The Puppetry Institute

The Puppetry Institute offers shows, classes, beginner classes, individualized all-ages workshops, drop-off classes, an adult class, and online classes via weekly video-call distance learning. Families can tour the MIDDLEOF puppetry arts installation, reserve a tour or adventure, attend Doctor Mercurio's Mythical Marvels shows, and take part in family engagement programs, crafting kits, workshops, demonstrations, and pop-up classes at a location of their choosing. The program also provides school assemblies, parties, and events around California's central coast, including a Traveling Menagerie with life-sized mythical creature puppets such as dragons, yetis, and unicorns, where shows are immersive and interactive and some audience members may feed, pet, and play with select creatures.

• Ages: 6–18 years old
• Schedule: Open Monday–Saturday, with classes typically 30–120 minutes per session

The Puppetry Institute offers individualized all-ages workshops where classes are custom tailored to each student's creative vision, schedule, goals, and skillset, and students keep what they create in the workshop. Classes are typically solo or with just a few students, and many classes can be attended online with a personalized material kit delivered to the student's door. The program offers a wide variety of classes in puppetry, theater, and FX skills that can be counted as art, math, science, and engineering credits, and TPI is an IEMINC vendor offering VAPA and STEAM applicable classes.

The Puppetry Institute operates as a non-profit art center and a 501c3 nonprofit, and class fees support its scholarship program. After 4 years under the nonprofit wing of CAOF, the Institute is now an independent 501c3 nonprofit. The mission of The Puppetry Institute is to promote creativity and make it accessible to all, while teaching valuable skills and providing a safe space for exploration, and it states that it believes in the healing power of creativity.

The Puppetry Institute serves the Central Coast and surrounding areas and is available for school assemblies, parties, and other events around California's central coast. Its scholarship program provides free materials and personalized instruction for children facing financial and other hardships at home, with scholarships available for under-served or economically disadvantaged kids K–12 from throughout the Central Coast region, including kids of essential workers. The scholarship program is open to ages 6–16 from at-risk or low-income situations, and a third of every workshop sale goes into the scholarship fund so that for every three classes sold, one is given away to a kid in need.

The Special Effects Young Interns Scholarship offers free instruction and materials to youth aged 12–14 and is open to two students of any financial situation who have a portfolio, can commit 6 hours a week in the workshop, and have a strong drive to create. The Special Effects Young Interns Scholarship requires that students can commit 6 hours a week in the workshop. Mercurio's Curios sales and puppet shows support the scholarship fund and local artists and performers.

Leadership contact for The Puppetry Institute is listed as Ricki, available by phone or email.

Last updated June 25, 2026.