American Titbits

Here I am at four in the morning in Chicago. Can't sleep! Still havent quite conquered the jetlag disease, but I will... probably by the time I get to NY? Muz passed on an interesting puppetry site for J.Mars Design. It contains the ideas, writings and ravings of a puppetry teacher in Connecticut. His production of The Princess and the Goblin has some great puppets his students built. There are also some interesting links to videos and book references.

Waikiki to Chicago

Yesterday on Waikiki Beach, Honolulu. Today in Chicago, rather jetlagged, but happy to have arrived at my first port of call, after an eight hour starvation flight on American Airlines, with no food served. Eight hours flying ... no meals ... hello AA!
What can I say about Hawaii, it's lucious and tropical alright, felt like being in Queensland. The limos and flashy stores hit you straight away. Welcome to the United States mate!
Not a sign of puppetry yet, but hey it's only been a day. I did get to rent a bright yellow scooter and do the scenic drive round the island yesterday. It was beautiful, but very hot and humid .. just like Queensland. An exciting trip lies ahead, if I can shake this jetlag, which I have scheduled for tonight! SO STAY TUNED!

An evening of puppet stuff in Sydney

What a great evening! Tonight was the reunion drinks, before my immanent departure, with my recent Puppetry for Film and Television students. Paul, one of my students, sent me this interesting audio site today, which although features Avenue Q, also includes an audio program on the history of puppetry, which I think you will find really fascinating. Check it out here! Can't wait to see the adult puppet musical Avenue Q, that plays with sexuality, relationships, porn, racism, you name it - live on Boadway, although most of its performers seem to have emigrated to Las Vegas recently.

Two Days...

So this is it! In two days, I fly to Honolulu, on my way to Chicago. That's my first official stop. If you know of any interesting puppetry on my journey, please let me know! Been editing films day and night recently on a faulty edit suite, but finally I got it done. When I get to New York, after Chicago, we start filming our 'Looking for a Monster' documentary, which we shoot in New Jersey, West Palm Beach and Toronto, but will keep you posted ... so stay tuned!

The return of Krinkl

Apologies for not having written the past few days. I've just been flat out editing films to take on my big trip starting this week! But I'm back in the saddle now and would like to introduce a puppetry group based in Kyogle, northern New South Wales. (That's far north of Sydney!) Krinkl Theatre are best known for their paper puppetry. They have recently returned from perfrming their new show'Tightrope' at the Chuncheon International Puppet Festival in Korea. Gabriele Griffin of Krinkl, writes on their trip: "Having performed with Krinkl Theatre at the Blue Mountains ‘One Van Festival’ in 2004 and 2005, I was lucky enough to be part of the company’s first overseas tour, to ‘Chuncheon International Puppet Festival’ in Korea from 9-15 August 2005.
We performed ‘Tightrope’ on the second last day of the Festival, 3 shows in a row, with all technical/lights/sound/stage-managing instructions being translated back and forth from English to Korean to English. Each show was very different (within it’s tightly choreographed structure), and I never cease to be amazed at the variations within the audience interaction. So we treated ourselves to some beers that night in good Aussie style, then went to a Karaoke Bar in good Korean style, and ended up in a smoky nightclub dancing to hip hop music in good global style. Nothing like letting off steam- I remind myself it’s all a necessary part of the creative process…"

Why technology?

Hello technofiends and technophobes! I have been experiencing some technical nightmares of late! Trying to edit video is normally quite a pleasant job, but this week it has become hell... I happen to be leaving on my world lecture tour next week and have a deadline to finish editing these video clips to show as part of my presentations on puppetry in - education, intercultural communication, prisons, health education, politics, etc. But first my edit PC kept shutting down (probably a faulty motherboard, I'm told), then the DVD writer ceased and now my portable hard drive has just fallen apart. Help! Where is this all leading? What is all this trying to tell me? To be honest, I'm not sure. Time is running low, as is my energy, so back to the salt mines for me... and here's hoping! Will keep you posted.

Are all American puppeteers terrorists?

