PuppetryLab.com

This week’s improv game is a classic. It’s always fun to see what players come up with when asked to become inanimate objects! Use this exercise as a good physical warm-up as well as an opportunity to challenge players to be aware of each other and perform as a group. Read the rest of this article »

Boundaries: I’m Invisible!!!

This exercise is aptly named because, if done properly, your puppet should not appear on screen. Really. And this IS going to help you learn your boundaries. Honest. Remember the last game? After you walked your puppet across the screen, you dropped him down and went back to your starting side off-screen. (What? You didn’t do the last exercise? Sheesh. Go back and do your homework before coming to class.) Read the rest of this article »

This week’s improv game is a great one for building up those concentration skills. Whether we work with spoken lines, lip synchronization, choreographed moves, or assisting another puppeteer, it is important that we are able to remain focused even when things get silly. Unlike some of the other featured games, this one does not require a large space in which to move around. Gotta love circle games! Read the rest of this article »

Boundaries: Memory Lane

For television puppeteers working with monitors, it is vitally important to know where the off-screen boundaries are AND be able to get there fast. This silly exercise helps puppeteers discover where this magic line exists and how to work around it. (By the way, the game was named after Gonzo’s classic Muppet Show performance of the song by the same name. If you’ve seen it, then you know what we’re going to be doing.) Read the rest of this article »

In television puppetry, no traditional puppet proscenium is necessary. The screen frame becomes your stage and provides you with new boundaries all around to consider and utilize. What some may see as limitations, I see as wonderful new opportunities with a wider range of possibilities than any traditional stage performance. Puppets can stand just off camera and lean into the shot. They can drop in from the top and appear to be hanging by their knees. And, since puppets can walk right into a scene, there’s no need for those sometimes awkward staircase entrances that are seen so frequently in traditional stage performance. We like television puppetry. Read the rest of this article »

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From their web site, “One Way UK hold more than 40 Training Days/Seminars/Festivals throughout the UK in the course of a year. These are a combination of Workshops, Performances, and Competitions designed to Teach, Challenge and Equip the puppeteer (Beginner or Advanced) and the director for continued and effective ministry.”

More info @ OneWayUK.com:
Training Day - Spittal (UK) - Jan 20, 2007

From their web site, “One Way UK hold more than 40 Training Days/Seminars/Festivals throughout the UK in the course of a year. These are a combination of Workshops, Performances, and Competitions designed to Teach, Challenge and Equip the puppeteer (Beginner or Advanced) and the director for continued and effective ministry.”

More info @ OneWayUK.com:
Training Day - Thornton Cleveleys, Lancs (UK) - Jan 20, 2007

From the Unima Australia web site, “The 8th One Van International Puppetry Festival will be held on 19, 20 and 21st January 2007 at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, NSW. The theme will be ‘Climate Change and Global Warming: Cool Ideas for a Hot Planet’.”

More info @ unima.org.au
One Van Int’l Puppetry Festival - Jan 19-21, 2007