The puppet is our metaphor, with the power to unite across cultural, language and racial divides. It is a unique tool for expressing deep psychological trauma, political beliefs and cultural power!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Puppet film to put one off puppetry?
There's a brilliant piece of animation by artist, Pat Smith, up on You Tube called 'Puppet'. It's enough to question the logic of being a puppeteer. Pat has written, produced and animated many creative short films including an Emmy nominated MTV series 'Down-town' and continued with a popular animated series 'Daria'. This particular short film 'Puppet' appeals to my bizarre sense of where the ultimate control lies - with the puppeteer or the puppet? Check out Pat's website and films here!
"Gorgeous animation, expertly paced with an outstanding musical score." - Robert Shultz, Broadcast Film Critic's Association-ABC-TV
You Tube Australia was officially launched this afternoon at Fox Studios here in Sydney. There were the well-known Australian contributors to You Tube, like the Free Hugs guys, who have gone international and also the lesser-know You Tube film makers like yours truly. I find the site a great source of inspiration for puppeteers and film makers to post their stuff, which gets great viewership across the globe. We have big plans ahead, but keep tuned to this site and watch them unfold. We also got interviewed by You Tube today and you can watch this here. You can view our short clip of the launch here!
According to a UNIMA report just released, two puppeteers and comedians have been arrested once again in Burma. U Pa Pa Lay and his cousin U Lu Zaw, known as "The Moustache Brothers", have been the focus of widespread and sustained campaigning by Amnesty International members around the world for the last five years.
The two puppeteer-comedians, U Pa Pa Lay, 49, and U Lu Zaw, 45, were sentenced in March 1996 to seven years' imprisonment for one of their comic performances. U Htwe and U Aung Soe, two political activists who arranged this performance, were also sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.
On 4 January 1996, the anniversary of Myanmar's independence from the UK, U Pa Pa Lay's Anyeint troupe, a traditional Burmese entertainment group, performed for a celebration at the home of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon (Rangoon, the capital). She is the leader of the main opposition party National League for Democracy and is currently held under de facto house arrest.
In their routine U Pa Pa Lay and U Lu Zaw joked about government cooperatives as thieves and sang a comic song about Myanmar's generals. Following the performance, they were arrested after they returned to their homes in Mandalay. It has been recently reported that the pair have recently been re-arrested by the Burmese regime!
"We strongly urge you to denounce this situation to the media of your country and write to your Ministry for Foreign Affairs so that they take an interest in these artists' situation and their release!" UNIMA International: 18 Oct 2007 You can watch some of their performance below...
How would you like to be a puppeteer in a Broadway musical like Avenue Q? In this video, a group of young people experience what it's like being on stage with the famous Avenue Q puppet cast, being trained up by Nigel, the puppetry coach for the London production at the Noel Coward Theatre. Enjoy!
Just launched are our 2007 World of Paper Workshop tour videos. These short pieces encompassing workshops for both CorporateandHigh Schools took place throughout Europe and Canada. Our workshops combine storytelling, performance with paper and creativity skills. This year I was joined by occupational therapist, Sharon Gelber to bring sustainable science into the mix - leaving participants with specific tools and techniques that are being used in both the classroom and corporate environment, in keeping participants focussed, organised, de-stressed and in a most creative space. You can watch these short films now (Corporate Promo and film and High School Promo and film) in the new video player on the right of this website. Enjoy!
We are now available for Australian bookings - both Corporate, as well as High School and Universities and international bookings for 2008. If you are interested in organising one of these workshops, or only in more information, you can contact me here!
There's a brilliant piece of animation by artist, Pat Smith, up on You Tube called 'Puppet'. It's enough to question the logic of being a puppeteer. Pat has written, produced and animated many creative short films including an Emmy nominated MTV series 'Down-town' and continued with a popular animated series 'Daria'. This particular short film 'Puppet' appeals to my bizarre sense of where the ultimate control lies - with the puppeteer or the puppet? Check out Pat's website and films here!
