MISSION STATEMENT

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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Jacqueline Marks CFO – was first introduced to puppetry when she joined Betsy Brown’s class at Valley College. The class became an ongoing group and its members began to produce puppet show that were booked through the Junior League’s Junior Programs, the Hollywood Bowl family programs and the Los Angeles Symphonies for Youth program. Marks joined the L.A. Guild of Puppetry, Puppeteers of America, where she served as a member of the board for many years, and UNIM-USA. Besides a career in puppetry, Marks is a serious artist in sculpture and print making. She has been in many exhibits. Her interest in art encouraged her to join the Palos Verdes Art Center. She served on their Board of Directors as Exhibitions Liaison, President and Chairman of the Board.

Vicent Beggs - Principal of Development Services

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Vince received his BFA from Art Center College of Design and attended the UCLA School of Architecture. His studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, lead to a Certificate in Museum Management and a long career in the museum profession.
Vince has been involved in the creation, development, fabrication and administration of hundreds of museum exhibits and educational programs both as a full-time staffer and as a consultant. With extensive experience in Latin America the Middle East and the US he has worked with a variety of institutions including: The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, The Illinois Holocaust Museum, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and The United States Marine Corps Museum.

Not limited to traditional museums he worked on the King Abduhlaziz Cultural Center in Saudi Arabia, and visitor centers for the Petra Archeological Site in Jordan the Hanford Reach Nuclear Facility and Preserve and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
His resume includes museums and exhibits for Warner Bros. Studios, Turner Entertainment, Paramount Studios and Sony Pictures.
Vince is an active member of the American Alliance of Museums, The Museum Group and is an award winning documentary filmmaker.

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Charles Wm. Taylor is a Certified Longevity Stick Art Leader and President of the Board Of Directors of Longevity Stick Art Corporation. He served an apprenticeship with Harry Burnett, of the Yale Puppeteers, and was the youngest stage manager in Los Angeles for Turnabout Theater. The Alcohol Beverage Control changed the law so Charles, as a 17-year-old minor, could work backstage at Sunset Cabaret where the stage draperies separated the stage from the room where alcohol was served. He has a Life Time Teaching Credential, an Adult Education Credential, and an M. A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (the first awarded in the United States) with a Specialization in Puppetry. He is a former president of the Los Angeles Guild Of Puppetry, former Vice President of the Orange County Guild of Puppetry, and former Editor of "Puppet Life" and "Strings and Things”. 

Charles taught all elementary grades for forty-five years and puppetry at California State University at Long Beach for twelve years and was consistently the highest rated by students in the Theater Department. He is a life member of the Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi. He was given a Xerox award in 1979 for the best educational film strip of the year titled “Miniatures in Theater”. He was given the Human Rights Award, three Larry Ackerman Awards for his committee work, and a Golden Apple Award by the Long Beach Teachers Association. He was the vice president of Finley Gracer Jewelry Store in Belmont Shore, Long Beach.

 

Alex Evans, Co-Executive Director and Head Puppeteer Bob Baker Marionette Theater: Alex is honored to pull the strings of family fun for the past decade. After discovering Bob Baker through a curious Google search for "Los Angeles Puppetry,” he has been enamored from his first visit. He spends his days at the Theater doing whatever Happy the Birthday Dog tells him to do.

ALAN COOK – 1932-2019
Alan Cook, CEO, Curator is a professional puppeteer and curator of his collection of over 5000 puppets and puppetry related items, including a library of over 1000 volumes. It is the largest private collection in the U.S.A. Co-founder of the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry in 1956. Member of Puppeteers of America and former member of its national Board of Trustees. Has exhibited portions of his collection at numerous venues including the Atlanta Center of Puppetry Arts, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, San Diego's Museum of Man, Cal State Fullerton, Folk Art Museum Los Angeles, Treehouse Museum, Ogden, Utah, Washington D.C., Great Arizona Puppet Theater, Museum of Crafts and Folk Art, San Francisco.
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