The National Puppetry Conference

The O'Neill Puppetry Conference was established, by key founding members Jane Henson, George Latshaw, Richard Termine, Bobbie Nidzgorski, Bart P. Roccoberton Jr., and Jim and Margo Rose in 1990. The mission of the conference is to encourage puppet artists to create and communicate through the visual and kinetic form of the puppet, push beyond their personal boundaries and develop new works for puppet theater. The conference lasts eight days.

The O'Neill Puppetry Conference is sponsored by the Rose Endowment for Puppetry established by Jane Henson and dedicated to the legacies of Bil Baird, Jim Henson, Rufus and Margo Rose, Don Sahlin, Martin Stevens, Burr Tillstrom and Brad Williams and to the spirit with which they shared their artistry and themselves.

Pam Arciero serves as the Conference's Artistic Director. Marty Robinson is the Director of Emerging Artists, and Leslie Carrara is in charge of Character Development. The Kevin Clash Scholarship for Puppeteers of Color is awarded at the conference.

Pigeon-Holed, a one act play by Annie Evans, originated at the O'Neill Puppetry Conference, and featured Muppet performers Leslie Carrara, Pam Arciero, Heather Asch and Marty Robinson.

Tim Lagasse, Emily Perl Kingsley, Ryan Dillon, Amanda Maddock and Terry Lee have all been involved with the Eugene O'Neill National Puppetry Conference.