Watching Markie Scholz and her madcap cast of puppet characters is nothing less than awe-inspiring. She is a one person troupe with a cast of thousands, a globetrotting troubadour and an electrifying entertainer.

As the founder of Dragons Are Too Seldom Puppet Company in 1971, Scholz and her puppets have performed their matchless form of family entertainment in thirty-nine states and six countries. She travels 30,000 to 70,000 miles a year in her life-long pursuit to bring puppets to the masses.

Markie is an educator as well as an entertainer. Packed in with her years of front-line puppeteering experience, she also has a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. This unparalleled combination allows Scholz to deliver unforgettable insight and enjoyment to children of all ages.

All of Scholz’s scripts are interactive. Through humor and action she leads her audiences down playful, captivating pathways; all the while teaching the all-important skills of decision making and cause and effect. "Puppets can convey a message better than any preaching adult ever dreamed of", says Scholz.

She has performed at art festivals, auditoriums, concert halls, opera houses, senior citizen centers, schools, day care centers, benefits, birthday parties, and on the Golden Gate Bridge during rush hour traffic.

In her Spearfish SD studio Scholz creates her marvelous puppets, writes scripts, rehearses, designs and books her shows. She shares this space with some six hundred retired puppets who line the walls and ceiling.

She has performed for an audience as large as 5000 at a Girl Scout Jamboree and as small as five at a rural school 72 miles from the nearest town. She has performed for over a million South Dakotans and just as many others throughout the world.

"Puppetry is a wonderful profession!" says Scholz. "It allows you to share a magical time with wonderful people. I hope I will still be doing puppet shows when I am 95."