News from the National Festival

At long last, I'm posting again on what is supposed to be a blog for the Wisconsin Puppetry Guild.

I've created 3 postings today. This one is an overview of the recent festival --- the fun stuff about performances, etc. Then I threw my reports on the national meeting and the Great Lakes Regional meetings into 2 other blog postings. So scroll down and read. Please add your comments.

And, when I set this thing up, it was so that others of you could post, too. But frankly, I don't remember how!

I've got some other things to add before we meet on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 9:30 a.m. in Middleton, but I'll do that another day.

Thanks for reading!

Sandye Voight

Guild president (still! impeach me, so I can't be President for Life.)

Festival Overview, Thoughts, Observations

This was the second time in 2 years that the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta hosted the National Puppetry Festival.

Chuck and I attended both. This was my 8^th national and Chuck’s 7^th (he didn’t go to the one in Tampa, Fla., in 2000.)

This time, in Atlanta, we were all in one dorm and the distance to the center of activity was not as long as 2 years ago. That helped us cope with the heat and humidity. (The South. In July. Bound to be hot hot hot.) The rooms were all “suites” with a bathroom per 2 rooms. That was OK. But our tolerance of bunkbed living is about over.

Enough about the accommodations (oh, food—OK. Alcohol at late-night events non-existent, except for sneaking it in a grownup sippy cup. Too high a price, apparently, for university approval. ) What you really want to hear about:

Festival Performances

Our favorites included “Brother Coyote and Sister Fox,” by the Thistle Theatre. There were some particularly hilarious chickens in a show that was kind of biligual. The Corbian Arts created a magical show – “Darwin the Dinosaur” -- with high puppets that featured tech lights, like they were wrapped in Christmas lights.

Our favorite show was the most hilarious version I’ve ever seen of “The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow” by the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers of Maine. This sibling group of 2 brothers and a sister perform Muppet-style on cardboard sets. (This was the last show of the festival and a fitting, feel-good ending.)

We were bused to the Center for Puppetry Arts for two shows, “Cinderella Della Circus,” a whimsical traditional marionette show, and The Ghastly Dreadfuls, a wonderful, adult Halloween show that they brought back just for us. It was a series of short puppet bits in a variety of styles – some funny, some just creepy and “Twilight Zone”-esque. Plus we got a chance to sing along. The musicians were fantastic.

Peggy Melchior and her daughter Heidi Pearson entertained us with “An Evening with the Melchior Marionettes: Three Women, Three Mothers, Three Puppeteers.” There was a Power Point slide show reminiscence about Peggy’s mother Erica, interspersed with live performances of well-known bits from their shows. And their was a fourth puppeteer: Peggy’s little girl in her stagehand debut.

Another evening show was Steve Whitmire and KERMIT THE FROG!!!! Steve has been performing Kermit for the more than 20 years, since the death of Jim Henson. At first, it was just Steve on stage and I kept mumbling, “where’s the frog?” At the end of the very special evening (slide show, Q & A, anecdotes), at the request of a woman in the audience, Kermit led us all in singing, “Rainbow Connection.”

Altogether, there were 16 performances, plus late night events: Potpourri was led off by 98-year-old Bernice Silver, who rose from her wheel chair and then assumed a big grin and a “ta-da” posture as she began one of her usual puppet skits involving paper cutouts and a singalong to a song she wrote and that nobody had the words to! You had to be there. (We made it to at least the beginnings of these late night festivities.)

I attended workshops on grant writing, new sculpting materials and using a limberjack. And I hit the puppetry store a few times, too.

Before the awards ceremony on Saturday night, guilds with banners (including us) paraded in with them and stood on stage. I forgot to bring a cow puppet with me, and wanted to have one to help represent Wisconsin, so I bought skunk handpuppet in the store and surgically changed him into a passable Bossy.

Puppets of America festival meeting

Puppeteers of America –

National meeting July 13, 2011

Puppeteers gathered for a national meeting on the second afternoon of the festival in Atlanta, Ga., on the campus of Georgia Tech.

