PRESIDENT’S AWARD - given for outstanding contributions to
the Art of Puppetry. This high honor is for lifetime achievement.
- RENE
ZENDEJAS - Rene
and his puppet creations have entertained audiences across the
country and around the world. He enjoys an unequalled reputation
in his field, for his complete mastery of the puppet-maker’s
craft, as well as his unique, individual style of showmanship
and manipulation. This combination accounts for the truly universal
appeal of his productions. Rene began studying performance in
Hollywood at the age of seven. When he was 14 he built his first
marionette and began an apprenticeship with Bob Baker. After 60
years Rene continues to create beautiful puppets, with painstaking
attention to detail. His special style of manipulation, which
has become a trademark, keeps him in constant demand, as a performer
working in Las Vegas showrooms, on-board luxury cruise ships,
and in clubs and cabarets abroad. His work has delighted visitors
at Southern California’s Knott’s Berry Farm, the San
Diego Zoo and Universal Studios. Television variety credits include
Ed Sullivan and Hollywood Palace. His educational program for
children, Domingo, enjoyed a run of three years on ABC-TV in Los
Angeles, and won a local Emmy award. His creations have been seen
on Fantasy Island, Murder, She Wrote, You Bet Your Life and Bill
Cosby’s Christmas Special. His puppets appeared in films
with Lily Tomlin and Jim Carey. His clients for commercials include
Toyota, Continental Airlines, Burger King, Sylvania, Keebler,
and Bell Telephone. He animated a Model T car, hamburgers for
McDonald’s and the instantly recognizable, Pillsbury Doughboy.
- BILL
FOSSER - William B. Fosser's Puppet Production
Opera in Focus presents fully staged scenes from operas by Verdi,
Puccini, Bizet, Wagner and Gershwin Although the puppet opera
takes place on a stage only five feet wide and two feet deep,
the illusion of live musical theater prevails. The rod puppets
manipulate by puppeteers who are seated below the intricately
slotted stage floor... The remarkable sets are designed, built
and painted by Mr. Fosser. Paul Guerra conceives and executes
all of the beautiful and intricate costumes. Scenes from Aida
and Phantom of the Opera and many other classics capture the imagination
of a wide range of audiences. Miniature opera with puppets has
been a Chicago tradition since 1936. Developed by Ernest Wolf
and produced by Frederick Chramer, the first Kungsholm Miniature
Opera Theater opened in 1941. Bill Fosser began working at the
208 seat Kungsholm theater at the age of 14 in 1943 and he returned
in the 50s and again from 1963-1966 to serve as the director.
Kungsholm closed in 1971 but Bill Fosser never gave up on the
vision of opera with puppets. Bill’s Opera in Focus was first
presented in 1958 while pursuing his career as a motion picture
art director and set decorator. Since 1993 Opera in Focus has
presented regular seasons at the Rolling Meadows Park District
building charming audiences - from the lover of opera to the adult
or child simply fascinated by the fine art of puppetry.
TRUSTEE’S AWARD given for service to the Puppeteers
of America
- JEAN HASSELSCHWERT -
Jean served the Puppeteers of America as trustee for three
years and then as President for another three years (2001-2004).
Jean’s presidency was marked by several important procedural
innovations. She spearheaded the development of a Strategic Plan
that will act as a roadmap for years to come. She sought wise
advice inside and outside the organization so that she could offer
helpful suggestions. She also oversaw the creation of new manuals
for Regional Directors and Guild Presidents. Jean re-organized
the presidential files and improved reporting procedures. She
updated the duties of the Trustees, and was always there to help
if someone fell behind on a job. While serving as Regional Director
the board recognized her artistic abilities and asked Jean design
a pin to present to all Trustees as they went out of office. She
also created official P. of A. “Thank You” notes and
had them printed at her own expense. During her term of office
she devoted countless hours to the Puppeteers of America and rarely
asked for reimbursement. She treated it like a full time job,
and she did it superbly.
- JIM MALONE -
Jim Malone has served Puppeteers of America as Regional
Director, Festival Director, Festival Business Manager, Trustee,
President, and as chair of various committees. In 1991 and again
in 2003 he arranged for the national festival to be presented
at Tahlequah, Oklahoma where Jim is on the theatre faculty. The
success of the first Tahlequah festival lead directly to the establishment
of PofA’s scholarship program. While serving as President
of Puppeteers of America (1993-1996), Jim initiated retreats for
the board so that issues of importance could be pondered, discussed,
and brainstormed outside of the more formal requirements of board
meetings. During his time as President Jim devoted considerable
energy to gathering and publishing the Festival Resource Manual
a tangible guide to the complex process of running a national
festival.
