HOT (Heart of Texas) Puppet Festival - Workshops

There will be three workshop sessions on Saturday, October 3. Registered participants may pick from three different workshop possibilities per session.

10:00 am – 11:00 am: Workshop Session One

1. Moveable Mouth Swim Noodle Puppet - A puppet construction workshop with Jean Pirtle

Swim Noodles make great puppets to highlight and children’s story. You will have the opportunity to create a tube puppet representing a character from a children’s book. We will have a story time puppet show to complete the workshop.

About the Artist
Jean Pirtle has been an active member of Greater Houston Puppetry Guild and Cheerful Clown Alley for about 25 years. She has served on the Board of both these non- profit organizations as treasurer, newsletter editor, gig coordinator, and other positions throughout the years. In her past career as a school nurse, she directed a youth puppet team to teach the dangers of drugs and tobacco. She is a performing clown with Cheerful Clown Alley Kitchen Band and loves making props and puppets to use with her volunteer activities.

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2. Giant Pop-Up Book Puppet Stage Workshop on construction of a portable stage featuring easy set changes, with Karen Konnerth

Would you like to include dramatic scene changes in your presentation? This technique creates a magical show for a small to medium audience. Built as a large book, the set is easy to transport and requires only a table for set up. We will examine the engineering of pop-up elements then make small scale models of your set ideas, insuring that your engineering works smoothly. The model is a crucial step before going on to build the full size version on your own. A materials list will be included to build your large scale sets on your own.

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3. Simple Newspaper Rod Puppet, with Sarah Nolen - A puppet making workshop

Create an easy to make rod puppet using easily gathered materials and practice bringing it to life! This workshop is adult and child friendly.

About the Artist
Sarah Nolen is known for creating versatile, witty, imaginative productions that inspire people of all ages. At Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts, she performs regularly for youth and family audiences and teaches puppetry in camps, workshops, and adult classes. Sarah has appeared in the National Puppet Slam, at the Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival, and the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. She has toured internationally to Spain, Turkey, and Canada. Sarah earned her BFA in Cinema-Television from Southern Methodist University, and her MFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut.

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm: Workshop Session Two

1. Lo-Fi Basics of Cardboard Puppetry! with Greg Cote and Ali Villines - A puppet construction workshop

Participants will learn all about the greatest and cheapest artistic medium that exists. The humble cardboard. We will talk type, structure and building practices and each participant will leave with a piece that can be built upon to create one of many kinds of cardboard based puppets!

About the Artists
lo-fi puppets + stuff is the result of the artistic partnership of Greg Cote and Alli Villines. As main maker of Stuff + nonsense and executive whimsist. Respectively they create a great many pieces of homemade short form puppetry. Their #1 goal is to make cool stuff with cool folks: at home and abroad.

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2. Finding your perfect Puppet Voice with Devona Carpenter - A puppetry performance workshop

Use your voice say it loud and proud. Join us on a journey to find our voice for puppets. We will learn many vocal exercises and tricks to get you comfortable talking for your puppet. We will even explore accents. Don’t miss out on finding your puppet voice.

About the Artist
Devo Carpenter has been a puppeteer for 30 years most of those for the city of Austin. In her tenure she studied under Sesame Street performers at the O’Neal puppetry conference and apprenticed with numerous professional puppeteers. Devo is passionate about puppets with 60 plus shows performed for thousands of children. Recently attending the New Orleans giant puppet festival because there is always more to learn in the world of puppets.

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3. Capture the imagination with puppetry with Jean Kuecher - A script writing and performance workshop geared for adult participants

Nurture your creativity and practice your own simple puppet show with main character, goal, problem and solution. Puppetry encourages adaptability by roleplaying alternative perspectives and problem solving. Participants will enjoy simple puppet shows and be inspired to make an inanimate object come alive and speak, creating a story.

The goals of this workshop are: Enrich and Nurture Creative Thinking, Stretch the Imagination, Strengthen a Love of Language, Motivate Reading, Heighten Visualization, Use Critical Thinking, Use Listening Skills and Communication Skills, Incorporate Art into Literature, Learn Story Mapping and Practice Collaboration.

About the Artist
Jean Kuecher, puppeteer and producer of the Marionette Playhouse, delights audiences with marionette, hand puppet and black light puppetry performances. Jean performs for schools, libraries, birthday parties, churches and corporate events. Jean has a master’s in education and is a registered trainer with the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System. As a teacher she used puppetry to enhance her classroom curriculum. As a school counselor she developed weekly marionette shows on self-awareness themes. She is a member of the Greater Houston Puppetry Guild, Chicagoland Puppetry Guild, Western Michigan Puppetry Guild and the national Puppeteers of America.

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm: Workshop Session Three

1. Shadow Puppetry Story Building with Karen Konnerth

Finding the Story is a hands-on workshop using a simple story building process, culminating in short shadow puppet presentations, with Karen Konnerth

Strong story structure featuring plenty of action is crucial to engaging Puppet Theater. Using simple templates, puppeteers will collaborate to create a plot from their choice of prompt, make quick shadow puppets, and refine their story through a positive critique process. This fun, fast moving, participatory workshop is applicable to any puppetry technique. Karen Konnerth, of Calliope Puppets, has presented variations of this workshop worldwide.

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2. Extraordinary Sock Puppets, with Jean Pirtle - A puppet making workshop

Create a red nose reindeer sock puppet using Dollar Store items and a Christmas bag stage. Learn the steps in creating a sock puppet that can be transformed into any character. Hot glue will be used to put it all together. We will have some sing along fun with the completed puppets.

About the Artist
Jean has been an active member of Greater Houston Puppetry Guild and Cheerful Clown Alley for about 25 years. She has served on the Board of both these non- profit organizations as treasurer, newsletter editor, gig coordinator, and other positions throughout the years. In her past career as a school nurse, she directed a youth puppet team to teach the dangers of drugs and tobacco. She is a performing clown with Cheerful Clown Alley Kitchen Band and loves making props and puppets to use with her volunteer activities.

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3. Build your own Jumping Jack Puppet, make and take workshop with Honey Goodenough - A puppet making workshop

Leaping Levers! Use simple materials to create a Jumping Jack Puppet, using one of the six simple machines in STEAM education. Participants will need to be able to use scissors, tie knots, and follow step by step instructions. Young children are welcome if accompanied by an adult.

About the Artist
Honey Goodenough / Good Hearted Entertainment (Creator) is a puppeteer, educator, and children’s party entertainer. Honey was Puppet Showplace Theater's first resident teaching artist from 2017 to 2022, following years of experience working with diverse student populations in Greater Boston, New York City, Vermont, and Texas. She has taught a wide variety of professional development courses for educators and aspiring puppeteers at Brooklyn College, the University of Utah, and City College CUNY. Honey is also a trained marionette performer and has toured nationally with The National Marionette Theatre and Frisch Marionettes, and she has produced and performed in Puppet Slams across the country. She holds an MA in Educational Theater from New York University, and a BA in Theater Crafts and Technology from the University of Texas, Austin.