The Board of Trustees of Puppeteers met August 2 and 3 in Tacoma, Washington at the beautiful campus of The University of Puget Sound. The Budget and Finance committee met on the night before the board meeting and worked out recommendations. In the past several years, budgets have been approved after the fiscal year started. We moved that process to the summer meeting in an effort to come into line with the practices of most other not for profit organizations.

The budget was approved for 2007. The board decided to split the membership office into two parts. Anna Vargas, newly elected board member, has offered to take on the role of corresponding secretary of membership, gratis. She will volunteer her time this first year during which time the job will be advertised and the board will select a permanent corresponding membership chair. The other half of the job, now known as “recording secretary”, will be taken on by Fred Thompson, editor of this publication, who will begin in January of 2007.

Marsha McGee who served as Budget and Finance committee chair these last nine years has resigned. Marsha who serves without pay, has given this organization years of dedicated and invaluable service. Marsha received the budgets from each chair and prepared them for meetings, she received the budgets for all the festivals regional and national. She provided sound and reliable advice. I owe her great thanks for doing her job so superbly. Taking her place is Janet Bradley.

Festival 2007 aka Puppet Rampage 2007 reported they had quite a few performers lined up and it looks like an exciting festival. Jeff Cornett is chair of a committee looking into the 2009 and 2011 festivals. They are proposing dates in Atlanta and the board is looking forward to receiving a formal bid.
The Puppetry Store has begun selling used books, as well as the many other offerings they have. The list of books will be made available on the web site under the store. The list of available dvds is now posted on the website and available for lending from the dvd library, via the store.

The board decided to eliminate the mid year meeting and continue to meet ten times a year on tele-conference. We tried this two times this past year and it greatly improved the board's ability to take action in a more timely and productive manner. Several board members met on an additional teleconference with the regional directors to listen to their concerns.

At the general membership meeting an issue of concern was the late renewal notice. The ad hoc committees report on the store was briefly touched on and the contents of that report are reprinted here. I wish to thank Lisa Rhodes and her committee, Doris Benz, Jean Enticknap, Dave Herzog, Mark Levenson and Valerie Nelson, for taking on this task.

And on Sunday night the new elections results were announced,Wayne Krefting and Mary Decker were re-elected, and Anna Vargas was elected. Wayne Krefting is your new president, Jovonna Van Pelt is vice president and Kathy Bolch is secretary. Congratulations to all of them.

It has been my pleasure to serve the Puppeteers of America, and I encourage all of you to serve in any way you can for this wonderful and marvelous organization.

Paul Mesner, President

Welcome...

Greetings to all our members across North America and overseas! I am really quite humbled, and not a little excited, to take on the office of President of the Puppeteers of America.

I joined the PofA, I suspect, for many of the same reasons you did--the love of this Art and the desire to enhance the appreciation and promotion of puppetry performance. Puppeteers of America was founded on that love and the need to share the Art not only within the puppetry community (important as that is) but with the public in general.

Over the years, Puppeteers of America has done much to showcase puppetry on every level and bring in new audiences. That only happens when we all recognize that PofA membership is not just an assortment of goods and services but an opportunity to work collaboratively with other like-minded individuals in the service of the Art we cherish.

Ok, that sounds all solemn and syrupy. And yet, I believe it's true. I hope you will join me and other PofA members in volunteering your time, as generously as you can at whatever level whatever level you can, to help promote the wonder of puppetry.

Wayne Krefting, President.

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P of A Store Committee Report
July 2006

Committee Members: Doris Benz; Jean Enticknap; Dave Herzog;
Mark Levenson; Valerie Nelson; Lisa Rhodes.

Our committee could not find any written mission for the store. In lieu of an officially sanctioned mission from P of A, the following sums up what we view as the purpose of the store.

THE MISSION OF THE STORE is accomplished by serving both members and non-members who are interested in the art of puppetry; promoting the existence of Puppeteers of America to non-members; and by hosting the festival store which gives festival attendees a chance to view the selection of books and other items in person as well as providing a venue to sell their own items.

ISSUES ADDRESSED CONCERNING THE STORE:
1) The committee was told, “The store is losing money. The loss over a 5 year period was $24,817.44.”
This is just not true. Some members have not understood the accounting of the store's inventory. They thought that the inventory adjustment increased the loss when, in fact, it does the opposite.

