Marionette Training at the Little Angel Theatre

Founding Puppet Master of the Little Angel, John Wright

“The Wild Night of the Witches”  was master puppeteer John Wright's premiere production at London's Little Angel Theatre over fifty years ago.

"In the marionette I see a form of delight. Here in the combined forces of design sculpture drama and dance is a joyful power which can be communicated without recourse to any form of disguise or distortion.

A man who can express himself through the marionette can mix with the mighty and with the poor, with the old and with the young. He can appeal to the high intellect and involve his creative urge in the interests of simple people. Such is the magic of the marionette that he can speak to the deaf and communicate with disquieted minds", said John Wright.

Last year the Little Angel Theatre offered the opportunity for training marionettists to perform in the re-staging of “The Wild Night of the Witches”.  As interest in this project was so high, the Little Angel have decided to run it again this year. 

This 35 minute marionette show provides an exceptional professional development opportunity for puppeteers wishing to work intensively on developing their long string marionette skills. Puppeteers Ronnie Le Drew and Sue Dacre will be directing the production and training the company. 

The project involves two weeks of intensive training and rehearsals followed by performances for the public. It runs from Tuesday 7 August to Sunday 19 August 2012 inclusive and takes place at Little Angel Theatre in London.   Deadline for applications is Monday 4 June.  If you live in London and have interest in this great opportunity, send applications to witches@littleangeltheatre.com

Animatronics and Animals

Animatronics and puppetry are combined in this new series of TV commercials for Glad Black Bag's newest campaign ' The Wild Life'. It's all fake reality show featuring a cast of entertaining animatronic animals and one incredibly messy house. The campaign, created by Evolution Bureau, consists of impressive animatronics by puppeteers who worked on Jim Henson’s Muppets. (Thanks to Annette at Social Radius)

Punch still doing it at 350

Punch's 350th Anniversary (thanks to Rod Burnett for pic)

"That's the way to do it!" exclaims Punch, who is still alive and well and celebrating his 350th in Covent Garden, London this weekend. I am so sorry that we are stuck in rainy Melbourne, instead of celebrating with all the professors in sunny London, but I guess I did attend the 325th, twenty-five years ago, which was wonderful (see the post here).

Punch has come a long way since his Commedia dell'arte origins. In fact he has traveled the full gambit across the universe, mostly taking the part of the underdog and standing up for their cause. He hasn't always been permitted free expression as he is in some limited parts of the world today. In eighteenth century England, actor, writer and puppeteer Samuel Foote took his Punch and Judy Show onto the streets of London to critique the British Monarchy, after actors criticizing the monarchy had been banned. When the police came to arrest him, he calmly stated: "It wasn't I that said a word, it was these puppets here that should be arrested!" You can find more examples of the general intolerance to the beloved anarchist here.

You can view the BBC's 350th tribute here.  I suppose all we can do now is plan to attend the next Big Bash for Punch's 375th in 2037. See you all in 2037?

FIDENA 2012 takes off

The puppet itself is not necessarily at the heart of today’s so-called “figure theatre” just as a traditional painting is almost an exception in contemporary art. Today the way we perceive things is moving into the focus of attention. Here puppets, figures and objects turn our attention away from how things and materials function, and expose them to unusual points of view.



FIDENA 2012, opening on 10 May,  is a good example here. It will be turning machines into dancers and bringing paper to life, transforming one castle park into a zoo, and another one into a wonderland. Mission Impossible will be going solo and Hansel and Gretel will be landing in the middle of an installation. On one whole evening FIDENA 2012 will be grinding everything to a halt and, on another, setting the stage alight.
There’s a risk you might get addicted, so don’t say we didn’t warn you! If you are anywhere near Bochum in Germany, don't miss what promises to be a theatrical treat.

Not like the others

"Not Like the Others" is a short documentary that explores a mother's hopes and fears as she raises a son, who says he wants to become a puppeteer. Thanks to the insight of master puppeteer David Stephens, of All Hands Productions, the world of professional puppetry is thoughtfully explained to her and her son. The film was screened at the 2011 National Puppetry Festival in Atlanta, USA and, as a result, all is well with mother, son, and the world of puppetry.

Your editor in his youth, around 1968

This film resonates deeply with me, as my only passion in my youth, growing-up, was to be a 'puppeteer'. Now in my middle-age, with a three-year-old son who shares a similar passion, would I encourage him to follow in his father's foot-steps? Maybe not, but I'd certainly encourage him to follow his passion. After all, life's too short to mess around!

