In the depths of winter, literally and figuratively,
many of us are hunkered down toiling away on new shows and puppets
for the coming spring and \ summer, not to mention finding performances
to keep bread on the table. So, this edition’s word from
the president is more of a news update on what’s going
on in the Puppeteers of America.
The membership office, under the able direction of Fred Thompson,
has stabilized its operations and is gearing up for the annual
renewal cycle. Working
with Lindsey Briggs, our “Senior Web-Lackey”, a new
and better-performing online membership renewal and registration
page will soon be available. The Board of Trustees is currently
examining the current PofA Codes and Procedures to help streamline
language regarding membership categories to update them and
produce categories that are bit more understandable in terms
of costs and benefits to members.
A committee has been formed to study the functions and operations
of the Audio-Visual Library and to make recommendations with
the goal of retaining and improving the Library’s archiving
and preservation capabilities, ensuring steady flow of DVD copies
of archival materials for membership rental through the Puppetry
Store, and exploring avenues for accessibility of materials
for academic study.
Stephen Kaplin is the chair of the committee; if you have thoughts
and suggestions, let him know: E-Mail Address
or 37 – 45 84th #31, Jackson Heights, NY 11372.
The Puppeteers of America has received two sizeable donations
in the past few weeks. One, from Jane Henson, is to assist in
the underwriting of the 2007 National Festival in St Paul, Minnesota
this coming summer. The other is from the estate of Lettie Schubert
to further the funding of the Endowment and Youth Scholarships.
A very heartfelt thank-you from all of us in Puppeteers of America
goes out to Jane and to Lettie’s estate.
Even though we’re still in “winter mode”, it’s
not too early to plan ahead for the National Day of Puppetry.
Just around the corner, the 9th annual NDoP occurs the fourth
Saturday of April (this year April 28th). NDoP was established
at the urging of Carol Fijan through the meeting of various
guild presidents beginning at the San Francisco National Festival
in 1993. The fourth Saturday in April was selected as a convenient
spring date for most of the continent. The NDoP is, in actuality,
celebrated pretty much from the first of April through June
by various puppetry organizations.
Recently, the Puppeteers of America has been approached to consider
merging our “National Day of Puppetry” with the “World
Day of Puppetry” celebrated around the world under the
auspices of UNIMA and other puppetry organizations around the
globe. This celebration occurs around the Spring equinox (March
21), sort of early for the chilly northern hemisphere, but a
compromise with our southern neighbors where the later equatorial
temperature is blazing.
The idea has been tossed about: is it too early, does the actual
date matter given we don’t all use the same date for our
PoA celebrations, and so on. My
question for you, your guilds, and your regions is this: should
we consider coalescing our Day of Puppetry with the worldwide
celebration? One consideration might be the cachet of a global
orientation, and a clearer recognition that Puppeteers of America
isn’t just the USA, but Canada, Mexico, Central America
and the rest of the world.
Please discuss this idea with your guilds and regions and let
either me or other Trustees know your opinions. Should any changes
be made, they wouldn’t take effect until at least 2008.
There’s lots of other things happening in the Puppeteers
of America, but not enough room to detail them all here. Stay
tuned for more news!
Thanks,
Wayne Krefting. President
PUPPET
RAMPAGE, 2007
Puppeteers of America
National Festival
July 17-22, 2007
Concordia University St. Paul, Minnesota
www.puppetrampage2007.org
For details, check out the festival website at www.puppetrampage2007.org
REUM...with
a view - M'El Reum
Here in the deep freeze of Colorado with gloves on I greet you
in 2007. Those of you who know me – know I often talk of
the Puppeteers as my other family and it was so true in December.
After the Journal spotlighted the Puppet Co., my great desire
was to go and visit there. As luck would have it, I was in Washington
in Dec. Our son, who
lives there, asked what I would like to do and I said, “Go
the Puppet Co, theatre”. It was family, the minute I arrived.
