Apprenticeship

 

The Bread and Puppet Theater offers summer apprentice programs to provide students, truck drivers, housewives, farmers, musicians, activists, anyone, with an opportunity to actively participate in Bread & Puppet style show making. Bread & Puppet Theater, one of the oldest non-commercial, self-supporting theaters in the country, has created politically and socially aware shows with commitment to community participants since 1963. At present, our shows are antiwar, anti-Capitalism, anti-Globalization and pro-Vermont independence. The apprenticeship programs are either an intensive eight-week long or four-week long communal living and working experience with an eclectic group of people on our farm in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

 

Please note that the focus of the apprenticeship program is specific to the shows being made and not a particular syllabus: WE ARE NOT A SCHOOL and WE DO NOT CONDUCT CLASSES in different styles of puppetry and puppet building. Also, we are not a summer camp for adults: apprentices need to be self-motivated. Learning is accomplished by engaging in different aspects of Bread and Puppet show production, which may include movement and dance experimentation, mask and puppet manipulation, vocal and instrumental music or organized noise making, printmaking, singing, papier mache, puppet making and stilt dancing. The materials (newspaper articles, poems, etc.), talents, musical instruments and interests that apprentices bring can be an important part of our show creating process.

 

Apprentices help to create our weekly Sunday program (outdoor circus, pageant and sideshows) and participate in our indoor Friday evening shows. We also perform in many local parades, and some political demonstrations. A part of the apprenticeships is participation in agricultural chores as well as everyday tasks (such as cooking, cleaning, firewood stacking, recycling, trips to the garbage dump, etc). We use outhouses, conserve water, compost leftovers and generally try to be thrifty. Accommodations are very simple, even rugged, and most apprentices live in tents. Apprentices must be 18 or older. Dogs, drugs, and underage drinking are not permitted.

 

SUMMER 2013 DATES AND FEES:

 

We will have two apprenticeships during our summer 2013 program.

 

The first apprenticeship is two months, from July 1^st through August 25^th, with a fee of $1,200.

 

The second apprenticeship is one month, from July 30^th through August 25^th, with a fee of $650.

The fees cover basic summer expenses including organic and garden-grown food, the salaries of our summer staff, and necessary bills like electricity, gas, insurance, etc.

 

(The first apprenticeship will include participation in special Sunday bread events through July–a new experimental addition to the B&P repertoire—in addition to everything described above.)

 

TO APPLY:

Send a letter of interest (please no e-mail ) that includes your background, current phone number, email address, and mailing address. In the first sentence please tell us your age and which session you would like to attend (first or second). Please explain your familiarity with and interest in Bread and Puppet. Theater or Art training is not required. Please let us know if you play an instrument. If you are accepted, a nonrefundable $200 deposit is due May 1st, 2012. The remainder of the fee is payable upon arrival. Acceptance is rolling and limited (20 for the first apprenticeship, and 15 for the second apprenticeship), so write as early as possible to guarantee a spot. Some decisions won’t go out until as late as mid-April, so please be patient.

 

If you have any questions call us at (802) 525-3031
Or e-mail: puppetsecretary@yahoo.com

 

Mail letter to:
Bread and Puppet Theater, Apprenticeship Program,
753 Heights Rd.
Glover, VT
05839