New Course.. New Film...

We have a brand new beginners Puppetry for Film and Television Course starting on 13 August in Sydney. Our course is suitable for film makers, puppeteers, performers, and others interested in learning about how puppetry is made for the screen. It will include design and construction of puppets, manipulation for the camera, developing scenarios for performance, voice, characterisation development and short performances. Participants will develop, perform and direct their short scenarios for a course show-reel.
Dates: Eight consecutive Wednesday evenings from 13 August to 1 October 2008 Time: 6.00 to 9.00pm
Venue: Wesley Institute for the Arts, 5 Mary Street, Drummoyne, NSW 2047, Australia
Cost: $699 incl materials* *Early-bird $99 discount for bookings before 1 August 2008. For a taste of the course, you can view the new short film below!

League of Nations shadow puppetry this week!

A League of Nations is billed as 'an Australian independent artist collective who are performing an inter- dimensional shadow puppetry extravaganza by Team Awesome' is performing in Sydney this week.

Dark, dirty and hysterical, League of Shadows is the theatrical vision of Phil Lesnie and Rani Lukita. Struggling to subsist in the shadowlands at the end of the world, the eccentric cast of characters - teaming handmade puppets with a group of talented voice actors - features a shy radioactive Quasimodo, a diabolical mad scientist, an amputee love-interest, and a pathologically rude doomsday device.

They describe themselves as Tim Burton meets South Park, plus a soundtrack ranging from German Expressionist film score to alt country to Shoegazer. You can view some visuals from the production here!

Don’t Look Gallery: 419 New Canterbury Rd, Dulwich Hill, Sydney, NSW
Thur-Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm 24th-27th July.
Ring: 0401 504 800 or email here!

Puppet's Memories of Nelson Mandela at 90

On the auspicious occasion of the ninetieth birthday of Nelson Mandela today, I would like to recall a great leader and hero, not only to all South Africans, but to all humanity.

I remember meeting Nelson Mandela briefly in 1994, when my television puppet interviewer, Clarence Keyter, a popular green-skinned bespectacled news reporter in his natty moustache, suit and purple bow-tie, interviewed Mandela during South Africa's first democratic election, which finally brought an end to the Apartheid era.

It was truly an incredible event which took place at the Johannesburg Railway Station. While conducting interviews of the politicians during the election week, we rushed to see Mandela off on the 'Peace Train' which would take the African National Congress leaders to the launch of their political manifesto and Mandela's subsequent declaration as President. It was complete chaos trying to fight through hundreds of journalists and security guards and get to Mandela's compartment and finally interview him. I carried a very determined puppet that caused the crowds to part, while he shouted orders, a bit like Moses parting the Red Sea. When we finally reached Mandela, I recall his complete calmness and a feeling of peace, amidst the turmoil that surrounded him. It was an experience I'll never forget. Happy birthday Madiba!

You can watch a short extract of puppet Clarence's Mandela interview here!
(photo credit: Nan Melville, NY)

Philippe Genty's Lands End in Sydney

LANDS END is the story of a meeting between two people and of its imaginary resonance in the landscape of dreams. It conjures up a series of enigmatic characters, sometimes real, sometimes projected, which will come to reveal secret emotions and hidden histories. On the basis of this poetry, incarnated in animated forms and actor/magicians, which he relentlessly perfects, Philippe Genty continues his captivating and passionate exploration of undiscovered theatrical continents.

I first met up with the Philippe Genty company in France in the early eighties, while studying puppetry in Charleville. Many years later, I invited them to an international festival of puppetry in South Africa and since then have closely followed their innovative work as it toured the globe. The company will be touring Australia from 12 August until 13 September.
I am organising an evening of 'Lands End' with my students - past, present and future, when they perform in Sydney on 2 September. So if you are interested in joining us, let me know before 25 July or you can book directly here!

An intriguing mix of puppetry, illusion, mime and dance, Lands End is a poetic journey through a dreamlike landscape. Philippe Genty dives deep into the subconscious and creates a series of extraordinary scenes which are by turns whimsical, melancholy, and playful. You can watch a preview of the production below! Enjoy...

TV Puppeteers Get Together in Australia

News update: We are having a get together evening for all students, past, present and future of our 'Puppetry for Film and TV Course' on Friday 25 July at 7pm at the Wesley Institute in Drummoyne, Sydney. Everyone interested in puppetry is welcome to attend. You are invited to bring your puppets and we will have an Impro-Jam, which will be webcast on You Tube, as well as a screening of some short new innovative puppetry films. $10 entrance fee. For reservations, please contact me here!

To check out the short film of the April-May 2008 course, click here and to view slideshow of the current beginner's course, you can find the pics here!

Take Note: We are also running two final courses of Puppetry for Film and TV at Wesley Institute this year. The final beginner's course for the year will be run every Wednesday evening from 13 August to 1 October and an Advanced Manipulation course for Puppetry for the Camera will be held every Wednesday evening from 8 October to 26 November. Places limited! For bookings and information, contact me here!