Artistic Director / Director / Performer
Jon Ludwig
As the Artistic Director at the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jon Ludwig has overseen the creation of dozens of awe-inspiring puppet shows for all ages. Ludwig’s innovative, immersive, educational, and unique productions have engaged millions of children and adults since he joined the Center’s staff in 1978. He has brought to life beloved characters such as Cinderella, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™, and Pete the Cat in addition to creating original characters and worlds. Nine of Ludwig’s productions have received Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, and he was one of the first individual artists to be honored with the Charles Loridans Foundation’s Arts Medal in 2007. Ludwig was the recipient of the Puppeteers of America President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Puppetry in 2013, and Newsweek Magazine said his adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was one of the highlights of the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival. In addition to his work with the Center for Puppetry Arts, Ludwig wrote, designed, and puppeteered the shadow puppet portions of The Jim Henson Company’s Bear in the Big Blue House. He has also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Children’s Series for his work on Disney Channel’s The Book of Pooh. He has served as a Theatre Artist-in-Residence with Atlanta Public Schools, an Artist-in-Residence at Emory University’s Department of Theatre, and participated in an exhibition of puppets at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Ludwig has co-presented workshops with Georgia State University’s arts and education department to develop concepts, scripts, and designs for mainstage productions by engaging children from pre-school to 3rd grade in the creative process of making a full-length puppet play. Projects have included award-winning books “Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type” and the “Pete the Cat” series.