"Creativity and Literacy Show" in Melbourne

This weekend sees The Education Show taking place in Melbourne.  The show will feature the latest products, resources and services for schools and featuring an extensive professional development programme, including a unique 'Puppetry in Education' stall featuring Melbourne-based 'Dream Puppets' and yours truly, Sydney-based 'Gary Friedman Productions'.  We became more involved in both primary and high school education earlier this year, when we received at Artists in Residence grant to work in a few school's in northern Sydney. (In the short film, above, you can view the work in a short interview with Jan Warhurst, vice-principal of Curl Curl Public School in Sydney).

The Education Show at the Caulfield Racecourse in Station Street, Caulfield in Melbourne on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 August from 10am to 4pm and entry is free to the public. Their will be some provocative seminars taking place on both the days. For info click here!  Incidently for those of you interested in education and if you haven't seen Sir Ken Robinson's address to TED in California on "Do school's kill creativity?" It is an important thought provoking piece, so click here.

Curl Curl School Puppetry Project 2010

After two months of work with these young people, with very limited exposure to basic puppetry skills, the students blossomed at our school performances at Curl Curl North Public School last week. Using only simple brown paper and common household objects with no spoken language, the children created elaborate stories where the power of their entire imagination was harnessed.

Their work took them on a creative journey, which combined the power of Brain Gym with some dance and movement, a guided meditation, some improvisation work with brown paper, in which characters emerge to relate their non-verbal stories and lastly object theatre work, which take the children's stories into yet another dimension.

We are about to embark on a three-month European Workshop Tour next month. This will take us through Austria, Slovenia, Portugal, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Hungary and the Middle East. Keep tuned to Puppetry News for regular updates and news from the road.

PS. Last but not least 'Happy World Puppetry Day' for today. World Puppetry Day is celebrated with an objective to preserve and popularise the art of puppetry around the world. This year there are events planned in India, an International Festival in Istanbul, Turkey and UNIMA's news here!

New Schools Puppetry Programme in Australia

A new Puppetry Partnership Programme was launched this month in three Sydney schools. This short film provides images taken during the first week of the eleven week puppetry programme taking place in February and March 2010. The partnership between Gary Friedman Productions and the North Sydney Demonstration School, in collaboration with the University of Sydney Education Faculty is designed to expose the students and their teachers to the language of metaphor and symbolism. It is aimed at enriching their creative expression and literacy outcomes. The programme will culminate in a mini-school's puppet festival and evaluation of the work.

We have still some openings for workshops in Europe during our 2010 International Workshop Tour from April to June. If you are interested in this work, please contact us. Enjoy the film clip!

Puppetry for Television Course films

Last week saw the completion our January 2010 'Puppetry for Television and Web Course' at the Wesley Institute in Sydney. Our talented participants ended their course by completing two short films, My Fur Lady and Baby-Faced Thugs. (Click on them to view)

The films were made and edited as the culmination of a intensive two-week course, during which nine newcomers to the industry were introduced to all aspects of puppetry for TV and the Web, including puppet building, improvisation, performance for the camera, story-boarding and producing a short film in a team.

I also put together a short piece on Behind the Scenes at the course, which shows the making of the two short films. You can take a look at this short film here.

Puppetry for TV-Web Course Jan 2010 - Last chance to register!

With registrations about to close next week, our 'International Puppetry for TV and Web Course' to take place from 4 to 14 January 2010 in Sydney, is filling up fast.

Participants will work with professional puppeteers & cinematographers in: Designing and constructing puppets for the screen; Developing character personality & voice characterization; Manipulation techniques for the camera; Improvisation skills; Directing short scenarios for performances; Editing episodes for webcast and developing a dedicated puppetry ‘You Tube’ channel.

Venue: Wesley Institute, Sydney Australia New Dates: 4 - 14 January 2010 (full-time)
Cost: Aus $1,300- Excl Accommodation / Aus $1,790- Incl Accommodation, excluding meals
BOOKINGS DEADLINE: 30 September 2009
For more information or to book click here!

An Intensive 3 Week Summer TV Puppetry Workshop 2010 in Sydney, Australia

Our first International three-week intensive Puppetry for Television and the Web workshop will take place at the Wesley Institute for the Arts in Sydney from 11 to 30 January 2010.

This puppetry workshop is suitable for film-makers, performers, puppeteers, educators and others interested in learning about puppetry for the screen. The course includes design and construction of puppets, manipulation for the camera, developing scenarios for performance, voice characterisation, and directing short performances. Participants will develop, perform, produce and edit their short scenarios for webcast on a dedicated puppetry ‘You Tube’ channel.

This course examines the art of puppetry in the 20th century and its effectiveness as a medium of communication in our digital age. The history of the puppet on film and television from Burr Tillstrom’s Kukla, Fran and Ollie and Jim Henson’s Muppets to contemporary productions will be explored.

Participants will work with professional puppet builders to design and construct their characters. Specialised puppetry techniques required to perform for the camera will be developed. We will specifically focus on developing characters and will spend time improvising on camera to discover the puppet’s individual personality, voice and movement.

We will explore the art of the puppet effectively interacting with live performers on camera.
An Australian cinematographer will teach camera techniques to capture and enhance the performance on screen. Each group will have an opportunity to edit their short pieces.
The participants will investigate effective television techniques and learn how these differ from developing a production or series for the web.

