Puppeteer, puppet builder and arts educator Brad Shur is the founder and lead artist of Paper Heart Puppets. Brad began performing as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. While earning a degree in film, he was a regular performer at late night puppet slams and with Big Nazo Puppets.

From there, Brad went on to tour nationally with Wood and String Puppet Theatre and Vermont Puppetree. As a freelance puppet builder he created puppets for American Idol, Dolly Parton’s Dollywood amusement park and many theaters and other performers. In 2009, he became the Resident Artist at Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts where he served as the lead teaching artist and touring puppeteer for eight years. During that time, Brad developed six original shows and revived several classic shows created by Paul Vincent Davis.

In 2017, Brad moved on to Poughkeepsie, NY and founded Paper Heart Puppets.