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| "I'm glad to see performers who understand the need for
quality educational entertainment." Roye-Williams Elementary |
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Michael Cotter founded Blue Sky Puppet Theatre in 1974, dedicating every performance to excellence in theatre, art, music, and fun. A graduate of Gonzaga High School and The University of Scranton, he served in the Peace Corps and Caritas poverty programs in the early seventies. He is married to artist/teacher Judith Cayo, and they are the proud parents of three grown children, all gainfully employed! He taught an interrelated arts program in the Montgomery County School system, was a faculty member of the award winning Fillmore Arts Center in the District of Columbia and for 8 years was adjunct professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland. He is on the board of directors of Dance 4 Peace. Michael is currently our artistic director and producer overseeing the company's 1000+ shows a year and an independent visual artist. Click here to view Michael's art! Michael is also a featured area storyteller. Click here to hear a story of Michael's first day of teaching first grade. Click here to hear another story: "The Bishop's Boat". Click here to hear another story: "Pick on Someone Your Own Size". |
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Judith Cayo Cotter is a cofounder of Blue Sky Puppet Theatre. She acts as a producer, adviser, visual artist, performer and musician with the company. She graduated from Buffalo State University with a degree in Art Education, taught at the award winning Fillmore Arts Center in the District where she and Michael met and has been teaching art for 1-3 grades since 1996 at The Beauvoir School at the National Cathedral. She and Michael are the proud parents of three grown children and two dogs. Besides her artistic prowess, she is a talented jazz vocalist, character voice artist and is legendary for her desserts (particularly cheesecakes). |
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Cheri Fulton joined Blue Sky Puppet Theatre as it's Business Manager in 1988 and currently oversees it's 1300 show a year operation booking shows and making sure the right people show up at the right time on the right day with the right show. A graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Art History and Philosophy, she is the proud parent of two grown children and is married to historian/musician Steven Miller. |
| Puppeteers |
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Penny, our Director of Performers, has been with Blue Sky Puppet Theatre since 1994. In addition to being in charge of rehearsing performers (a first year performer will learn 8 shows) she is also our senior performer, script collaborator, sensitivity barometer, and Jill of all trades. Before joining the company she taught nursery school for eight years, attended the University of Maryland, and acted regularly with the Washington DC theatre community. In addition to her Blue Sky roles, she can also be heard in the Washington/Baltimore area as a jazz vocalist with a big band swing orchestra. |
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Steve has been with Blue Sky Puppet Theatre since 1995 and is not only our most experienced full time performer but is also the company's chief puppet builder and shop master. Steve was a studio art major at the University of Maryland before joining the company. He has been a Tai Kwon Do instructor and is a BIG fan of comic books and the Redskins. He and his wife Kayla are the proud parents of Austin. |
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Gina has been with the company since 2004. She is a graduate of the Theatre program at West Virginia University. She is a veteran of the Carnegie Institute Players and the Pittsburgh Pirates where she shot t-shirts into the crowd. She likes country music, short walks on the beach and her cat Cloud who has two different colored eyes. |
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Kate is a graduate of the Theatre program at Middlebury College, toured with the National Players for two years and is a company member of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. She has been the Director of Mail Operations and a part-time puppeteer since 2004. She is married and has two children, Olivia and Henry. She sends a "shout-out" to her precious little Shih Tzu, Monkey, the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox! |
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| Office Staff |
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Erika is a native of the College Park area. When she joined Blue Sky, having just graduated from University of Maryland with a BA in family studies in 1994, she assumed the responsibilities of bookkeeping, general accounting, direct mail, administrative assistance, and she and her husband Ken are the company computer whizzes. They are also the proud parents of two school-aged daughters. Her favorite spot for dining out is Pasta Plus in Laurel. |
| Puppeteers Emeritus |
| Joe Pipik is a native of the Cleveland area (Go you Browns! Rock on Tribe!). Joe joined the company in 1976 and for 15 years he and Michael Cotter were legendary performing partners, logging thousands of shows, hundreds of thousands of miles, and a million happy children. While on sabbatical from Blue Sky Joe has been a featured cast member of the critically acclaimed national touring company of Dinorock Productions and can be seen daily around town with one of his two theatre companies, Joe's Shows and The Good Life Theatre Company. |
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Jessica is a native of Washington, DC. She attended National Presbyterian School in AU Park and St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Bethesda. Jessica traveled to China and South Africa as a singer with the St. Andrew's Jazz Band and she received a B.A. in Media Studies from Mount Holyoke College in 2000. She spent time traveling in Central America before landing back on home turf and joining Blue Sky. |
| Jason: Performer, Website Designer. Jason is "Albanian" (From Albany, NY). He attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, and has a degree in theatre from Schenectady County Community College. Jason was with Blue Sky for two years and he designed the webpage that you're looking at right now, (Thanks Jason!) Likes: Raw Cookie Dough Dislikes: Salmonella poisoning. Favorite Movie: Ferris Bueller's Day Off |
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| Other Famous People |
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Jeremy Young is co-artistic director of Blue Sky Puppet Theatre. Composer/arranger/musician/teacher Jeremy is a Renaissance artist whose art talents and prodigious word play abilities have caused more than one to say.. "it's just not fair". Jeremy has over 200 works of spiritual music published and recorded by GIA and Augsburg Publishing. Previously he was Music Director at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and at Georgetown University. He is currently Director of Choral Music at his alma mater Gonzaga High School, however his greatest claim to fame may ultimately be as the father of folk/rock sensation Gina Young. |
| Jeff Andrews is a sculptor and educator and is responsible for the look of many of our puppets. After a tenure as a Navy submarine navigator, he received a BA in Studio Art from George Washington University and an MFA in Sculpture from Catholic University. Known primarily as a fine art potter and ceramic sculptor he has also shown his paintings and drawings at local galleries. Since l980 he has also been a high school art teacher, first with DeMatha High School and currently at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville. |
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Austin is Steve's son and our youngest puppeteer-in-training
(seen in this photo at 4 years old). Now at age 10, he still seems destined for the greatness that has thus far eluded the rest of us, already having mastered the Three Pigs and Rufus. We're all anxiously waiting for him to get his drivers license hoping that the lure of professional wrestling is not too distracting in his career development.
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Touring Schedule History/Mission Who We Are Reviews Lesson Plans Right Show for you How We Look Workshops Holiday shows Blue Sky Press Employment Links Email us
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