With over five decades of experience in puppetry, Jennifer Altman is a visionary artist, educator, and performer whose career began in 1979, with her first professional puppet gig at the age of six. Her lifelong dedication to the art form has taken her from back yard birthday parties to the main stages of some of the West Coast’s most celebrated festivals.

In 1998, she founded The Puppet Players, a puppet troupe that brought imaginative storytelling and music-infused puppet theater to communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Over the years, she has established herself not only as a skilled puppeteer but also as a sought-after music and puppetry specialist in schools—leading interactive performances, puppet-making workshops, and creative arts curriculum integration. She has toured as a musician and puppeteer in Kid Kaleidoscope, Hamsa Lila, and The Sippy Cups, appearing at major festivals including the Harmony Festival, Reggae on the River, Power to the Peaceful, The Oregon Country Fair, Hornings Hideout, and Burning Man.
She is a founding member, puppeteer and drummer with the family folk band Octopretzel. For the past 20 years, Octopretzel has played at countless venues in and around the Bay Area such as the historic Freight and Salvage Coffee House, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, The Charles Shultz Museum, The Ashkenaz, The Contemporary Jewish Museum, Fairyland Oakland, Pandora Headquarters, Google Headquarters, Twitter Headquarters, La Pena Cultural Center, and many many more. 

​Jennifer also serves as a puppet instructor at Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp, where she inspires children and families through hands-on puppet making and performance. Her work is distinguished by a deep commitment to community, creativity, and the transformative power of performance. She performs twice a month in her role as East Bay Program Manager for the Jewish Baby Network, creating community building events for young families with music and puppets.

Hire her for one of these shows....

The Holiday Cooking Show! - Great for Hannukah, Shabbat, or Birthday Parties!

Picture
Laugh uproariously as Zaide, Miriam, Moses or Mordechai (or any one of the silly puppet characters) attempts to make latkes, challah, birthday cake or whatever fits the occasion! The only problem is… they do not know how to cook very well! And they can’t read very well either. As you can see from the picture, there is a flower in the pot instead of flour and legs instead of eggs! Ooops! The kids sit in rapt attention during the show because they have the important job of watching the pot each time the puppet leaves. Various creatures try to interfere, including a mischievous and hungry fox. The show ends with a messy and hilarious conclusion! This show rates high on the laugh meter and it’s a perfect transition to cake time, or a banquet dinner! This show can be done as a solo show with Jen Miriam or with members of Octopretzel

​“We absolutely loved having Melita and Jen Miriam perform this year at our Beth El Nursery School’s Chanukah celebration. As an educator, I appreciated the combination of their music, puppetry, and ability to involve the audience in the story. The performers seamlessly weave their magic together to create a fabulous show. The artistry and personalities of the puppets were stellar: combined with the magic of Melita’s music kept the children and their grown-ups involved and dancing throughout the performance.?It was so wonderful to see the children and their families actively participate in the joy of make-believe and storytelling. Our families could not stop raving about the show, and we are hoping to invite them back for another show this spring!” - Jodi Gladstone, Preschool Director at Congregation Beth El, Berkeley, CA


​​

The Passover Story

In this epic show, pre-school passover hits are interspersed with an interactive telling of the Passover story. The kids bang their hammers low and jump like frogs with Pharoh. This interactive Passover adventure is fun for preschool age kids and their families.  The whole family celebrates together as Moses and Miriam lead everyone accross the red sea and into freedom!  Dayenu! Kids dance with scarves and play instruments to our favorite passover hits. This show can be performed by a minimum of two people, or with the entire Octopretzel band.
Picture
 
The Purim Show

This is a pre-school friendly telling of the Purim story! (no mention of killing). Laugh at the silly King who likes to throw parties instead of ruling.  Dance with Vashti who won't come and dance because she is busy having her own dance party.  Cheer for the Brave Ester who risks all to save her people. Clap and dance as Mordechai delivers his popular song..."Mordechai won't bow down".  Boo as Haman rolls the dice to set a day to punish Mordechai and his people. And be prepared for a surprise ending!  This show will have you laughing, crying, praying, and dancing in the aisles. Performed as a 45 minute puppet show by Jen Miriam and Alon Altman featuring the entire Purim story, or  it can also be performed with segments of the puppet show interspersed with songs by the band Octopretzel.  (We are not availlable for gigs on Purim day)




​"We love Jennifer's puppet shows! We've had the pleasure of having Jennifer's Purim Puppet Show and the children just love "Raizel" and the whole show. The shows are thoughtfully done and are a wonderful fit for our preschool. Looking forward to having you at Chai again soon." - Esty Marcus, Director of Chai preschool in Foster City


Picture
The Story of Jonah
In this modern retelling of the story, the reluctant prophet Jonah receives a message from God telling him to go to Nineveh and tell the people to change their ways. In this version, he is called upon to tell the people of Ninevah to stop using so much plastic.  Jonah himself does not even understand the importance of this mission until he falls off a boat and is swallowed by a whale. During this experience, he falls in love with the ocean and its creatures and realizes that the ocean is filled with plastic.  His experience inspires him to change his own ways and help others too.  The show ends with a passionate speech from Jonah, encouraging all of us to take simple steps to help our world. This show is ideal for the High Holiday period and offers concrete steps for Tikkun Olam and T'shuva (repairing our world and changing our ways). This show is performed by Jen Miriam Altman and Alon Altman.  (This show will be availlable in 2020)
"JenMiriam is so very talented!! She has an amazing backround of deep skills in music, supporting families, childbirthing, puppetry and much more!! I am lucky and thrilled to know her and to watch how she delights families in so many ways!!" - Dawn Margolin, Kindergym with Dawn for Under 3s