Lest that sound a bit grandiose, let me call to mind a couple of the Cusps the Puppeteers in America have traversed.

In 1937 Puppeteers gathered for their first official and united Festival as the Puppeteers of America in Cincinnati. Those early founders sought to bring together a network or Puppeteers from across the continent, to share, to inspire, to perform. They created an organization for the purpose of accomplishing this and the Puppeteers of America is still here after 72 years.

Early communication was accomplished through Paul McPharlin’s Puppetry Yearbooks which started in 1930, became the Puppeteers of America official publication from 1937-48. Subsequently, transformed into the Grapevine Telegraph and then, under the direction of George Latshaw, the Puppetry Journal in 1949, our quarterly magazine provides a multitude of resources for our community. A number of able editors have guided the Journal over the years.

Now we announce our newest addition to Puppeteers of America resources, ‘The Journal Companion’ (http://tcpuppet.org/pjc/pjcmain.html, you can find and click the link right on the Journal page), brings us over another Cusp in communication with an online supplement to the Journal with more photos, videos, and other resources.

In 1990, the Puppeteers of America decided to implement an ‘in-house’ newsletter to better disseminate organizational business for the membership.

The Playboard, under the editorship of Paul Eide and published six times yearly, was the source for current information on puppeteers, puppet festivals, Guilds, organizational news and technical advice.

Since that time Playboard has seen a number of permutations and is now well-guided by the editor, Fred Thompson. Both Fred and the Executive Board have been watching the changing content of our newsletter and the changing nature of both our membership and the modes of communication in the past few years. Playboard now includes an online version which can be viewed and downloaded and / or printed.

As part of the Communications Cusp upon which we as a society and as an organization sit, the Puppeteers of America is increasingly concentrating on electronic communication through our web presence and email to membership. The Board, though, is also mindful that not everyone can or desires to be such a close part of this electronic network. Up to this point, the Board has given alternatives such as mail only or email/online only in terms of the Playboard.’

But the current economic times, as if we needed another Cusp, have required a closer and timelier scrutiny of our operations. The Puppeteers of America, while doing all right financially, needs to be even more serious about how we use our limited finances and look to the future in terms of our goals.

Among the many issues before the Executive Board, the one we wish to place before you, the membership, is the future organization and use of the Playboard. In consultation with the current editor, Fred Thompson, a quick survey is provided inside this issue. Please take them time to look it over, answer the few questions and add your comments as necessary, and return them either by regular mail to Trustee:

Anna Vargas
39 Besen Parkway
Airmont, NY 10952-3510

OR you may fill out the survey online at: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2i2z4beftantc51/start
Some final words from your out-going president in the next issue. Thanks!

Wayne Krefting – President

Normally, this Playboard issue contains the ballot for the three Trustee positions up for election this year. This year, even though we started out with five candidates for three slots, two candidates notified the Nominations Committee that they needed to withdraw.

Unfortunately, the withdrawals came after the required deadline for nomination applications and there were no other applications to consider.

The Board determined in light of the fact that there are only three candidates officially running for three open positions on the Puppeteers of America 2009 Board of Trustees that the Board save everyone time and money by casting a single vote for the presented slate of candidates, welcoming them onto the board at the 2009 National Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, and informing the membership in the next (this) issue of Playboard.

We would like to thank the Nominatons Committee Chaired by Steven Widerman, (New York) with Valerie Nelson, (California) Joanne Schroeder, (Michigan) and Lisa Sturz, (North Carolina).

Thanks to all who send in their changes of mailing and email addresses. Returned Puppetry Journals and Playboard newsletters cost a lot to remail. Much more than the initial costs when they are sent to a correct address.

The Post Office also charges us for returned items and / or address corrections.

Please help PofA out by letting us know when you move.

Thanks.

Membership Office
Puppeteers of America
26 Howard Avenue,
New Haven, CT. 06519-2809
Membership[at]puppeteers.com
(888) 568-6235

1. Do you read Playboard?
2. Do you find it useful? Helpful?
Yes, cover to cover.
Yes  Some, just what interests me.
No
Comment:

3. If useful or helpful, which features do you enjoy most? Please rank in order of priority with #1 = most important.
EUREKA!!
Guild Connection.
Reum ….with a view.
Board News.

