Devils Footprint Puppet Show

Make a Puppet. Rewrite the Legend.

Put on the Show.

What happens when a group of kids gets handed the Devils Footprint story, a pile of blank townspeople, and permission to make the legend their own.

During the 2026 Devils Footprint Annual Event, young participants can create their own Ipswich townspeople puppets, join a team, personalize a short script, and perform their version of the Devils Footprint legend on our puppet stage.

No theater experience is needed. No puppet experience is needed. You just need some imagination and a willingness to tell a very old story in a new way.

Build Your Version of the Story

Youth who want to perform can form teams of four.

Every team will begin with the same short Devils Footprint script. The basic events of the legend will stay in place, but parts of the script will include fill in the blank choices that let each team create its own version.

Teams might choose what a townsperson shouts, how someone reacts when the Devil appears, what strange thing happens during the confrontation, or what people say after the Devil disappears.

The result should be the same legend, told four completely different ways.

Because performers will be reading from a script, participation in a performance team is recommended for youth age seven and older who are comfortable reading aloud.

Participation

• Puppet making is open to children of all ages.

• Performance teams will have four youth participants.

• Performers should be comfortable reading a short script aloud.

• Age seven and older is recommended for performance teams.

• Participants do not need to register to make a townsperson puppet.

• Performance opportunities will depend on available time and the number of teams participating.

Create & Interact

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Make Your Own Ipswich Townsperson

Any child can stop by during the activity hour and make a townsperson puppet.

We will provide blank townsperson figures, sticks, art supplies, and glue. Kids provide the faces, clothing, expressions, names, attitudes, and personalities.

Your townsperson can be shocked by the Devil, fascinated by the sermon, completely unimpressed by George Whitefield, or just wondering why everyone on Meeting House Green is yelling.

Kids do not have to participate in the performance to make a puppet.

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Puppet Show Performances

Youth teams will take over the puppet stage and perform their versions of the Devils Footprint story.

The short shows will run one after another throughout the hour. Every team will use the same basic story and the same stage, but nobody knows exactly what version of Ipswich folklore will emerge until the puppets start talking.

Families and visitors are invited to gather around, watch the performances, and discover what happens when a story told for generations gets handed to the next group of storytellers.

Where is the Footprint?

One Meetinghouse Green, Ipswich, MA 01938