Bumper Crop by Hand to Mouth Puppet Theater^

Young Wally Wheeler wonders when he swallows a watermelon seed, if vines could grow out of his ears. It’s his wildest dream, but just watch it come true in this visually stunning, outrageously funny show.

Presented by Robbie Lueth and Ellen Turner of Hand to Mouth Puppet Theatre on Saturday, October 3 at 11:15 AM.

Robbie and Ellen began learning the art of puppetry under the guidance of master puppeteer, Grace Schmitt. They refined their skills through hundreds of performances over nine years with Austin Public Library’s Traveling Puppet Theatre. Together they created and performed a new show every month, entertaining yearly audiences of nearly 25,000.

Both Robbie and Ellen retired from the library when they had their kids, but a couple of years later, they were commissioned to create an educational puppet show for the Texas Archaeological Society, and Hand to Mouth Puppet Theatre was born. In the following years, the duo has created 5 original shows performing all over central Texas at festivals, libraries, and private events.

In her spare time, Robbie enjoyed a career teaching English at Austin High School for 26 years.

Ellen later returned to the Austin Public Library and has continued the puppet program, now called Literature Live. Nancy Renfro, an extraordinary artist who wrote 18 books on puppetry and designed over 250 individual puppets, left her company to Ellen when she passed.

Robbie Lueth and Ellen Turner have shared their love of puppetry for decades. Noting that the puppets never asked for paychecks, they envisioned a profession offering wealth, ease, and artistic satisfaction. “This is the life for us!” they said, and they have not been wrong.