making workshop at 4pm on May 1, 2020! Dress up and join the fun this week from your home! Put on your wings or turtle shells, so we can welcome spring together on the first day of May. Link here to see event details run via the Silvermine Arts Center Online Learning.
Creative Creatures workshop at 4pm on Mondays, May 4-18, 2020! We will utilize some basic household supplies to create puppets. See full description to view supply suggestions for online class.
“Frogs Make Me Hoppy” puppetry workshops at 4pm on Wednesdays, May 13-27, 2020. Materials needed will be discussed during our first meeting, which is an introduction to puppetry & frog songs around the world. Class is offered online via Zoom through the Silvermine Arts Center.
Upcoming Performances below are cancelled, and some alternatives are springing up, so stay tuned for date changes or links to find the performances online…
“Giant Butterfly Puppets”on the New Haven Green
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Puppet-Making @ 5:45-6:15pm & Wonderful Walkabouts @ 6:15-7:15pm
International Festival of Art & Ideas, New Haven, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses”
Saturday, June 14, 2020
Performance at 4:30pm (pollinator puppet workshop precedes show)
Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” & “Frogs Make Me Hoppy”
Saturday, June 13, 2020 event 10am-3pm (time TBD)
Performance & Frog Puppet-Making workshop
RoboFrog Race, Mark Twain House, Hartford, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses”
Saturday, April 25, 2020 11am show & 11:30am workshop
Site-specific version of our show with butterfly puppet making workshop to follow
NYU, Washington Square Village, Sasaki Garden, NYC
“Halloween Party”
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019 from 2-4pm
Shadow Puppet workshop & more with Costume Parade led by Oberon at the end
Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” Sept. 28, 2019 at 12:30pm performance
Butterfly & Bee puppet workshops also at Monarch/Pollinator Festival (10am-3pm) by NYC Audubon
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (visitor center), NYC
“Marvelous Metamorphoses”
Sept. 14, 2019
Performance with changes and life cycles of butterflies, frogs and more!
Kids Fest 2019, Madison Square Park, NYC
Making Connections through Puppetry
August 15, 16, & 17, 2019 daily from 9:00am-3:00pm
Artistic Director Adelka Polak assists Z. Briggs in teaching 3-day PD intensive
Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, NYC
Ibex Puppetry’s “Harmonious Migrations”
July 25, 2019
Artistic Director Adelka Polak performs in Ibex Puppetry’s “Harmonious Migrations”
Chief Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota
National Puppetry Festival
July 16-21, 2019
Artistic Director Adelka Polak performs in Ibex Puppetry’s “Harmonious Migrations”
Minneapolis, Minnesota
NYC Audubon & Ibex Puppetry collaboration
June 9 & 23; July 6 & 13*; August 3, 18 & 31
Adelka Polak teaches nature crafting workshops; “Harmonious Migrations” performance July 13*
Nolan Park #17, Governor’s Island, NYC
“Heart on Fire” benefit concert
Sunday, June 30, 2019, 3-10pm
duck puppets for the Choose Love Foundation event
Ives Concert Park, Danbury, CT
Masque Family Theater opening reception
Friday, June 28, 2019, 6:30-9:30pm
Studio 550
Bethlehem, CT - read more at the www.countytimes.com
“Wonderful Walkabouts”
Saturday, June 22, 2019, 5:30-6:30pm
Oberon & Titania walkabout on the New Haven Green before the evening concert
Arts & Ideas Festival, New Haven, CT
*We serve over 1,500 in Hartford public schools alone. If you would like to donate to our materials budget for puppet-making, please contact us! You can help us in the business of joy-making with your generous donation, making art accessible and affordable for our newest generation in the schools.
2018/2019 Past PERFORMANCES, RESIDENCIES and WORKSHOPS
“Frogs Make Me Hoppy”
ongoing in Hartford Public Schools now through June 2019
Frog Puppet-Making workshop includes a story book reading and final movement workshop
*Hartford Performs, Hartford, CT
“While You Are Out”
Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 2pm
This fairy-filled happening includes Act II of Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”
La Mama Kids, NYC
“Ajijaak on Turtle Island”
March 1-10, 2019
Adelka Polak performs in Ibex Puppetry’s performance
New Victory Theater, New 42nd Street, NYC
“Making Connections Through Puppetry”
May/June 2019 - two part workshop
Adelka Polak assists Z. Briggs of the Henson Foundation in Professional Development Training
Museum of the Moving Image, NYC
“Marvelous Transformations: Monarch Migrations”
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 @ 2pm
Butterfly Puppet-Making Workshop
Darien Branch Library, Darien, CT
”Mask & Movement” workshops
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019
Mask & Movement Workshop for high school theater students
West Hartford, CT
“Gifts for the River”
Oct. 31-Nov. 9, 2018
Artist Residency led by Ty Defoe with Kate Freer & Denise Fanning
Central Michigan University
“West African Puppet-making for learning language”
September-October 2018
Artist Residency in French classes at Cutler Middle School
Mystic, CT
Film Release Date "The Seagull" directed by Michael Mayar
Friday, May 11
- Sova Theater featured Puppetry Movement Consultant for the "play within the play" scene.
Please contact Adelka Polak to book national/international residencies, workshops & performances.
View Hartford Performs website for program sheets for selected workshops & performances.