Since the store was moved to Arizona in 2002, the net income for the past 4 years is $10,079. This figure was derived from the P of A financial reports. The net income is as follows:

2002: $ 2,944
2003: $ 4,030
2004: ($ 1,112)
2005: $4,217

Note: If we include the 2000 & 2001 years-prior to the move to Arizona-the total net income of the store from 2000-2005 would be $1,075. The 2000-year was particularly abysmal with a net of ($8,693); the 2001-year was ($3,091).

We think it is significant to judge the store in its current situation. It seems quite apparent that the store is on the rebound and is capable of ending each year in the black.

2) Concerning the store, we were also told “in this day and age, it is out of date” and “unnecessary due to Amazon, E-bay, etc.”
Again, this is just not accurate. The majority of the items the store sells cannot be bought on Amazon. Also the good folks at Amazon would certainly not set up a store at our puppetry festivals. Because the majority of sales are non-P of A members that seems to prove that the general public can and does find us online. They may also shop elsewhere but they are shopping at the P of A store.

3) The following suggestion was made to the committee: “Making the store person part of the Festival Core Staff would have to be set at the time the budget is submitted to the Trustees. Since a large part of the store sales at a festival are consignments that could be handled by a festival staff person. The books could be ordered for the festival with strict guidelines set for such a procedure. Any book remainder could be sent to Amazon.com.”

This is not a viable option. The designated “store person” would not have the knowledge of what books and items to purchase, as does our store manager who works with the store year-round. Our current store manager is attuned to the current available books and merchandise on a constant basis. In addition, the number of each book title ordered would be too limited to garner a decent wholesale price, in turn making it necessary for us to charge even more for the items. Finally, to give the remainder items to Amazon would incur an even greater loss of income to P of A. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE P of A STORE:

1) The store's financial goal should be to run consistently without losses.

2) We understand that the store manager mails a P of A membership brochure along with every customer's order. Information could be included on how the customer can contact the nearest puppetry guild as well.

3) Put a tracking mechanism in place so that, in a year or two from now, we have good figures on the conversion of non-members to members through the store. In conjunction with this, the P of A Membership office should ask new members where/how they heard about us. Now that the store is supposed to give a 10% discount to members, the store personnel will need to know who is and who isn't a member; the store staff will soon have a much better idea of the number of members vs. non-members who use the store. Hopefully more non-members will join P of A to get the discount.

4) There was a comment that our store prices are higher than Amazon because we include shipping and that the prices are comparable if you factor in shipping for Amazon. The store should re-price everything so that shipping is a separate line item. If customers have the perception that they can get the same items cheaper from Amazon (even if that's not really the case), they will buy from Amazon. Should we ever get the store included in Web comparison engines, this will be crucial issue.

5) Web searches for some of our specialty titles came out relatively low in the listings and then only for the coverage in the Puppetry Journal. Web searches didn't return our store catalog pages on these titles. So, someone doing a Web search to buy these books wouldn't come to us. This problem should be addressed, especially if we think that the sale of specialty items is a competitive advantage.

6) There should be a marketing campaign to targeted markets: education, theatrical markets, and associated arts/crafts (i.e. doll-making). If we can promote the store as the location to buy books available nowhere else, we might drum up both new business and, consequently, new members.

The Committee recommends that these measures be implemented as soon as possible, and then a review by this committee or the board be made every year for at least three to five years to track the store's financial health.

GREAT NEWS!

More than 200 titles from the
Puppeteers of America AudioVisual Library
have been converted to DVD's and
may be borrowed through the Puppetry Store!

To find a list, go to www.puppeteers.org
click on Services, then AV Library.

You can't order directly through the web site yet,
but you can e-mail or call the Store to place an order.
Some cool stuff.

You must be a member of P of A to use this service.

The Puppetry Store
302 W Latham St
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Email: E-Mail Address
Phone 602 262-2050
Fax 602 262-2330

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REUM - with a View…

M'El REUM

Hi to one and all.

That's if you didn't melt away this past summer. It seems we all had a taste of the hot weather and now here we are back to the school routine. Hard to believe. I hope everyone had as much fun this summer as I did. My puppet fix this year was at Puppetfest MidWest. I finally, after waiting three years, learned to felt. Pam Corcoran from Wisconsin taught our class and it was great. I finally met a “new-old friend,” she has been writing me every month for years. She sends me the Arizona newsletter and she is a doctor. Cam Mican is a jewel. She kept us all laughing and watching the creatures she created. Felting is a very different approach to making puppets. I can see a number of ways to use it. Just that old problem of finding the time. I can't emphasize how important it is to me to be with national puppeteers every year. I always come home knowing that puppetry is something very special and the people who do puppets are absolutely the best.

