From PUBYAC

We bought this puppet stage: http://www.puppetville.com/store-products-5002TPT-Table-Top-Puppet-Theatre-_40626317.html
but it is table top, not full size.  It's affordable, $50, and durable, and portable.

Look at Open doors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Portable Puppet Theatres and Puppets for Sale Doorway puppet theater, portable theaters and puppets for sale and rent from Open Door Designs located in Toronto, Canada. Also, handmade hand puppets, rod and cone puppets ...
www.opendoordesigns.ca  

Folkmanis has a small one that folds flat. (Folkmanis has discontinued, but it appears to be available from other vendors)

I have one of my own that I use when I do outreach.  I bought it from Step 2.  It's very light, one piece, and fits in the back seat of my car.

http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1545


Not sure about the test of time, but IKEA makes a very inexpensive puppet theater of decorated cardboard, and it would be easy to use as a template.

 

I have at least 3 wooden puppet stages, desk top & floor models and when left out for children to play with, they have ALL been broken.  It's worth it for the developmental creative play, but I'm beginning to think that cardboard would be so much easier to replace and have new ones instead of repaired or damaged ones.

Do you have a doorway it can hang in?  The most portable and easily home made puppet stage I've ever seen was a  retractable shower/curtain rod in a doorway. It can be designed with long enough curtains that an adult can sit on a low stool behind it or so a small child can stand behind it, or you can hang two and create a back drop and curtains that open on the top rod.  Lots of examples online by googling:  curtain rod puppet theater. I suppose you could do it without a door if you hang it over two chair backs, book carts, etc.

We don't have the stage on site yet, but the one I've decided to go with can be found through several different vendors (Puppets4u.com, Amazon, and ThePuppetStore.com to name a few) for between $256-$299. It's listed as Portable Puppet Stage, PrestoStage, or Performance Stage depending on who you go through. Try www.amazon.com/PrestoStage-Performance-Stage/dp/B003WSPJ80 for some great views of it. The skeleton structure underneath is supposedly light weight and it can be collapsed really compactly. It comes with black drapery that just velcros over the scaffolding. I was really impressed by it and its portability and had visions of us incorporating it into SRP presentations at schools and other off-site locations down the road along with our usual puppet show presentations on site. Hope this helps!

We don't have the stage on site yet, but the one I've decided to go with can be found through several different vendors (Puppets4u.com, Amazon, and ThePuppetStore.com to name a few) for between $256-$299. It's listed as Portable Puppet Stage, PrestoStage, or Performance Stage depending on who you go through. Try www.amazon.com/PrestoStage-Performance-Stage/dp/B003WSPJ80 for some great views of it. The skeleton structure underneath is supposedly light weight and it can be collapsed really compactly. It comes with black drapery that just velcros over the scaffolding. I was really impressed by it and its portability and had visions of us incorporating it into SRP presentations at schools and other off-site locations down the road along with our usual puppet show presentations on site. Hope this helps!

Besides being a librarian, I also manage Hands 2 Grow Puppet Productions. We've gone through many stages over the last 15 years. In general, the best stages were created from PVC pipes. They are very easy to make and cost is minimal. The biggest "cost" is time when you building it. We've adapted this pattern to suite our needs: http://www.puppets-etc.com/ or http://www.childrensministry.org/howto/howto5.htm. It works very well for quick setup, small storage space and easy transportation.

A great book for puppeteers is How to Do "The Three Bears" with Two Hands: Performing with Puppets by Walter Minkel. The author is a librarian and puppeteer!

How big do you need it to be?  We have 2 different table top portable puppet "stages" that we use ALL the time and they are made out of window screens.  Seriously, it is a genius idea if you don't mind a little DIY.  If you are interested, let me know and I can send you pictures.The frame is window screens and then we attach fabric to the screen.  Also, the middle of the screen can be cut out so your puppets can pop out.  On the smaller one, we just do the puppets over the top of the screens.
Sarah K. McClure
Branch Manager
Dee Brown Library
6325 Baseline Road
Little Rock, AR 72209
(501) 568-7494
mcclure@cals.org

We originally purchased one portable puppet stage from Puppets4u online.  We liked it so much that we bought five more for use throughout our district.   It's simple to set up and take down.  We did a few modifications after using it a few times to customize for some of our production needs.  For example, we made new scrims for about $5 each since the ones that come with were too skimpy in our assessment of them.  For our shows that are fuller productions, we had a local company create some customized lighting and even a new "skin" in theatrical colors/fabric.  So now our stages can be used from the simplest to the more complicated, fuller productions that we do.  Here's the web site: http://www.puppets4u.com/portable_puppet_stage.html


I'm not sure how portable you need your theater to be, but we 'travel' with a theater made out of PVC pipes and fabric curtains.  We have used it for 2½ years and we love it.  We make adjustments to it occasionally and if one piece wears out we just replace it.  We found the information on the internet and made it to fit our needs.  Let me know if you are interested in additional information.