Bruce Cannon Has The World On A String

Bruce Cannon is the master puppeteer and artistic director at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park, which is currently going through a 14-million-dollar renovation in time to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2027.

In 1975, at age 19, a year after graduating from The High School of Music & Art, he began his career at this city landmark via the Comprehensive Education Training Act—a national initiative that was started because of all the economic woes and tensions of that period. “They sent me to the Parks Department. The woman who interviewed me said, ‘We have a puppet theater. You might very well be a nice fit there.’”

Cannon, who was born and raised in Harlem and the Bronx, respectively, developed an interest in the art form when his parents took him to his first puppet show at seven years old—the age of many of the children he’s been entertaining and educating for the past half century..

“I was fascinated by being transported into this whole fantasy land, which I thought was so different, very fanciful, and it definitely stimulated my imagination.”

And it still does.

Cannon’s inventiveness is reflected in the shows he produces for his diverse audiences. “What’s wonderful is that we’re very often children’s first exposure to live theater, particularly kids from underserved communities,” citing how he set Cinderella in Brazil (Cinderella Samba), The Princess and the Pea in Africa, The Emperor’s New Clothes in China, “and we took The Ugly Duckling, and set it in Central Park.”

“I love coming to work here. Every day is different. You’re in Central Park. You don’t know what to expect. Some days, it might be a reaction from the audience or something that the puppeteers did. It’s dynamic in that respect.”

He’s also proud of the company’s Puppet Mobile that literally takes the shows on the road into city parks and playgrounds.

Cannon, who’s on the board of the Jim Henson Foundation, is passionate about what he does. He loves watching the art form evolve, seeing a new generation embrace it and helping the theater grow. He also spoke of how puppetry is evolving and really coming into its own. “I call our new breed of puppeteers ‘the cool kids of puppetry,’ because they’re really doing some interesting things.”

A lot of that is due to their getting the basics from his five-week training course. “I give them what I call a toolbox, starting with walking, then adding focusing, isolated moves, this, that, and the other. I would say that most of our puppeteers learned [the craft] here.”

When not making marionette magic at the theater, Cannon uses puppetry to teach the history of Harlem and is very involved in his church. He loves dancing, music, theater, food, and stimulating conversation. “You know, solving the problems of the universe.”