Wayne Martin in Boston is one of the busiest puppeteers in the business. He sends me wonderful notices and pictures. This summer he did some shows up in Maine

I am always thrilled to hear when puppeteers are awarded grants. Duck in a Truck, David Opasik and Susan Opasik, from Jenson Beach Fla. have received a grant from the Community Foundation and from their Arts Council. They will be working on “Professor O's Traveling Book.” The show teaches young children the importance of reading.

The New York Puppeteers held their tenth year of Puppets on the Green. Bruce Cannon, Ed Shehy, Bernice Silver, Marshall Katzman, Artie Poore, Elani Myers and Isabella Magistro all worked their puppet magic to make the day a success.

Kevin Augustine's, ”Bride,” a work in progress was performed at St. Marks Church. Kevin received a Jim Henson grant to work on the show. Another NY show was the TRAVELER by Ken Berman and Frankie Cordero with Sarah Frechette and Faye DuPras helping to work puppets. All of these puppeteers are UCONN grads. My thanks to Elise Handelman NY for her great information.

The Swedish Cottage in NY will be doing “Cinderella Samba.” Just picture Cinderella set in Brazil.
It has been years since I have seen Suzanne Pemsler and now I find she is just having fun. She seems to have a great helper; Xan her grandson and from the sound of things they both have a great time. Xan is going to have a hard time keeping up with Suzanne.

Yostie Ashley of SC had a busy summer at Hilton Head Island. Now I'd like to work that gig. I hear it is beautiful there. Yostie is going with the National Storytellers group to Russia in October.
Lois Corwin had her new one act play performed in NY. The play is about the difficult life of a therapist and is named “The Treatment Plan”

Brad Lowe is working on a new pilot for a children's show.

Philip Huber performed for the Puppetry Arts Institute in Kansas City. Diane Houk, of Kansas City had an interesting note concerning the cruise ship, Costa Magica. The ship had featured a collection of 65 Sicilian marionettes made by Emanuele Salamanca.

In Detroit they have all kinds of festivals. They are having the Bixby Festival in September and they had the Macomb County festival earlier this year. The reason I mention the Macomb county festival is that they had a beautiful giant puppet “The Spirit of Healing Waters”. I'm not sure which of the Detroit puppeteers built it but it looks wonderful.

Sean Cawelti of The Rogue Artists Ensemble, in Signal Hill, California sent great information on their various activities They have three projects in the works, THE VICTORIAN HOTEL, MR. PUNCH and they are working on an outreach program for children.

The Puppet Company in Glen Echo Maryland is opening a new show called Dinosaur Desperados. B.J. Hughes of Washington, D.C. has gone off to join Disney World in Orlando and Irene Valines is of to Florida as well.

A quick note before I give up. During Lent this year I gave up playing games on the computer. I checked out puppet sights and found one I would like to share with you. It is called Takey's Directory of on line puppet companies.

http://www.takey.com

I have worked my way to France and it has been interesting. If you can't sleep at night give it a whirl. So much for now. Onward too more and better puppet shows.

'Till next time . M'El
M'EL REUM
Denver, CO 80206
E-Mail Address
827 Milwaukee Street
FAX (303) 393 - 1367

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EUREKA!!

NANCY H. SANDER

Greetings to all survivors of this incredible summer. Once again I am at my summer home in Upstate New York, and I am having a heck of a time getting puppets on and getting them off; the humidity is so high that my puppet liners have turned from crisp muslin to almost slimy mush.

PUPPET LINING: Marilyn Schroeder, of Delaney, NY, says that she prefers to line her puppets with cotton T-shirt material. She feels that it's more absorbent. I wonder about the stretch when tryig to get them on. I'm assuming that the hanging ring goes all the way through to the unstretchy outer costume. H-m-m-m: I was wondering if any of you had ever tried parachute material? It seems lightweight and slippery. If you have, let me know. Or if you have any other ideas, I'd like to try them.

TRUCKING YOUR SHOW: Since I am in New York and my summer camp is not online, I have less access to the e-mail than usual (I have to go to the library). Therefore, while I have been really trucking in the trenches, I thought that I might run through some tips that make for a happier experience in puppet performance.