Comment:

4. Currently it costs PofA an average of $1,100 per issue, $5,500 for all 5 issues to be printed and mailed. The cost of  Playboard equals the dues of 100 regular adult memberships. In today’s climate of increasing costs and decreasing revenues, is this a justifiable expense for the organization?
A. Yes
B. Unsure.
C. No

6. The Board may have to consider putting Playboard exclusively on line in the future. Trying to provide both an online version and mail only to those who want a mailed hard copy would cost even more than the current structure.
    We want your opinion:
    Agree,
    Disagree,

    Why?

5. More and more organizations including puppet guilds are ending mailed, paper newsletters and replacing them with emailed newsletters. If PofA stopped mailing Playboard would you…
Miss it very much?
Miss it a little bit?
Unsure?
Not miss it at all?

6. If PofA were to put half the contents of Playboard (for example, Eureka and Board news) into Puppetry Journal,  how much would you miss Playboard?
Very Much.
A little bit.
Unsure.
Not at all.

7. The Board of Trustees may have to consider putting Playboard exclusively on line in the future. About 250-300 members (about 18% of the membership) do not currently have email.

Please agree or disagree with these 2 statements:
Playboard is an essential membership service and the board should consider printing and mailing Playboard to members who do not have email.
Agree
Disagree

8. Playboard is a non-essential membership service and eliminating costs of paper and postage for a mailed paper Playboard is a responsible action.
Agree
Disagree

Kurt Hunter

What makes for a great guild meeting? I think you can plan a good guild meeting, but greatness tends to just erupt.

• We’ve had some wonderful meetings lately of the Twin Cities Puppeteers. In February, Diane Rains and Stu Janis showed off the talents of Kian the wonder, pirate, Toby dog, in a dress rehearsal for their Punch and Judy show. In March, Kathy Hunter led the group through “Sewing for Puppeteers 101”, which was rollicking and educational.

  Those were excellent planned events, but the real passion comes out in the unexpected. In February, new member and children’s librarian Kim Faurot came to the meeting seeking technical advice on her plans to present the Jack Prelutsky poem “Forty Dancing Bananas”. She had actually already made 40 life-sized banana rod puppets, but wanted help rigging them so that they could be animated by two puppeteers. Creativity sprang forth. Strong ideas clashed. Complexity spiraled out of control. It was all passionate, great fun, and rather inspiring. In the end, Paul Eide and Bil Delong took up the gauntlet and volunteered to rig the bananas. We are all anxiously awaiting their debut.

