BART. P. ROCCOBERTON, JR.
On our @website you will find a sampling, presented via photo and newspaper/magazine documentation, of my career as a Professional Puppeteer. This career has encompassed many different phases from Practicing Artist (which includes conceiving, writing, designing, building, performing and trucking the shows) with The Pandemonium Puppet Company, to Advocate (in the form of the National Puppetry Institute [NPI] which has now become the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry [BIMP]), to Educator (Workshops, Lecture/Demonstrations, Master Classes, Symposia, Academies and Programs), to Organizer (of Training Programs, Productions, Performance Series, Workshops, Master Classes, Academies, Festivals and Events), to Diplomat (representing the U.S. at UNIMA-International and serving as a bridge to China, as it became a national member of UNIMA-International, and Taiwan, as it develops definition and seeks recognition).
My initial cognitive thrust was to be a Theatre Practitioner, training first in performance and later in the technical aspects of Theatre. By fluke (honestly) I was led to the Puppet Arts where I found total satisfaction for my myriad interests, skills and needs of expression. Within this form I found a sincere need to advocate the possibilities of the various voices of the Puppet Arts. I am constantly overwhelmed by the potentials of this field. There is always something new to learn. There is always something new to study.
It is an ancient expression, yet it is as new as today!