Research on diversity and the art of puppetry - recommendations for further reading?

[daniel...@gmail.com]

Hello,

I am an intercultural communication studies student researching an assignment about diversity in theatre as a cultural institution. I would like to focus my essay mostly on puppetry as that is something that is personally of interest to me. The most interesting question that keeps coming up for me is this seeming contradiction between puppetry being a theatre form that is routed in folk culture (and therefore by extension should be accessible to the public) and how in trying to protect puppetry as an artform it becomes elite and less accessible.

I think this is a super interesting topic but I am not by any means a student of theatre studies (let alone puppetry). I was wondering if anyone on this forum would be able to recommend any further reading for me to examine the topic of diversity, art and accessibility as regards puppetry?

I'd be grateful for any tips at all!

Many thanks,

Daniela