Samuel (Uel) McGinnis

Want a puppet at your event? Let’s make it happen.

I perform across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond! from children’s shows to adult cabaret evenings, community parades to professional video productions. If you have an audience, I have a puppet for them.

What I Offer

🚶 Walk-Around & Street Puppetry

I take puppets into the wild at markets, festivals, street corners, community events and more. I love to let the magic happen organically. Walk-around puppetry is perfect for creating atmosphere, surprising guests, and generating those unforgettable moments that no planned performance can manufacture. I perform solo or collaboratively and can sustain extended walk-around sets. I once performed five continuous hours of walk-around improv at a single event. I also busk and street perform both solo and alongside musicians and other performers.

Best for: Festivals, markets, fairs, community events, brand activations, pop-ups, parades

🎭 Stage Performance

From scripted theatrical productions to live puppet slams, I am comfortable on stage in front of an audience of any size. I have performed in full theatrical runs with rehearsal periods, one-off slam performances, open mic nights, and festival mainstage shows. I perform scripted work from memory and improvise equally well when the moment calls for it.

Best for: Theatrical productions, puppet festivals, slam events, open mic nights, live shows

📺 Monitor & TV Puppetry

I perform monitor puppetry. This is an increasingly in-demand skill for live events, brand activations, educational content, and professional video production. I have recorded promotional content in professional studio settings using monitor setups.

Best for: Corporate events, brand activations, promotional video, TV production, live events with screens

🎪 Giant Parade Puppetry

I have served as the center/weight-bearing performer for large-scale giant puppets in community parades. This is a physically demanding and highly specialised role requiring spatial awareness, crowd reading, and strong physical stamina. Past giant puppet performances include a Giant Wizard at the Mill Valley Parade and a Giant Osprey at the Vallejo 4th of July Parade.

Best for: Community parades, festivals, large-scale outdoor events

🧒 Children’s Events & Family Shows

I have extensive experience performing for young audiences from immersive woodland theatrical experiences to walk-around puppetry at family festivals. I know how to hold a child’s attention, respond to their energy, and create moments of genuine wonder. I perform for all ages and adapt my style and characters to suit the audience in front of me.

Best for: Children’s parties, school events, family festivals, immersive experiences, libraries, community events

🍸 Adult Shows & Cabaret

Puppetry is not just for kids. I perform original work for adult audiences at puppet slams, cabaret evenings, and festival late-night events. My adult performance work tends toward absurdist humour, existential comedy, and sharp improvisational character work. I have performed at events including the Napa Valley Puppet Festival’s Forbidden Cabaret and the Ignite SF Puppet Slam.

Best for: Adult evenings, cabaret nights, puppet slams, late-night festival programming, comedy events

🎬 Film & Video Production

I have experience performing puppets for camera in both professional studio environments and independent film productions. I have worked on a Telly Award-winning production and competed in multiple 48-hour puppet film challenges where I wrote, directed, built, and performed all within the competition window. I can work with your production team or operate independently.

Best for: Promotional videos, music videos, short films, TV production, branded content

Past & Current Performances

Contact me for more Information