Brian Henson, Now and Then...

Twenty-five years ago I interviewed Brian Henson and can you believe, I forgot to post it up here, but will very soon. More recently Brian conducted an in-depth 24 minute interview (above) with Big Think. His current interview discusses the origination of his live show "Stuffed and Unstrung", which started as a workshop class.  Brian found that their puppeteers were not ad libbing as well as traditionally, Jim Henson Company puppeteers had.   

"We’re sort of famous for going off script a little bit and ad libbing.  And we kind of lost a lot of that and puppeteers were sticking to the script and we thought everything needed to get a lot funnier, so we thought we would go to a good improv comedy instructor."  

Improvisation comedy instructor Patrick Bistro was invited over to talk about training out puppeteers in improv comedy and get them sharpening up their comedy and the rest is history. It's a great interview. Enjoy!   (Our thanks to Muppet Central Forum for the tip.)

Umbilical Adult Puppet Comedy

Australia's famous comedy duo 'The Umbilical Brothers' have performed world-wide over the past decade. They are Australia's biggest comedy exports. With their zany mix of mime with sound, the Umbilical Brothers have audiences around the world rolling in the isles. What I never knew until discovering their 'puppetry piece' on You Tube, is the pair's real talent as puppeteers too and their incredible talent in performing koala bears and performing multiple-personalities.
(WARNING: Course language used, which might offend sensitive viewers!)

Punch & Judy are 350 years old in May

Twenty-five years ago, in May 1987,  I was privileged to be one of a few hundred fellow Punch and Judy performers attending at the 325th Anniversary of Punch and Judy in Covent Garden in London. It's hard to believe that twenty-five years has gone by and it's time for another big birthday bash. You might recall another article I posted earlier this year, also marking this enormous anniversary year, about Julian Crouch's The Devil and Mr Punch (see here).

'The Big Grin' is the title of the Punch's 350 Birthday Party being organised by the infamous British Punch and Judy Professor, Glyn Edwards. The Big Grin will again take place in Covent Garden Piazza in central London where he was first seen by Samuel Pepys on 12 May 2012.  A mass gathering of UK ‘Professors’ will be joined by performers and  guests from around the world - including Japan, Australia and America  - and a very special guest 'Pulcinella' from Naples. The celebration will be followed on 13 May by a special edition of the traditional Punch and Judy May Fayre in the churchyard of St. Paul’s Covent Garden - the Actors’ Church.

If you'll look closely at the 1987 photo below, you might just spot me (middle-right) holding the only 'Black' Puns, from South Africa, in the gathering. If you are anywhere near London on 12 May, do attend!

Punch and Judy's 325th Anniversary, Covent Garden 1987

War Horse launches in Australia

The National Theatre of Great Britain and Global Creatures have joined forces with the Arts Centre Melbourne in producing the internationally acclaimed 'War Horse' in Australia. War Horse has been performing for the past five years in London, New York, Toronto and is about to open in Melbourne at the end of the year.

I first saw War Horse at the National Theatre in London a few years ago and the the production made a huge impression on us and made me proud to be a puppeteer. What an incredible journey it has been since I first witnessed Adrian Kohler, Artistic Director of Handspring, building the very first horse photo-type in their studios in Cape Town in late-2005. They have since become a world-wide phenomena, and so well-deserved, even winning a Special Tony Award for the incredible puppets.

In this exclusive Puppetry News interview, our very own Con Quest, chats to the Associate Puppetry Director of War Horse, Finn Caldwell, from Handspring Puppet Company, UK.
For Australian War Horse bookings, click here!   (Photo credit: Sav Schulman)

Celebrity Apprentice 'Puppetry without the Penis'

 


Oh, that Lisa Lampanelli. She’s a randy one! Whether she’s roasting celebrities, yelling at Venezuelan models, performing puppetry, doing stand-up comedy…. Wait, performing puppetry? That’s right. In tonight’s episode, Lisa and new teammate Clay Aiken will be forced to perform with puppets. Predictably, it doesn’t take long for things to get a bit blue.

Said to be one of America's most watched television shows. 'Celebrity Apprentice' with Hollywood crazy Donald Trump, this week visit's Brian Henson's mad world of adult improvisational puppetry, Stuffed and Unstrung. You can even catch a snatch of their performance here!