Festival performers part 2 (Toledo)

One of the most beautiful and heartbreaking shows I have ever seen is the silent "La Fabula De La Raposa" (The Fable of the Fox) performed by Los Titiriteros de Binefar from Spain. The stage and sets are simple and lovely. There was no dialogue in this performance, only animals sounds and the grunts from a tired old man. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when they finished.

I saw them again at the Henson International Festival of Puppetry in 1998.

Their website is in Spanish but, you can click in the upper left corner for English.

Festival performers part 1

Pictured here is "An Arabian Adventure" by Tanglewood Marionettes, a puppet company based in New England. I had the pleasure of seeing this particular show at the Toledo Festival waaaay back in 1997 (my first National festival). The festival was called a "A Kaleidoscope of Puppetry" and Tanglewood was a highlight for me. I'd never before seen a Marionette performance that wasn't more of a 'caberet' style--songs and dances with trick marionettes--so Tanglewood was a revelation to me. I have never forgotten their performance or stage.

Briefly; the set was a large, old fashioned story book titled as the show "An Arabian Adventure" and to start the show, they opened the book, which provided the backgrounds for the story! Genius! Our hero hears a Princess crying behind a wall. He decides to climb the wall--and here's where they just blew my mind; they open the middle of the page, which becomes the wall, and our hero climbs the wall (not, scrambles up...he climbs!). He leaps up to catch the ledge, pulls himself up with his arms, swings his leg over, hangs on the other side, and quietly drops into a crouch--startling the crying Princess. My mouth dropped open. I can't even articulate the brilliance of that one move. The rest of the show was equally brilliant. My one lament is that they're so far from me that I've never had the opportunity to see the rest of their reportiore...sigh.

Check out their website, and if you're in their neighborhood, GO SEE THEIR SHOWS!

There's Something About Puppet Festivals

So, ya wanna' go to Festival but, you don't know what it is?! Puppetry Festivals of some sort happen just about every year! I've managed to get to a few of them, beginning with a Regional Festival in San Diego in 1996 (Of course I didn't take any pictures then! What was I thinking!). Most of the Fests I've visited were hosted/sponsored/organized by the Puppeteers of America or Puppet Guilds under the umbrella of P of A. In San Francisco, there's a great little festival called PuppetLOVE, which comes around every spring and features some really great, really different puppetry. This year's PuppetLOVE is one night only! April 1 at 8PM. I've seen some crazy, amazing stuff there!

The more traditional Festivals are longer. Regionals are usually a weekend long and Nationals are roughly a week long. What is a Festival (the question posed above...)? Well, usually, they feature performers and workshops from around the country (Nationals will sometimes host international troupes as well) with different techniques or performance style. Classes can be for the extreme beginner or for the veteran. A festival I've always wanted to go to is the O'Neill Puppetry Conference. It's a really intensive 8 day workshop that I've heard raves about!

If you've never been to a festival, I'd recommend checking one out (use the link to the P of A to get started on finding groups in your area). For now, to inspire you, I'll be posting more photos from some of my trips to festivals and I'll try my darndest to include performer info!

Puppets on the Pier

Puppets on the Pier. Ahhhh...I spent many years toiling away in this wonderful store! It's still in it's exact location (near the Carosel on the 1st floor) but, it's been completely remodeled since I left it (too long ago to tell you!). Every time I get a chance to visit, I am amazed by their Marionette selection. The owners spend a great deal of time selecting marionettes from around the world! There's also a huge selection of hand puppets -- I think they carry every puppet made by Folkmanis. The world of manufactured puppets has changed a great deal but, if it's available, it's usually at that store. Exclusivley devoted to puppets, although none of the owners are puppeteers. Go visit! You're encouraged to play with the merchandise.

I spent many hours practicing my lip-synch in front of the mirror there and was encouraged by my bosses and even some guests to pursue puppetry as my career!

The picture above is me, with Carolina (both of us now former employees) at the store PRE-renovation...so many years ago!

First performance

This is a photo from my first public Puppet Show. It was taken at Children's Fairyland (Oakland) in August of 1998 (very Pre-Swazzle!). The show was Little Red Riding Hood and the puppets were built by Tim Miller. The stage was designed by Nick Barone of Nick Barone Puppets. I used this stage unconventionally then. This show was performed standing up, behind a scrim. I've seen a few shows performed like this. Usually Punch and Judy shows. Roger Mara from Snapdragon puppets performs in a similar manner (and was my inspiration for this style). It's both comfortable and difficult to do this type of performance. It's great not to have to stretch so far to keep the puppet over the playboard but, it's very challenging to perform with your arms at a 45 degree angle.

Stop! Motion...that is!

Laika House is a new-ish company based in Portland Oregon that has done some really hilarious, kick butt stop motion puppetry/animation (if you're talking to an animator, it's animation and if you're with a puppeteer, it's puppetry but, I'm not here to split hairs! It's cool and you should check it out!). They've got two stop motion commercials; one for ESPN called "Hope" that's so cute and quick and another (my favorite) called "Futbol" for Coke.

NOTE: This commercial is now listed as Coke "Rivalries" on the Laika website

The Dark Crystal

The just announced sequel to The Dark Crystal, The Power of the Dark Crystal, got me thinking that it was time to re-visit the original film. The performances are staggeringly good. Sitting and watching those fantastically designed creatures move and speak completely transported me. The detail of the puppets, the intricacy of the movement...and some of it so unexpected! I loved those landstriders! To me, the Dark Crystal stretched the bounds of puppetry. For all of it's faults (and there are a few) It made you really think outside the box, the stage, the television, and pushed the possibilities. Highlights for me are the mysterious and earthy Aughra, everything about the mystics, and of course, the Chamberlain. The Gelflings are a little harder to identify with and feel stilted to me (I think this has to do with the design limitations and not any lacking of performer ability). The sequel is reportedly going to be directed by Genndy Tartakovsky from the new Orphanage Animation Studio.

Read more at the Muppet News Flash Blog