• In most of the guild news that I see I have to guess about the rollicking good times and the passionate discussions. I’m sure they are there, but they don’t translate to the printed word very well. For instance, the March meeting of the Detroit Puppeteers Guild was “Playing with Your Shadow” led by Daren Dundee. Several guild members were enlisted to help present a short but lively presentation of an old folk tale, “It Could Always Be Worse.” I can certainly imagine that as a rollicking good time.
• The Boston Area Guild of Puppetry had a look at “Props and Special Effects” in March. Guild members brought in their own favorite props and effects, which sounds like fun to me.
• In February, the Columbia Association of Puppeteers was treated to a fascinating presentation by Lance Woolen about the stop motion feature film “Coraline”, which he worked on. As an extra bonus, they headed off as a group to see the film.
• Maybe “Coraline” is serving as inspiration across the country. The Phoenix Guild of Puppetry concentrated on animation in February learning about both drawn and stop motion from their resident experts Tommy Cannon, Bob Marquis, and Stacey Gordon.
• In January, guest artist Maya Erdelyi-Perez screened four of her visually arresting short films for the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York. The work she presented featured cut-paper animation, stop motion animation, and a small scale marionette.
• The Puppet Guild of Long Island got up close and personal with stop motion animation in March, when Artie Poore led a hands-on workshop on the topic. I hope lots of folks took advantage of that unique opportunity.
• The members of the Florida Suncoast Puppet Guild had a chance to get hands-on with a different type of small scale puppetry in March. The topic was “Toy Theatre” and the theater was supplied by Norma Bigler.
• For the San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers’ Guild, March featured opportunities for everyone to be performers and audience in the same day. They started with Liebe Wetzel’s “Object Animation Workshop”, which was open to the public, but with discount and early registration benefits for guild members. The workshop was followed by performances of “The Fisherman and His Wife” by Fairytaletheater’s Herb Lange, a short family piece by Emily Butterfly, and a short adult piece by The Independent Eye’s Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller. Sounds like a day filled with inspiration.
• Creativity isn?t just about the performance, though. I?m sure Nancy Mitchell had a variety of creative ideas to offer when she discussed “Basic Techniques of Salesmanship for the Puppeteer” at the March meeting of the Orange County Puppetry Guild.
• Checking in with some of puppetry?s cousin arts is another good way to spark creativity. It sounds like The Greater Houston Puppetry Guild had a great meeting in January, when doll maker Pepper Hume talked to the group. Her presentation also included a brief workshop on sculpting the face, which had to have been of interest to the puppeteers.
• The Puppeteers of Puget Sound learned about a wonderful creative collaboration of the arts in March, when they took a backstage tour of Pacific Opera Works. Their production of Monteverdi’s “The Return of Ulysses” featured large scale puppets by South Africa’s handspring Puppet Company.
• The Puppet Guild of Greater St. Louis has been doing a great job of getting out into the community. Their annual Fun Friday performances at Faust Park ran in February and March. Their March meeting was a membership drive with a workshop led by Pat Breithaupt, Ginny Weiss, and Papa Wright featuring various puppets, puppet making and manipulation.
• As the summer puppet festival season approaches, it?s nice to know that the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry has a scholarship fund set-up to help members cover the costs of attending the P of A national festival. It’s all thanks to the contributions of generous members who value the experience of attending festivals.
• The San Francisco Bay Area Puppetry Guild also has a scholarship fund available for members attending the P of A national, PuppetFest Midwest, or other festivals that are out there.

Well, the news has been a bit thin lately, but I assume that’s just because everyone has been too busy with creative, passionate discussions and goings on. When you have a spare moment, let me know what your guild is up to. I’ll pass the news along.

KURT HUNTER
5918 W. 39th Street
St. Lois Park, MN 55416
HunterMarionettes[at]earthlink.net

• Drama of Works (Gretchen Van Lente) in Brooklyn, New York is celebrating its tenth anniversary this spring, with parties and puppet slams for everyone.
• Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis sent a wonderful poster for their Toy Theater after Dark. They offered five shows: two shows from Chicago and three from Minneapolis.
• Michael Haverty of Decatur, Georgia has a new show “The Phantom Limb.” No word on what it is about, but it sounds interesting.
• Drew Allison, with Gray Seal Puppets of Charlotte, South Carolina, has a fun news letter for us. Just type in www.HeyPuppetman.blogspot.com
• Guy Thompson and his Mousetrap Productions of LaGrange, Indiana is doing a new show, “American Puppet Idol”.
• News from old friends: Heard that Bernice Silver performed for the Puppetry in NYC class at the Tisch School of the Arts.
• Rick Morse in Detroit will be doing “Puss in Boots” this summer in Lakeside Ohio. Rick also did a television spot to launch Disney’s Pinocchio release.
• The Sierra Arts Foundation in Reno has hired Bernie Beauchamp, of Reno, Nevada as an artist in residence.
• Nick Cappola’s Puppetworks show in New York “The Sleeping Beauty” received wonderful write-ups.
• Anna Sobel’s Talking Hands Theatre in New York has produced “Big Daddy Z and the Greeks.” It is based Greek legends and myths. I love hearing that the scene changes were painted on window shades.
• Sometimes my mail just makes my day. I received a letter from Jan Johnson of Lompoc, California where she is known as Mother Goose. She and my buddy Pat Lay Wilson of Seal Beach, California, (another Mother Goose) connected. They have had a great time with swapping Mother Goose tales. If you, too. are a Mother Goose get in touch with them. Ah, puppeteers! They are the greatest, friendliest crew in the world.