THE PUPPETEERS OF AMERICA AWARD recognizes contributions
to puppetry by persons or groups not immediately involved in the
field
- CBS
SUNDAY MORNING - For
26 years, Sunday Morning CBS has provided a rare oasis of calm,
civilized reflection on network television. Each week 5 million
viewers enjoy the arts coverage that is a hallmark of this program.
Theater, opera, dance, classical or jazz musicians are often featured
subjects. They have a long tradition of celebrating our very eclectic
art. In 1983 a crew from Sunday Morning attended the National
Festival in Ames, Iowa and produced a wonderful profile of Bil
Baird. In their history they have celebrated Jim Henson &
the Muppets, Carol Spinney, Julie Taymor, Avenue Q, Little Shop
of Horrors, Howdy Doody and many more. Museum exhibits, performances,
and personalities are all treated in exquisite detail. In October
they presented a puppetry segment that featured the Puppet Co's
new theater in Glen Echo, Maryland. The host of Sunday Morning
is Charles Osgood and the executive producer is Rand Morrison.
JIM HENSON AWARD FOR INNOVATION recognizes innovation in
puppetry that is technological, dramaturgical or collaborative in
nature
- GREAT
SMALL WORKS - Great Small
Works is a puppet company created by a collaborative of extraordinary
puppet artists from different backgrounds in New York City. They
have worked steadily for years to make the art form of Toy Theatre
something innovative and relevant to the world today. Toy theaters
became popular in the early 19th century, as cardboard replicas
of actual stages. The miniature, two-dimensional, mass-produced
theaters became popular entertainment. Great Small has been successful
in attracting many new devotees and inspired many puppeteers to
experiment with the form. Their annual Toy Theatre Festival is
a “must see” event for puppeteers and the public. Since
1993, at seven festivals, hundreds of artists from around the
world (Jerusalem, Mexico City, Toronto,) around the county (California,
Illinois, Vermont) and around New York, converge at a New York
location for a ten-day celebration of the power of the miniature.
The 7th festival held in 2005 was held in Brooklyn at St Ann’s
Warehouse. Working with guest artists, they reinvent the nearly
extinct tradition of Toy Theater for contemporary audiences. The
venue is reconfigured to house small-scale performance spaces
where dramatic spectacles unfold, often simultaneously, alongside
a grand toy theater exhibition!
In addition to Toy Theater the artists of Great Small Works: John
Bell, Trudi Cohen, Stephen Kaplin, Jenny Romaine, Roberto Rossi,
Mark Sussman, utilize puppetry of several sorts, as well as live
actors and some very inventive stage technology. Through out the
year the monthly performances of Great Small Works are successful
in making puppetry accessible to people from all walks of life.
GEORGE LATSHAW AWARD for accomplishments in writing and
publishing in the field of puppetry
- LARRY
ENGLER - Larry
Engler is the co-author (with Carol Fijan) of Making Puppets Come
Alive, a book, which has won awards from The American Library
Association and The Puppeteers of America. He is also co-producer
of a popular educational puppet video. Larry has served as consultant
to Dover Books, advising them on puppetry titles that should be
re-published. As producer and distributor of DVD’s highlighting
artists Frank Paris, Rufus and Margo Rose, Bil and Cora Baird
and others he has made significant material on puppetry widely
available to a new public. Larry’s performing credits include:
The Metropolitan Opera, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Buffalo
Philharmonic, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Brooklyn Academy
of Music, and Westbury Music Fair. International workshops and
performances include work in Honduras, India, Israel, and Singapore.
MARJORIE BATCHELDER MCPHARLIN AWARD for contributions in
the field of education
- BART
P. ROCCOBERTON JR - Since 1990, Bart Roccoberton has
served as Director of the Puppet Arts Program and Associate Professor
of Dramatic Arts in Puppetry at the University of Connecticut.
Bart is recognized worldwide as a leading advocate for the Puppet
Arts in the United States and abroad. He serves as a counselor
for the Professional Training Commission of the Union International
de la Marionette. He is a founding member of the O'Neill Puppetry
Conference along with Jane Henson, George Latshaw, Richard Termine,
Jim Rose and Margo Rose. His students have gone on to work at
The Henson International Festival of Puppet Theatre, The Puppet
Showplace The Sandglass Theatre, The Center for Puppetry Arts
and on television shows including Sesame Street, Between the Lions,
and Bear in the Big Blue House. Bart has a B.A. from Montclair
State College, NJ and his M.F.A. from University of Connecticut
in Puppet Arts, working as a student of Frank Ballard. Starting
in 1973 Bart toured his popular puppet performances to schools,
libraries, colleges, theatres and museums earning a solid reputation
as a director, before he began his distinguished academic career.
He directed The Institute of Professional Puppetry Arts before
he began directing the program at University of Connecticut. His
understanding and advocacy for the power of puppetry to teach
and touch and communicate at every level is in the spirit of Marjorie
Batchelder McPharlin, for whom the education award is named.
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