In the early 1920's, Sue Hastings was an aspiring playwright in New York City.  Frustrated with the limitations and idiosyncrasies of the actors she encountered in the theater, she decided to approach the art of drama through a different means, one which she believed was more controllable - puppetry.

Sue Hastings helped to perpetuate the ancient art of puppetry and was instrumental in the reestablishment of marionette theatre as a true contributor to the performing arts.  For nearly 30 years, Ms. Hastings was the leading marionette producer in the world and ran the largest and most active marionette organization in the country.

Originally, Sue Hastings’ Marionettes was a collection of 3,000 hand-crafted puppets designed by Ms. Hastings and a crew of 50 artists.  The years prior to Kathy Burks’ acquisition of the puppets took a toll on the collection, as 2,000 of them were lost to fire and termites.

The marionettes were a well-traveled group.  Until the 1950’s, as many as 12 full companies of the puppets were touring the nation simultaneously.  They performed internationally in Canada, the West Indies and the Virgin Islands.  One highlight in their past was a special invitation to perform at the White House.  They appeared at the Texas Centennial and the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago, participated in three Broadway musicals, ran four seasons under the auspices of the New York Theatre Guild, and appeared in numerous commercial advertising programs for both magazines and television.

The collection moved to Dallas from New York in 1952 when the company was sold to Ms. Hastings' long-time associate, puppeteer and troupe manager, Linnea Linsley.  Ms. Linsley brought the marionettes to Dallas for a series of children’s films for Jamieson Film Co., and for eight years performed live on WFAA-TV five mornings a week as Tapper Rabbit and Mr. Frog.  A few years later, while in semi-retirement, Ms. Linsley began to teach the art of puppeteering from her home in Oak Cliff.  Among her students were Kathy Burks (then a professional musician and teacher) and two of her children, Douglass and Becky.

Ms. Burks purchased the entire collection in 1971 after the death of Ms. Linsley's husband and started her new theater company.  The puppets were used exclusively in the early days of Kathy Burks Marionettes.  As the company grew into a viable arts organization with new artists and craftsmen involved in the production company, the ever-aging antique collection has slowly been retired.  Though they do not perform much anymore, they still bring pleasure when displayed as the beautiful and historically significant works of art that they are.