Chris and Mayfield Piper greeted
me as a long lost cousin. John McCanistan my “ long lost
brother “was a joy to see. I can never explain how close
puppeteers can be when they take time to know each other. These
are people I have met at National Festivals. The Puppet Co is
a joy to see. The theatre is wonderful and Chris and Mayfield
gave us the grand tour. Who do I run into in the hall but Allen
Stevens another puppeteer I have known forever. The Show was the
Nutcracker and it was exquisitely done. Masks, Allen’s one
string marionette gliding on stage, marionettes, and hand puppets
– it was sensational. If you have a chance stop by the Puppet
Co., make it a must. Thank you Puppet Co. for making me proud
I’m a puppeteer.
When I returned home at Christmas the snow started and suddenly
I had wild memories of John McCanistan. John traveled with our
National Exhibit in the ‘80’s and at Christmas ended
up in Colorado. We had a blizzard that stopped the world. John
was scheduled to come to Christmas dinner at our house and was
snowed in for days. If I remember he and Naomi had eggs for Christmas
dinner. We managed to have a number of Christmas dinners. when
we finally thawed out. John indeed is family.
Things our puppet family are doing Chicago is pleased
to be hosting the Italian Marionette Compagnioa Carlo. They will
be presenting Macbeth. Historian Fred Putz in Chicago informs
us that the Cole Marionettes have been preserved as a collection
for the Chicago puppeteers.
Chicago's Hobo Junction is working on a new show “The Temp’.
New at Tears of Joy in Oregon is “The Shoemaker and the Elves”,
Columbia College in Chicago is having a Chinese Shadow Puppet
Exhibit. A new idea out of Boston Guild of Puppetry, the SSEAT
- See Shows Eat and Talk.
The idea is to see a show and then to take time and talk about
it in a friendly atmosphere. The Great Arizona Puppet Theater
is hosting Alan Cook’s Exhibit featuring Famous American
Puppeteers.
It is hard to say goodbye to family. A fond farewell to three
of my family. Roger Mara was one of the young men I had the privilege
of knowing when he was just getting into puppets. He first produced
the one-minute puppet stage on our front lawn and was our guild
president. I worked with George Latshaw on the Journal and have
wonderful workshop notes and memories. How could we ever forget
Fran Dowie and his vent act. His dummy fell apart, first a leg,
then an arm and Fran never cracked a smile. Bless you all and
keep us safe under your wings. Someone once told me we are a part
of all we meet and they become a part of us.
M'El Reum
827 Milwaukee Street
Denver, CO 80206
E-Mail Address
FAX (303) 393 - 1367
Have
you moved?
Please let the MEMBERSHIP OFFICE
know of any changes in your contact information..
MEMBERSHIP OFFICE
Puppeteers of America, Inc.
26 Howard Avenue.
New Haven, CT 06519-2809
E-Mail Address
888-568-6235
EUREKA!!
NANCY H.SANDER
1250 GRANGER AVENUE
LAKEWOOD, OH 44107
E-Mail Address
Greetings, all you who have been so hard-hit by
our winter storms this year. Hang in there, folks. Spring is
not far in the future. Dig in and make a
resolution to first, clear a space in your workroom (yeah, right!)
and second, try something truly experimental. Of course, for
me, I think spring will be
here before I get half my workroom cleared! All that wonderful
puppet stuff that I might need some day…
What Beginners Need: I’ve heard from Rick Morse,
an old friend from Flint, Michigan, who writes, “Y’know,
thinking about “Eureka!”, my mind goes back to what
beginners need. If they can possibly get to meetings (or even
if they can’t) they need their guilds! Good gosh! Think
of all the friends we’ve made over the years BUT--if folks
need the basics, they need those wonderful old books that are
so long out of print. Hand puppets? Ficklen (Bessie Ficklen:
A Handbook of Fist Puppets; B. Lippencott, 1935) or Merten (George
Merten: Plays For Puppet Performance, 1957). Marionettes? Beaton
(Mabel and Les Beaton: Marionettes: A Hobby For Everyone; Thomas
Crowell, New York, 1948) or Merten (George Merten: Marionettes;Thomas
Nelson, Toronto, 1957). Definitely Marjorie Batchelder’s
Puppet Theatre Handbook (Harper & Row, New York, 1947).
