Improbable 'Panic' comes to Sydney Opera House

After provoking Sydney audiences in 2006 with The Hanging Man, UK-based Improbable Theatre returns to Australia with their latest production Panic. You can catch a preview of the show here!

Drawn from personal stories and current obsessions, this tale of love is Improbable with puppetry, pratfalls, aerial feats and the longest list of self-help books ever announced on stage. Suggested for mature audiences, Panic embodies a childlike imagination blended with an adult’s wistful meditation on love, sex, life and death. Conceived as an improvisatory vaudeville, the production represents a return to intimate scale by the freewheeling troupe whose talents helped collaborate on the international hit Shockheaded Peter and Philip Glass’ opera Satyagraha.

PuppetryNews subscribers can buy tickets for the special price of $20 + booking fee. (Use the promo codes FRINGE when booking online or call the Sydney Opera House Box Office on 02-9250 7777).

Last chance to participate in October Creativity Workshop in Sydney

Click on the poster for all the workshop details or check out my previous post here!
Book now, only a few places left.

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.

40,000 visits and still going strong..

This morning I noticed that our visitor counter, below, has hit the 40,000 mark. This means the interest in the puppetry arts is still growing across the globe. Thank you to all who have supported me over the past few years and sorry I can't update the blog daily, due to lack of time. I do enjoy hearing from you, so if you have any ideas or news to share here, please do share your thoughts!

For those of you watching our Puppetry Films, listed on the right, I will continue adding stuff as often as I can and will start including new topics soon, so keep your eyes open for impressive new works.

Our international 'Puppetry for TV and Web Course' scheduled to take place in January at the Wesley Institute in Sydney will go ahead, although a few minor details might change, like we might shorten the course slightly to assist participants internationally who are working and can't take much time off work. Final details will be posted here soon, so keep your eyes open!

World of Paper Workshop in Sydney

Our final one-day 'World of Paper' Workshop will be held in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs on Sunday 2 December. This is a final opportunity this year for Australian participants to experience a unique hands-on experience with Brain Gym Instructor, Sharon Gelber and Master Puppeteer, Gary Friedman, featuring a combination of storytelling, puppetry, object theatre and healing techniques all combined into an intense day of creativity! This workshop has been conducted throughout South Africa, Europe and Canada this year.
You can see a short ad for the workshop here or view a two-minute piece here!
If you'd like more information or make a booking, contact me here!