Professor uses residency to develop novel puppet production

Tom Burch is an associate professor of scenic design who also plays with puppets; he developed his newest creations at Goodyear Arts, a local nonprofit arts space at Camp North End where he was one of three summer 2025 artists-in-residence.

This residency recently ended with a workshop performance of “On a Bench, By the Sea,” Burch’s adaptation of children’s books by Wendy Meddour.

“Basically, I’ve used the residency to adapt the script, research, design, sketch, carve and build the puppets,” said Burch, an award-winning scenic designer with notable credits in Chicago, New York City, Italy and Taiwan. Locally, his work can be seen regularly at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Charlotte Conservatory Theatre and in Robinson Hall.

Burch began with the story “Lubna and Pebble,” which Rebecca Worthington at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte suggested to him after his successful puppet adaptation of Peter Reynolds’s book, “The Dot.” In the story, a little girl in a refugee camp finds comfort in a pebble, which becomes her “friend” that she ultimately gives to another refugee boy.

“It’s a really lovely little story,” Burch said. “It has a lot of comedy to it, but it has a lot of heart.”

Burch received permission from Meddour to adapt “Lubna and Pebble” and two other books, “The Friendship Bench” and “Grandpa’s Top Threes.” All three stories have a bench, and they share a common theme, he said. “They all have this beautiful question of kindness and empathy and helping out someone else.”

Three puppets debuted in the June 27 performance at Goodyear, operated by members of the Goodyear Arts Collective and recent theatre alumna Irene Nash ’24. Visitors to Goodyear Arts can see Burch’s puppets and explore his creative process in sketches, photographs and other documentation through July 18.