Please help Jennifer & Vincent create quality puppet theater

Hello Friends!

We are Jennifer Walker and Vincent Polowy. Together, we are Great Lakes National Puppet Theater. Founded in 2010 to continue the work of renowned puppet theater Das Puppenspiel Puppet Theater, as well as presenting our own original work, we have worked for the last 14 years to create, educate, preserve and perform quality theater using puppets as the master portrayers of that vision.

We are members of Puppeteers of America, where Vincent serves as Regional Director of the Great Lakes Region, as well as serving as President of the Puppetry Guild of Northeastern Ohio. Jennifer serves as Treasurer of the Puppetry Guild of Northeastern Ohio. Both Vincent and Jennifer have spent the last 11 years running the musical theater program at Mayfield High School, on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio.

The year 2020 was supposed to be our breakout year, with tons of bookings all across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and more. Then...Covid-19 hit. Every single booking was lost, as well as ALL of our theater work. We suffered a huge loss of over $50,000, in that year alone. Four years later and we still have not recovered from the catastrophic loss. Although we have had a summer season of performances, we are nowhere near where we should be after 14 years of work and dedication.

We have been fortunate in some respects, as we were gifted a set of puppets from the Das Puppenspiel production of "Pied Piper of Hamlin", as well as being given the opportunity to purchase the puppets from the Poppinjay Puppets production of "The Frog Prince". Both productions are in the process of being restored. However, with the losses from Covid-19, as well as a recent change of administration in the Mayfield theater department and the new head advisor wanting to "change things around", has cost both of us our positions. This is another huge loss of income for us.

We currently own 4 Das Puppenspiel shows, 1 Poppinjay Puppets show and have 2 of our own shows that we are trying to restore, build and produce, so that future generations of children and family audiences can discover the "magic" and art of puppetry.

Any amount that you can contribute to our vision will be greatly appreciated. We cannot do this without your help.

You have our thanks and respect.

Jenny & Vinny