In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre

06/19/2026

Our puppet library is open tomorrow from 10-2! And it’s open the 3rd Saturday of every month. Come on by!

06/18/2026

🍓Some of our lovely puppeteers made a giant spinning interactive strawberry for Springboard’s 15 year anniversary in Fergus Falls. Devised and facilitated by Bethany Lacktorin, built by Steve Ackerman and Chelly Beaver of HOBT. Invitees wrote and sketched on seeds what they would like to continue carrying into their next season of work in the community. Yay public art!🍓

06/16/2026

💕Puppets in Progress is tonight! Tuesday June 16th from 6-9 pm at our space!💕

Bring what you’re working on or just bring yourself! This gathering is free and lightly facilitated by Felicia Cooper and Steve Ackerman; bringing food to share is welcome but optional.

This event is free and open to all experience levels!

06/12/2026

Cool puppet opportunity alert for Indigenous puppeteers through our friends at Z Puppets Rosenschnoz! Z Puppets Rosenschnoz

Z Puppets Rosenschnoz is excited to announce the 2026 Indigenous Puppetry Cohort, facilitated by Z Puppets’ Co-Creative Director Chris Griffith (Cherokee Nation). The cohort is a paid opportunity for Native artists living in the Twin Cities to build skills in puppetry as a way to express their culture and identity. Deadline to apply is June 29th.

You can find more information at the link in our bio (IG) or in the comments (FB).

06/12/2026

🍓Tuesday June 16th from 6-9 pm is our next Puppets in Progress meetup at our space!🫛

Do you have an in-progress puppet show you want to try in front of a group of open-minded puppeteers? Or want to bounce around ideas about puppetry design techniques?! Join us for a casual gathering space for artists and puppet enthusiasts to connect, share work, and build community. PIP Minneapolis is a place to brainstorm, get feedback, share resources, or simply be together around art, ideas, and food. Participation is flexible—come regularly or drop in when you can. This gathering is free and lightly facilitated by Felicia Cooper and Steve Ackerman; bringing food to share is welcome but optional.

We are so excited to by joining sibling PIPs in Chicago through Rough House Puppet Arts and in New York through Green Feather Foundation

This event is free and open to all experience levels!

06/11/2026

🦌Do you love the magic of HOBT?! Become an HOBT sustain-er today!🐦
We as an organization work hard every day to pay puppetry artists a liveable wage, create spaces for the community, and spread puppet joy.
We are in the throws of our capital campaign to raise money for an accessible lift so that our space can be accessible to all people.
Please consider supporting us monthly! You can find the link in our bio (IG) or in the comments (FB).

Videos of Spencer Arevalo and Angel Gagliano from our performance at Orchestra Hall with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus

06/10/2026

🐞Did you know puppetry pageants have been taking place in the Twin Cities for at least a century?! Puppetry history is in the process of being documented by historian Jennings Mergethal and we are proud to help support it. Check out these photos from the Minnesota Digital Library that were a part of Minneapolis Parks Pageants that were produced from 1918-1941, written and produced by Alice Dietz. Jennings Mergenthall is researching the Twin Cities community of puppeteers with support from the Minnesota Historical Society and HOBT.

Jennings previously published a zine entitled “A Field Guide to Puppets of the Twin Cities” which gives an overview of puppetry, puppeteers, and puppet theaters in the Twin Cities.

As a part of Jennings’ research, they were curious about how the Twin Cities puppetry community became so vibrant. Their Oral history project will supplement an archival project to investigate what laid the groundwork for our community. Jennings’ interviewed over 40 puppeteers in the Twin Cities and looks at their qualitative and varied experiences. The jury is still out on just how people in the Twin Cities become interested in puppetry, but there seems to be a puppet bug running around here somewhere.

Stay tuned to learn more about upcoming presentations of this exciting research!

06/09/2026

06/08/2026

☔️We had a busy weekend! On Saturday HOBT puppeteers joined the Prince puppet made by Mary Plaster and Dove puppet by Chris Lutter-gardella for the Prince Block Party at First Avenue. And on Sunday we joined Dreamstate Cafe for Lyndale Open Streets. 🌞

💕Please inquire with us if you’d like to bring wandering puppets, make & take activities, or puppet storytime to your community! Our puppeteers love spreading puppetry to the Twin Cities community and beyond. 💞

Pictured: Slides 1 & 2, photos from the Prince Block Party by Steven Garcia. Photo 3, puppet librarian Chelly Beaver in a unicorn wandering puppet made by Steve Ackerman. Phots 4 & 5, our setup and banner near Dreamstate for Lyndale Open Streets.

06/07/2026

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