Who is the puppeteer behind the puppets?  Here is some more information about Cincinnati puppeteer Terrence Burke creator of the Wump Mucket Puppets.

Wump Mucket Puppets are the culmination of puppeteer Terrence Burke’s lifelong passion for puppetry.  This interest began as a child when watching the first season of Sesame Street in 1969.

1973 photo of Terrence Burke playing with an elephant puppet Christmas gift. His brother Chris is on the left.

Terrence showed such an interest in puppets, his parents encouraged his creativity and enrolled him in a puppetry class at the  YMCA.  It was in this class that he created his very first puppet show, “Snowy Baby and the Seven Hippies”.  Remember folks this was the early 1970′s.

The puppet characters that perform in the Wump Mucket Puppets show began to take form in 2001 as drawings in a sketchbook and were handmade by Terrence and his wife Lara.

While the full length puppet show was being created, Terrence performed his Cyril the Sea Serpent puppet character at several puppet slams presented by the Cincinnati Area Puppetry Guild.  In fact, Terrence helped launch the very first puppet slam in Cincinnati in April 2003.

Cyril the Sea Serpent, performed by Terrence Burke at Puppet Slam 2006, Cincinnati Art Museum

The puppets are all given a “stage test” in front of their children Eleanor and Tiernan making Wump Mucket Puppets truly a family puppet show.

Cyril and Coleman of Wump Mucket Puppets perform at Winton Montessori School Thursday, March 18, 2010