  When you have a minute if you get to the festival, visit the Puppetry Center and take a look at the Exhibit section. I was there all day looking at puppets. It is sensational.

  I wish everyone had a chance to read the Guild letters.

• Chicago’s Puppet Patter had a great article written by David Herzog about ‘Puppets a Dying Art”. He speaks for all of us, that puppetry is alive and well. Thanks David.
• The Puppetry Arts Institute in Independence, Missouri had a Ventriloquism Exhibit. Many of the figures were from the collection of Bob Abdou of Austin, Texas.
• Steve Petruzella of Petra Puppets in Long Island has won two Axtell competitions. Hurrah for Steve.
  Congratulations to Charlotte Dore, Rosalita’s Puppets of Boston for winning second place for the best children’s entertainer at the National Renaissance Faire.
• Carol Fijan, Saugerties, New York is happily settled in her new digs and tickled pink over cards everyone sent for her birthday.
• I hope everyone saw the picture of Minneapolis’ Kurt Hunter’s, “stage in the ICE”. If you missed it, it was in the last JOURNAL. A wonderful place to do a puppet show.
• I understand there was a meeting of the puppet minds as Nancy Henk of Detroit met with Jean Hasselschwert and then met with Bob Vesely and Roger Dennis, all Florida residents. I guarantee that is a group to have unending puppet stories.
• I love to hear there are workshops going on all over the country to teach the little ones and bring them into the fold. Diane Boatman of Southfield, Michigan is teaching in Detroit serving three age groups. Connie Galeener in Phoenix also worked with a Boy Scout troop (11 fifth grade boys) and the performed with their puppets and earned their Showmanship badge. Keep up the good work.
• Finally, another fare-well to a friend, puppeteer Daniel Llords. Dan was the first professional puppeteer I met. A sensational performer and a neat guy. Thanks Dan for being you and sharing with us your talent.

Happy Spring everyone, Let me know what you are up to.

Eureka!!

Greetings, Survivors of the Worst Winter in Years. Never was spring so welcomed as this year. In Upstate New York, where I spend my summers (only!), they had two hundred and forty inches of snow! I fell down the steps and broke my ankle just three days before I had a contract to perform twenty-seven library shows (in thirty-five days!). So my husband was commandeered to be my “roadie,” and really learned what I do for a living! But all is getting back to normal and summer shows loom happily in the future. I feel fortunately that it wasn’t a wrist or elbow…