Team America have struck once again! The San Fransisco Puppetry Guild is suspected of harbouring terrorists, but it doesn't state if the terrorists are puppeteers or just puppets! The last time were heard such a story in in the USA, was during the presidential re-inuagration ceremony when PUPPETS were banned. A report by Brian Strokes reports: "I kid you not. My beloved San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild is under investigation by Homeland Security. According to their latest newsletter, its assets have been frozen ever since my friend and Treasurer Pam Brown resigned after 20 years and passed the miniscule nestegg to a new bank account a few months ago. The bank apologizes but legally can't do anything until Homeland Security determines this group of puppet fans and professionals is not planning to attack our country. This is the Guild where Jim Henson met a young Frank Oz and Jerry Juhl back in the 1960s. But now our government thinks it's harboring terrorists."
According to an update today the incident has been resolved and the bank account has been re-opened. The puppets have now also been released from detension!

Corporate Puppetry for Television

An interesting website, worth checking out, is Punch & Brodie. They produce corporate puppets both live and for video production and seem to have done a wealth of work for many companies in the United States.

They believe puppets have been used successfully in corporate videos for many reasons: Puppets reflect positive, universal qualities. They can act in ways that would not be believable or acceptable from actors. They hold people's attention. They are endearing, and thus more appealing. They are easy to identify with. They are non-threatening. They are visually interesting. They create morable images. Puppets are most effective when the character is involved in a believable conflict that centers around the objective. You get your point across!

'Out there' puppets of Big Nazo

There is a group of pretty 'out there' puppets from a place called Providence, Rhode Island, which was recently brought to my attention by my friend Sasha, who studies at Brown.
Big Nazo is a strange group of visual artists, puppet performers, and masked musicians who unite to create bizarre and hilarious larger-than-life sized characters, environments, and spectacles. Sounds too good to be true? Well, you can actually view video samples of their work on their website! Enjoy...

New Puppetry Films site set to launch

A new puppetry films site is due to be launched shortly - WWW.PUPPETRYFILMS.COM will be the twin site to our Puppetry News and will features short films and television clips of a high standard, made both in Australia and internationally. While I am on my travels, I will keep my eyes open for interesting work being done, posting it on here and look out for innovative film and television work, which will be posted on the new Puppetry Films site!
The films site is being run by a newcomer to the industry, talented Australian puppeteer, Murray Henstock. If you have links to interesting puppetry and animation sources, which might interest our audience, please forward these to Murray. Looking forward to your feedback!

Opportunity for a puppeteer

It's not that often that a good television job comes past my desk and when it does, I get very excited to be able to offer work to fellow-puppeteers! Got a post today(thanks to Puppetry Australia) looking for a TV puppeteer for a shoot in Malaysia. Interested? We are doing a 10 week puppet shoot for an international television show and are looking for a professional puppeteer based in South East Asia or Australia/New Zealand. The shoot is in Kuala Lumpur during the months of November 2005 to January 2006, with a two week break for Christmas in the middle. Five years of professional puppetry experience as well as experience doing television puppetry is a must. The ability to do character voice work and speak with an American/Mid-Atlantic accent is also a must. For more info, contact Brian!

Strings pulling crowds!

When I last mentioned the super marionette film 'Strings' in a previous report, the film had recently been released and was starting to make international impact. I'm hoping to see this on my travels very soon, as it has not yet been released in Australia. The opening credit sequence, where we see the hands of some of the 22 puppeteers who worked on the film manoeuvring their charges, makes it clear that this is not an animated film in the accepted sense of the word. We have a good crit by Josh Neuhouser:
When the opening credits for Strings list a credit for Master Puppeteer, my mind immediately went back to Being John Malkovich. Which, of course, is a perfectly natural thing to do: when the first scene shows a puppet king (both literally and figuratively) committing suicide in the rain to atone for his sins as a leader, this is exactly the kind of self-serious puppet epic that John Cusack's character always wanted to make. Though thankfully, despite it's heavy plot, laden with rape and genocide, Strings never forgets its inherent puppet-ness. In fact, that's it is its greatest strength, as the filmmakers often go out of their way to make this puppet world as unique as possible. Even little things, like how gates and jail cells consist only of raised bars that obstruct the movement of strings. Said strings, by the way, have a semi-religious importance to the marionettes - they seem to be representations of the connection of the soul to the infinite.These are the things that make Strings, since the plot really isn't much. Not bad, by any means, but fairly standard high fantasy. And like all high fantasy, it owes a large debt to Tolkein (specifically The Two Towers), but the film's visual world is unique enough to make up for anything lacking in the story department. I mean, I can't claim to be any kind of expert on puppetry, but I can still tell that claiming Strings contains some of the most complex marionette sequences ever filmed is an understatement, to say the least. Though I would have preferred a story as inventive as the visuals (the film falls just short of being a new Tetsuo the Iron Man), Strings is still highly enjoyable and I'd certainly look forward to watching it again if given the chance. (by Josh Neuhouser in Seattle)
According to our Toronto correspondant, Andrew, the DVD is out next week. This is one I'd really like to get, even after only seeing the preview. To order click Amazon.
Watch the trailor here!