The workshop is produced by Gary Friedman Productions in association with Wesley Institute for the Arts and is aimed at anyone interested in producing, performing and directing puppetry for television and the internet. We have all the facilities and nearby accommodation available and it'll be a wonderful opportunity to experience an Australian summer. For full information, email me here!

African TV Puppetry Workshop 2009 is First Official International UNIMA Project

Internationally acclaimed Kenyan puppetry group "CHAPS" have had their first 'Puppetry for Television and Web Workshop' scheduled for October 2009 accepted as an official pilot project of the UNIMA Commission for International Cooperation in Switzerland. For further details, see here!

The two-week intense workshop, which will be conducted by African-Australian puppeteer, Gary Friedman, is due to take place during the International Puppetry Festival in Nairobi in October 2009. The workshop is aimed to give the already existing group of over four hundred East African puppeteers, who were trained by Friedman in the nineteen-nineties in 'Puppetry for Development' work, further skills to take their messages into the multi-media, via television and the internet.

I recorded a short film on CHAPS 'Puppets Against Corruption' project in the early nineteen-nineties which you can view here!

Corporate Creatures™ Full Promo launched

The full seven-minute version of the Corporate Creatures™ Promo has finally been released for all those interested in this exciting new project. It can also be viewed on Vimeo, but because this is a large video file, it might take a while to download, unless you have a fast internet connection. So please be patient! There is also an interesting short film on the making of Corporate Creatures™, 'The Humans behind the Creatures' which can be viewed here and the entire collection of the Creatures short films to date can be viewed here! The Creatures are also now on Face Book and the Corporate Creatures Business News (CCBN) presenter, Con Quest, can also be followed on Twitter! So the gang are finally ready to go... keep posted for updates!

Corporate Creatures™ launches in Australia

Official spokesperson for Corporate Creatures™ in Sydney, Con Quest yesterday announced the official launch of their new website.

Corporate Creatures™ harnesses the powerful age-old tradition of puppetry with a 21st century makeover to communicate issues within the business environment. While the puppets themselves are larger-than-life, their workplace and the situations they face are relevant to everyone.

By using the puppet, we provide a non-threatening format in which the audience is entertained while the key messages are still being strongly communicated. We can effectively tackle issues that everyone is thinking about, but no one is comfortable discussing - sensitive subjects such as personal concerns, bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Mr Quest has also announced that he will be conducting interviews with prominent business and world leaders weekly and the first such interview can be found on his blog at CCBN here!

Mr Quest and his team are all listed as Face Book devotees. You can find Con's FB page here!
He is also asking all interested to add him as a friend and to subscribe to his NEWS listing here!

Corporate Creatures™ is ideal for skills training, presentations and marketing your products and services. For more information, you can check out their videos and info here!
(Photograph: Sidat de Silva)

Puppetry for TV and Web Course in May-June

A special Winter Discount is being offered on our next Puppetry for TV and the Web Course starting in Sydney on 6 May 2009.

Gary Friedman Productions presents a unique opportunity to learn the art of puppetry for the camera.

This puppetry workshop, lead by Jim Henson trained master- puppeteer, Gary Friedman, is suitable for film-makers, performers, puppeteers, teachers and others interested in learning about puppetry for the screen. The course includes design and construction of puppets, manipulation for the camera, developing scenarios for performance, voice characterisation, and directing short performances.
Participants will develop, perform and direct their short scenarios for webcasting on a special puppetry course ‘You Tube’ channel.

Venue: The Wesley Institute for the Arts, 5 Mary Street, Drummoyne NSW 2047, Australia
Dates: Eight consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6 May to 24 June 2009
Time: 6pm to 9pm
Cost: Instead of the usual $749, the Winter Course is only $649 (incl materials) for bookings made before 15 April.
For bookings: Email me here!

Learning to use rods for arm manipulation

Weekend... Time to browse a little and on PuppetryLab.com I found some really good instruction for students of Puppetry for Film and TV learning to manipulate the arm rods while still keeping the puppet alive and focused. I know my students always struggle at first to get the balance between manipulating the puppet's arms while keeping the puppet's head alive and animated. The first advice is practice in front of a camera as much as possible and if you don't own a camera and monitor to watch what your puppet is doing, then practice at least in the bathroom mirror every morning after cleaning your teeth.

New TV Puppetry Course in Sydney

Bettina and Zoe, two of our new students demo their talents in the new beginner's Puppetry for TV and the Web Course which started recently at The Wesley Institute in Sydney. The eight week course will run every Wednesday evening until 22 April. We are now completing our puppets and sewing our skin this week and then we're out there performing, so stay tuned for a taste of our short films in a few weeks!

We are also currently organising an intensive International Three-Week TV and Web Course for January 2010. If you are interested, please register your email with PuppetryNews (on the right under my chair) now!

New Logo, New Year!

With UNIMA (Union International de la Marionnette) - our international puppetry body - celebrating it's 80th year in existance his coming year and introducing a brand new logo, I would like to take this opportunity in wishing all our readers and friends a wonderful Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and a creative and inspired 2009.

I would also like to commit to getting PUPPETRYNEWS more regularly updated with news, courses and events from around the globe. We have been extremely busy for the past few months preparing and shooting a new puppetry film, which we hope will put puppetry back into the limelight - via the web. Keep tuned for its imminent release in the next few months and many thanks to everyone involved for your gracious support!

Shana Tova!

On behalf of WWW.PUPPETRYNEWS.COM, I would like to wish all our Jewish viewers a peaceful, healthy and wonderful New Year and well over the fast! Enjoy The Muppets rendition of Shana Tova. More soon!