I suppose I should call this:

“HOW TO BE A HAPPY TRUCKER.” Whether you do one show a year or three a day, you want to have a good time. The only thing that can really ruin your fun is anxiety. So the whole trick is to eliminate as much anxiety as you can.

ANXIETY #1: Getting there: You don't want to get lost. Although I Google the directions, I always call my clients before the show and get directions from them. Who knows better? The can tell you any construction problems, short cuts, hazards, etc. Here's an essential: always read the directions back. You would be amazed athe how may lefts and rigfhts they (or you) get wrong the first time. Always ask for the name of the street that you are to turn on; “two blocks” may actually be three or four. Nothing churns your stomach more than being totally lost, late and clueless. Always take your cell phone. If you are going to be late or tied up in traffic, call your client. No need to have him/her anxious as well. And it never hurts to allot more setup time than necessary. Who needs to be rushed?

ANXIETY #2: Do I have everything? For me, this isn't a problem. I know I have twelve carry-in pieces to my show. Even if I know everything is there I count them before I go. I always pack the car in the exact same way, so I might recognize if something “looks wrong.” I always count my pieces when I leave a gig. It only took leaving one piece in Kentucky to cure me of assuming I had everything. I had to drive three hundred miles to get the top part of my stage which a helper set down behind the door. An old friend of mine tells of how, having left one piece of his stage at home, he pulled slats off a pallet by the dumpster and nailed legs to the bottom of his stage while Santa was having breakfast with the children!

And in these boxes, do you have everything you need for the show? Never, and I do mean never have one puppet share two shows. It will only be a matter of time until you will be in a hurry and you will forget to take that puppet out of box one and put it in box two. And even if you don't forget,by the time you are twenty miles away from home, you will start asking yourself, “Did I put So-in-so in the box last night?”

From that first nagging doubt, you will become more and more anxious as each mile increasingly keeps you from being able to go back and get him. By the time you reach your destination, your good time is ruined…especially if you did leave little so-in-so at home.

ANXIETY #3: Do you have all the technical essentials with you? In your show you should have things you can always count on: your puppet manipulation, your voices, your acting ability, your singing, etc. If everything goes haywire, you still have that. But there are certain technical things that, if they go wrong, your show is doomed. Loss of a spotlight can doom a shadow show; loss of a music tape can doom a lip synch variety review. For these very essential essentials, always carry a spare. Salted away in my glove compartment is an extra set of pins that hold my stage together. Once I left the pins at a previous gig and had an awfully anxious show: the stage was held together with duct tape and the insides of ball point pens. Those puppets tiptoed throught that show with their little breaths held. That was no fun!

ANXIETY #4: Falling apart: Having to repair parts of the puppets or the props just before the show is a great way to ruin your fun. Here's my suggestion: don't glue or tape anything if you can nail it; don't nail anything if you can use a screw. The stronger you make your show pieces, the longer you can relax.. Don't make props from cardboard or foamcore; use lightweight luan instead. Use real hinges, not tape. Never use Styrofoam for anything. It is guaranteed to crumble away from the first use. Don't glue everything with a glue gun. I know it's fast and easy, but choose your glues by what they are designed to glue. Glue guns are great for fabric to fabric, but not metal to wood. And when you make your puppet, put lots and lots of hair on it. Likewise, when you make a leafy thing, put as many leaves on it as will fit. Sure as shootin', that hair and those leaves will drop off with every show until you can call your puppet “Baldy.” How do you make sure you have a good time at a show? Let me know.

OFF THE WALL: There is nothing that tickles me more than to hear from someone that has discovered something really weird. Marilyn Shroeder gave me a refrigerator magnet that I thought was made of latex. It had the look of latex. It was slightly flexible like latex, but no: it was Elmer's Glue mixed with cornstarch! She explained that she had met a Japanese woman who make all kinds of stuff with this mixture. When Marilyn suggested making puppet eyes with it, the woman said, “Oh, no. For that you must mix Elmer's Glue with the white part of Wonder Bread!” I think this one is going down with Ginger Lozar's banana dog…

Now comes the commercial. I need tips. And when you send them, make sure you identify in the heading that it's for Eureka. My spam blocker is not doing the job it's supposed to do and I might accidentally delete it.

Thanks. Nancy
NANCY H.SANDER
1250 GRANGER AVENUE
LAKEWOOD, OH 44107
E-Mail Address