Global Tour...

Only two weeks to blast off! With the Challenger preparing to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere tomorrow, I am slowly preparing to leave it! I will be embarking upon a four month adventure, that will take me from Sydney to Honolulu, Chicago, New York, West Palm Beach, Toronto, Montreal, North Michigan, Boston, London, Stratford, Vienna, Mistelbach, Krakow, Bielsko-Biala, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Barcelona, Johannesburg and Cape Town, to name but a few! Although it'll be mostly presenting lectures and workshops, I have some time off to catch up with friends and family along the way. Some of the public events include a British UNIMA lecture on Tuesday 11 October in London; lectures at the Mistelbach festival in Austria and workshops in Poland and Israel. For more info, watch this space... Update: The Challenger has just landed safely in California and I still haven't quite taken off, but it's still two weeks and counting!

Woodford ... another puppetry festival?

There's been such an upsurge in puppetry festivals in Australia recently, both begining with 'Wood', but don't confuse Woodford with Woodend. Cause Woodford Folk Music Festival and now also International Puppetry Festival is happening this year between Christmas and New Year - and it's in Queensland! Yes, that's in Australia too. If you are interested in applying to participate in this new festival, then you only have until 22 August to get your proposals in. So register your application online today, for performances and workshops.

Puppet Palaver Review

Our roving critic, Naomi Guss, attended the puppet romp, 'Puppet Palaver' in Melbourne last weekend and wrote today's review (which she also published in her weekly 'Zine'):
"The show, produced by Philip Millar (known for his work on The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe, and many other productions), combined the efforts of many puppeteers, showcasing their work. It started off with a ‘Aussie bloke’ koala, setting the scene with song. Then followed the ‘Porno Puppets of Prague’, a marionette piece set inside a little booth – the title says it all, with horny puppets screwing each other onstage. It might have been amusing to the audience, but to even inexperienced puppeteers, the manipulation was annoying. Narrated by McIvor, it seemed as though the puppeteers were either trying to keep up, or were going to fast, and many times you could see hands in the ‘booth’ (imagine a Punch and Judy booth, but with the puppeteers standing outside of it, operating the marionettes from above), and several times the backdrops fell over. I’m not one for R-rated performances anyway, so it didn’t particularly thrill me. There was a short piece (and I mean short!) from Richard Bradshaw, who is noted for his shadow puppetry. I was so disappointed to see that he only came out with a cardboard cut-out (like what they use for shadow puppets). While the piece was amusingly about John Howard’s backflips in politics, I had gone specifically on that night (Bradshaw was only doing two shows throughout the season) to catch his work. It lasted for less than five minutes.

All in all, I’d give the show about 6 thumbs up. At two and a half hours, bordering on three, the show was too long. Many of the pieces may have been enjoyable, if you like the lewdness, but as I don’t, it wasn’t the best I’ve seen. On top of which, the showcase was very relaxed, and while I did enjoy the amiable banter of the band, it seemed less of a professional production and more of a relaxed night out for the audience. But I suppose that’s how the show has been marketed. Some of the puppetry I’d want to see more of, or at least find out more about the puppeteer/their show that the piece came from. It was not what I expected, and I’m somewhat disappointed" by Naomi Guss, Melbourne. (This article has been edited)

More Sex?

Trey Parker and Matt Stone prefer to call it love making. Yes, it's 'Team America' again. "They loved each other very much," said Stone. The scene was originally twice as long before the censors made them trim shots to get an 'R' rating. But the whole joke is that they look very much like puppets with no realistic features. Parker said, 'Look, we put little pubic hair on them.' We’re like, 'No, no, don’t want to do that. We just want them to be little dolls. But even the simple sexual positions were too much for some puppeteers. Some of those puppeteers that had been doing this for 20-30 years, they stepped out of that. They didn’t want to do that. Pushing the envelope is making puppets do things you normally haven’t seen before." What can I say?