• Curtain Fabric: I was chatting with Rick Morse, of Flushing, Michigan, and I got to moaning about how you can’t buy the old robe velour for drapes like we used to do. He headed me to a great site for curtain material. As Rick said, “Plush, plush, plush!” The site is: www.syfabrics.com. Click on velvets and velours. He said that the fabric is drop-dead gorgeous and the service is great.
• Daycare Cold Calling: Rick was expressing his frustration at day care centers being suspicious of male callers to their facility. In these days, it seems that they can be rather paranoid, and rightly so. But I received a very timely tip on this very subject from Patricia Breithaupt, of Saint Clair, Missouri. She writes: “ I wasn’t getting much response to my flyers recently. Then I registered with The Family Care Safety Registry and obtained a copy of my criminal background check. A note about it on flyers has dramatically improved response!” Who would believe that it would come to this? Upon investigation, it seems that The Family Care Safety Registry is a Missouri based outfit, so do some surfing on the Internet and find the name of your state’s site.
• Glitz Spritz: Getting back to “drop dead gorgeous,” I got an e-mail from Dave Herzog, of Chicago, Illinois. He writes, “ I’ve fallen in love with the various spray glitters at the craft stores. A little spritz and boy, is it magic! They’re great for props and I even give a real light spritz on a clown face and WOW!
• Air Bubbles: Lucky Stradley, of Hubbell, Nebraska, sent me this great tip: “To prevent air bubbles in silicone molds, I paint on the first layer and then use an air gun to blow on the silicone. This releases most all the bubbles. I do this with each new layer of silicone. The air nozzle that I use looks like an ink pen or perhaps the chalk holder that my elementary teachers used to use. I blow each layer vigorously with the nozzle right next to the silicone surface. It works very well. I learned this from the bronze sculptor James Brothers.”
• Back Problems: As I was trying to get back into walking, lifting, and hauling (What? Give up show biz?), I hit upon a great book for healing, strengthening and preserving your back: Healing Back Pain Naturally by Art Brownstein, MD (Harbor Press; Gig Harbor, WA; 1999) He has many exercises for stretching and strengthening.Then, as I was working through this book, who should I hear from but Diane Kordas, of Weare, New Hampshire, discussing the very same thing. Could it be an occupational hazard? She writes, “Yoga is a great total body workout, strengthening, stretching, relaxation, and meditation. I recently began, and have found it extremely helpful after a busy day hauling puppet stages and holding puppets. I also recommend a product called Traumeel, which can be purchased at a natural food store. Its main ingredient is Arnica, a natural inflammatory. You can get Arnica gel or cream as well. Rub on your sore muscles at bedtime and the soreness is usually gone by morning. Traumeel tabs can also help.
• Dreaded hair: Donna Marbet, of Kittery, Maine, took the time to send me a “wondrously simple” way to make great dread locks. She says that you should start out with “roving,” which is wool that has been carded and washed. This wool, which can be purchased by the pound (a half pound should do a family of puppets), is found on the Internet under “felting wool.” Roving comes in a fluffy rope. Pull off (do not blunt cut) twice as much (plus a few inches) roving as you need, for it will shrink. Standing at your sink, dunk the roving into warm water and gently squeeze. Laying this aside, squirt a drop of dish soap on your palms and rub your hands together. Then take up the roving and begin to rub it between your palms, very much like when you make a snake out of clay. The more you roll it in your palms, the more it will felt. Rinse, gently squeeze, and set aside to air dry.

  Then she sews the locks to a fleece base, sewing them from the middle of the length so it will give her two strands of hair. She says that fleece works well for a wig base if you ever want to transfer it to another puppet. “One thing I really like about the hair,” says Donna, “Is that it is extremely light weight and it has bouncy movement. Watch out for moths.” Thanks, Donna.

• More AboutHair: Speaking of hair, Anne Schaefer, of Ware, Massachusetts sent me a bonanza about different ways of making hair. She wrote, “If you’re looking for wispy movement ostrich and/or marabou feathers are great for puppet hair. Upholstery fringe also works well (for good hair movement), but you have to hunt for the longer lengths. I’m thinking of the “swingy” stuff you sometimes see on lampshades… Embroidery thread comes in a bazillion colors, so you can really mix the shades for a more natural look (For vibrant hair, don’t make it all one color.. Mixed complementary shades add zing…). Pleated velvet – you sort of sculpt and pleat the velvet into the hairstyle you’re going for, tacking as you go.

  Suede fringes – lighter shades can be dyed for variation; you could probably also create your own fringes by slicing up suede or pseudo-suede or whatever that micro-fiber is…(I think you’re thinking of fleece. If you cut that in strips and pull really hard, you get curls.)

• What have you used for hair that you thought was neat? Let me know! Thanks to those who took the time to send me their ideas. Puppeteers are the most creative people on the planet (am I prejudiced? Yes!), with so many tips to share. So I am asking you to send me your ideas and your experiments. E-mail is so easy, but when you send a tip, be sure you mark it “Eureka” so I won’t accidentally delete it because I don’t recognize your .

  NANCY H. SANDER
  1250 Granger Avenue
  Lakewood, OH 44107
  puppetmaster[at]puppetswithpizazz.com

Membership Office

 Thanks to all who send in their changes of mailing and email addresses. Returned Puppetry Journals and Playboard newsletters cost a lot to remail. Much more than the initial costs when they are sent to a correct address.

The Post Office also charges us for returned items and / or address corrections.

Please help PofA out by letting us know when you move.
Thanks.

Membership Office
Puppeteers of America
26 Howard Avenue,
New Haven, CT. 06519-2809
Membership[at]puppeteers.com