Meet your instructor, Mary!

With over 10 years of experience in the Theme Park Entertainment Industry, Mary Boatman brings a diverse and unique set of skills to training puppeteers. She has professional experience with hand and rod, full body, mechanical, animatronic, and large-scale style puppets.

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Mary earned her BFA in Theatre/Performance from Niagara University. Her favorite course was Physical Theater, and she quickly grew a passion for non-verbal theater, animation, puppetry, and circus arts. Currently she is working towards earning her MS in Themed Experience through the University of Central Florida, where she conducted extensive research to create the Puppet L.I.F.E. program.

In 2012, she relocated down south to begin working as a Youth Entertainment Hostess for Disney Cruise Line. After sailing on the Disney Dream for a year, she moved shore side and began her career in Entertainment for both Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. Her puppetry credits include The Muppets Present: Great Moments in American History (Miss Piggy 1 & 2), The Festival of the Lion King (Simba, Pumbaa, Giraffe, Elephant), Tales of Beedle the Bard (Beckett), Isle of Berk (Stormfly), Merry Menagerie (excluding Mama Polar Bear), Dreamworks Imagination Celebration (Donkey), Disney Junior Live on Stage (Minnie & Goofy tracks), and Voyage of the Little Mermaid (Ursula/school of fish).

Mary is a part of the Character Training team and is a Puppet Specialist for Walt Disney World Resort. She is also a trainer and puppet captain for the roles of Beckett and Donkey at Universal Orlando, which includes teaching new performers about the art of puppetry and keeping performers up to date with routine brush up rehearsals. Mary’s favorite project with Universal Orlando was workshopping and opening the role of Stormfly for Epic Universe’s Isle of Berk. She traveled to Hollywood, California where she worked with the creature company Spectral Motion to help develop this full body, walk around puppet.

Mary is the owner and founder of DramaJock Productions, LLC. Her production of Becoming Santa was met with critical acclaim at the 2024 Orlando Fringe Festival, where her play was named among the top 20 “Best in Fest”. She took on the tasks of producing, directing, and writing this new show, which was remounted December 2024 at Fringe ArtSpace. DramaJock Production’s next play will be A Horror Filming Goes Wrong which Mary hopes to debut in 2026.

What people are saying

  • "Mary is a master puppeteer. Her choices are dynamic and always heighten the story."

    John Connon, Show Director - Universal Orlando

  • "Mary has such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to manipulating puppets and she is truly invested in all areas of this wonderful show. Mary has been a huge source of support and information from the workshop to daily operations. She is a wonderful link between performers, stage management and show direction. Mary is a true professional and takes ownership and pride in delivering excellence.”

    Colleen Defeo, Show Director - Universal Orlando

  • "Mary showed great accuracy and detail when teaching the puppetry blocking and choreography."

    Jeff Conover, Creative Director - Walt Disney World