And I still feel every serious puppeteer should have the Stevens
Course (Martin Stevens: Steven’s Course In Puppetry)! Buy
from used book sites or ask the local library to order these
through interlibrary loan. Right you are, Rick, and luckily
the Steven’s course is reprinted and available through
the Puppetry Store. Worth every penny, too. Some of the oldies
are invaluable and the material in them is available nowhere
else. But also, if you can’t find what you’re looking
for at the puppetry store, here are two sites that are really
good for puppet books: www.puppetbooks.co.uk
and www.AbeBooks.com
Professionalism: I feel that it is so important for a
young professional to really get to know the history of our
art: names, dates, history and styles of
puppets, worldwide puppets, etc. It is part of what a professional
does.
Face it: if someone professes to be a professional piano
player but doesn’t know who Chopin is, he’s no professional.
This goes for books as well. Part of our job is to be able to
steer potential puppeteers toward the good books of our art
(or craft, as some books stress).
Head Modelling: I admire how doll makers
make such a smooth cheek and how every area is so pristine.
Iver Johnson III, of Syracuse, NY takes one of the circles from
a cheap door hole cutter—the kind that attaches to your
drill—and flattens it out. With this toothed tool he can
scrape it over a clay head and quickly take off all the ups
and downs. Of course, it goes without saying that the furrows
have to be smoothed out. But this handy tool makes short work
of all the hills and valleys in your creation.
Soft Clay Problems: After working with the clay for a
length of time, it becomes softer and softer, making dents more
difficult to remove. Pop it into
the refrigerator for an hour and it will be hard enough to prevent
accidental finger dents.
Refining the surface: When I feel that I am nearly done
with the smoothing, I wet my fingers and run them over the “smooth”
area and then hold the head up to the light. The wet allows
me to see small variations in the surface.
No Burrs Please: After “drawing” in wrinkles
or eyelid creases, there are the annoying waste clay pieces,
or burrs, that must be removed without
damaging the edges of your creases. Take a Q-tip, dip it in
rubbing alcohol and gently remove the remains.
Tidying Up: This tip I learned from my scrapbooking daughter-in-law,
Larissa Sander of Cincinnati, OH. When at your kitchen table,
trimming hair, cutting patterns or whittling a dragon tooth,
tape a large brown grocery bag hanging off the end of your table.
All those little snips can be swept right into
the bag and not on the floor. Of course, if your table is varnished
or painted, use easy release masking tape to avoid damage.
Mailings: Now is the time to start that summer booking.
January is a good time to prepare your mailings, brochures and
advertising materials. My
husband, Eric, gave me an idea that really paid off as I tried
to break into a new area. The whole idea of your advertising
is to get the potential client to
open the envelope. I went to a local surplus paper store and
purchased greeting card sized envelopes, bright yellow. Then
I hand addressed the envelopes (no return address). For all
practical purposes, it looked just like a birthday card. I heard
later from my clients that it was the first thing they opened
that
day! I know, I know: it was a big deal to hand address all those
envelopes but it really worked. But don’t try to fool your
clients with a phony
handwriting font. Who can’t spot that?
Summer Care: I heard from Ollie De Priest, from Indiana,
saying that he suffered from several heat strokes last summer.
I can relate. We must take great care to inform our clients
that we will not work in the open sun. It is dangerous to us
and dangerous to the children. I have a clause in my contract
that states, “For outdoor venues, safety against eye damage
due to the sun’s ultraviolet rays is essential. Therefore
the site must not have either the puppeteer or the audience
staring directly into the sun.”
Busking: As spring approaches, and thoughts turn to summer,
who doesn’t dream of stuffing your puppets into a backpack
and working your way all over the world, busking (working for
handouts) your way to freedom? But how to proceed? Steve Kaplin
sends a great list of tips. Thanks, Steve!