Special Event!
TV Monitor Puppetry Workshop with Frankie Cordero
This two-day summer intensive offers a focused introduction to the craft of TV puppetry. It is designed for a range of experience levels, including those with little or no performance background.
Working with hand-and-rod puppets, live-hand puppets, and rod puppets, students will explore the essential elements of TV puppetry, including:
- eye line
- focus
- breath
- posture
- lip sync
- intention
- listening
- stillness
- clear physical choices
Students who are new to puppetry will build a solid foundation in the basics of on-camera performance, while those with prior experience will have opportunities to refine precision, strengthen control, and deepen the clarity of their work. Across both days, the emphasis will be on making puppet performance feel grounded, specific, and fully alive on screen.
Workshop hours (including a half-hour lunch break):
- 9:30 am - 3:30 pm on Saturday, July 25th
- 9:30 am - 1:30 pm on Sunday, July 26th
Workshop fee:
- Ten hours of puppetry instruction, in a small class setting, from a master puppeteer - $300
- Option to buy a beginner puppet made by Frankie for $150
July 25-26, 2026
Theatre Lila Studio
ART House 360
401 W Verona Ave
Verona WI 53593
Instructor bio
Frankie Cordero is a three-time Emmy-nominated puppeteer, puppet builder, director, and designer from Chicago. Inspired early on by his mother and magician-clown father, he grew up loving theater, homemade VHS filmmaking, and the art of bringing characters to life.
He has worked nationally and internationally across television, live performance, commercials, music videos, and short films. His credits include Sesame Street (Rudy, among others), Fraggle Rock: Rock On! (Wembley), Donkey Hodie (Purple Panda, Turtle Lou, Gregory, Penguin Referee), Julie’s Greenroom (Spike), Oobi(Papu), Duolingo ABC (Duo the Owl), Frankie and Frank (Frankie), Jack’s Big Music Show (various), Nature Cat (various), The Tick, CSI: Las Vegas, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. He also directs for Sesame Street and has storyboarded and directed over 30 episodes of Donkey Hodie for PBS Kids through Fred Rogers Productions and Chicago-based Spiffy Pictures. His live performance credits include The WhiteHouse, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, La MaMa ETC, and The Metropolitan Opera. His honors include the Vine Armstrong Award in Comedy, the Kevin Clash Scholarship for Puppeteers of Color, and the Jim Henson Memorial Prize in Puppetry.
Frankie currently lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his wife, two daughters, and two cats, and brings both extensive professional experience and a deep love of the craft to his teaching.
sponsored by Theatre Lila
