Iraj Tahmasb: Actor, screenwriter and director of TV series and films

It condenses a lifetime of practice into three or four years of intensive study, it builds a professional puppeteering network, and graduates have a slightly easier time finding work in Hollywood and on Broadway. But the programs are small—the University of Connecticut graduates just five or six puppeteers every year. The vast majority of professional puppeteers are either self-taught or learned the trade through an apprenticeship.