For those unaware, we're holding our 'Puppet Erotica' screening next Thursday 11 August at 7pm at Sydney Film School. We have a collection of interesting items to screen and also a 'live' guest appearance! So if you are keen to come, drop Sam a note!! Hope to see you there...

A New Australian Puppet Fest

For those of you that have never heard of Woodend, you are not alone! It's a rather small Victorian community, about 55 minutes north of Melbourne. Sue Blakey is a very active puppeteer in Woodend, who is putting together the first Woodend Puppet Theatre Festival, along with the local community. The festival will run from 5 to 7 May 2006, just preceding the puppet summit in Tasmania. Puppeteers interested in performing or holding workshops can contact Sue for further information!

Why Puppetry?

Ever since 'Team America' used the concept of Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds - marionettes from the sixties, many companies started using marionettes in their ads. A US website selling airline tickets (You can watch the commercials here!) jumped on the bandwagon, but why they did this, besides wanting the cute factor, amuses me. In my humble opinion, everything they, and '3' Australian mobile phone service provider, have done with puppets in their ads, is better suited to doing with actors! This takes me back to a question I'm always asking myself and my students: Why Puppetry? Okay, you might answer 'why not?' but surely puppets are better used to create situations and tell stories that actors (or live people) cannot. We go back to the big 'M' word - 'Metaphor'... Puppets can break down barriers and get through to humans, without prejudice, tackle sensitive topics, which people often have difficultly discussing. I realise that humour and imitation of real life is their strong point, but these commercials using puppets, and often badly so, makes very little sense to me! Please feel free to argue this point... or enlighten me!
Update: Thanks Jonathan for your response! Read it below..

Dreamer in the Deep

Dream Puppets are performing their visually spectacular 'Dreamer in the Deep' at a special open class with Ken Evan's undergraduate puppetry students at Swinburne University, Prahran Campus in Melbourne on Tuesday 9th August at 3pm.

Dreamer’s bedroom metamorphoses into an ocean going yacht in a harbour. Guided by sea creatures, Dreamer sails out into the ocean. Reminiscent of Jacques Cousteau’s boat, “Calypso”, Dreamer’s yacht produces everything from diving suites to mini-submarines allowing Dreamer to explore the Australian coastal waters and further down to the deepest parts of the ocean. At each level and location, we discover the life-forms, habitats and conditions that create such an amazing diversity of sea creatures, from very small to very large.
For information and bookings, contact Richard Hart or Ken Evans!

Muppets, Muppets everywhere...

Puppetvision's blogs has been featuring the world of Muppet-Mania ... Muppeteers Wanted - looking for puppeteers to audition for a new Muppet travelling show, but the auditions are only taking place in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto (which means only Andrew can audition!) Then there's Kermit driving a BMW in a new German commericial, which is really good. And last, but not least a US Woman's Day article from 1969, which shows the Muppets that includes an original script by Jerry Juhl (The Purple-Necked, Black-Bearded Blatch) and a pattern for making your own Muppets to act it out! Thanks to Andrew!

Puppetry Summit

The Second National Puppetry and Animatronics Summit is planned for Hobart, Tasmania in June 2006. This is one of the major Australian events leading up to the 2008 UNIMA World Puppetry Congress and Festival in Western Australia. The summit, like the first one which was held in Melbourne in October 2002, will bring together practictioners of the art to discuss its future. Terrapin Puppet Theatre are putting together the summit and are looking for suggestions and feedback. For more information, contact Annie Forbes in Hobart!

Le Theatre du Soleil in Australia

In 2001, Arianne Mouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil's production of "The Flood Drummers" visited Australia, the actors, elaborately dressed as Bunraku style puppets, were lifted and manipulated by other actors dressed and masked in black. Now they are touring with a brand new production. Anyone involved in theatre, puppetry or film should see this incredible work!

They voyage endlessly and hopelessly, but driven by belief. In place of religion, they have a naive faith in the existence of a country inhabited by the democratic deities they have heard of: freedom, respect. But where is this country? Where will they arrive? When will they arrive? Will they arrive?

Now you have another chance! Théâtre du Soleil's Le Dernier Caravansérail is coming to the Melbourne Festival in October. It is in two parts - the first is 'The cruel river' and the second is 'Originis and destinies'. It is an epic and elaborate theatre work that focuses on the journies that many of the world's people are forced to take and how their travels effects them and those around them. Do yourself a favour if you dig theatre, don't miss it!