President Anna Vargas reported that the P of A currently has 1,418 members.

(Note that the Wisconsin Puppetry Guild’s Pam Corcoran is a new board member. Yay, Pam! But she was not able to attend the festival.)

Anna said the organization is in a transition period especially in regard to its website, which she said is undergoing a major upgrade. (www.puppeteers.org)

The P of A Facebook page has 3,200 people (friends?) and 1,600 check the page every week.

There are 36 active guilds within the organization.

The Northeast Region had a “spy” at the Great Lakes Region’s annual potlatch in November. Sharon Peck took copious notes and even gave a workshop. The upshot is that they will host a similar event in Sept. of 2012.

The Big News

Barriers have been lifted to forming a new guild (and to keeping a floundering one going).A guild need only have 3 members of the P of A and need only meet once per year.

Focus groups

Anna broke up the attendees into smaller focus groups, with a board member at the helm of each. The task was to do a spot analysis of the organization, to list strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities.

Here’s some of what our group came up with:

Strengths:

• Festivals – seeing strong performances, eating together and sharing ideas
• The number of young people in attendance
• The insurance program
• P of A consultants
• The online bookstore and lending library

Weaknesses/threats

• Lack of programming for teachers who attend the festivals.
• The exclusivity of festivals – that they are not open to the public
• The workshops – not many are advanced
• The invisibility of the P of A
• Puppeteers are spread out and isolated by long distances

Opportunities

• Strengthen the smaller organizations (guilds? Regions?) by organizing round robin tours of puppet theaters
• Push for more Day of Puppetry emphasis
• During festivals, have some performances puppeteers-only and some that repeat for the public.
• Puppet slams
• Technology
• Use the Puppetry Journal to provide more how-to and technical info
• Reach out to colleges
• Put something about puppetry into Broadway’s Playbill (in late of all the puppetry in the theater these days)
• Expand the bibliography (bookstore? Lending? Website?) for beginners and advanced

Vargas is interested in input from members. She welcomes you to send your ideas to her at annadpuppet@yahoo.com

Great Lakes Regional meeting report

Great Lakes Regional meeting

at the National Puppetry Festival

July 16, 2011 -- Atlanta, Ga.

Regional president Dave Herzog reported that the region is in good financial shape, with losses from the 2010 regional festival in Springfield covered by fund raising efforts at the last potlatch.

The next Potlatch will be the weekend of Nov. 4-6, at the Pottawatomie State Park near Algona, Ind. For those of you who have never gone, it is always there and always on the first full weekend of November. It also is ALWAYS a wonderful, wonderful time in a beautiful wooded setting on a lake. The Pokagon lodge is very comfy and has a great indoor pool. A potlatch (like a potluck) is about sharing, so performers and workshop presenters are not paid.

Recently, the P of A ruled that the Great Lakes Regional’s annual Potlatch IS a P of A sanctioned event, since the money is funneled through the region’s treasury. That means that elections held at Potlatch are valid.

Dave promised a regional newsletter to arrive via email in August. His email is dhpuppets@aol.com.

The next regional festival is all but officially approved by the P of A. It is scheduled for June 26-29 at the Howe Academy in Howe, Ind. It used to be called Howe Military Academy and the dorms as said to be Spartan but the site is expected to make this a very affordable festial. Plus, Dave says there’s a nice motel nearby, for those of us who’ve reached the brink of tolerance on sleeping in dorms (no word on whether these are bunk beds).

Scott Beam (freedompuppets@yahoo.com) will be the festival director. He worked closely with Guy Thompson on the festival that was held in nearby Shipshewana, Ind., in 2008.

Dave said that Corcordia Seminary in St. Paul is trying to woo the P of A back to that campus for the next 2 national festivals. Jessica Simon, a Chicago puppeteer, said there also is a proposal for a national to be held at Swarthmore College near Philadelphia.

The Chicago guild is hoping to sponsor a youth scholarship for future regional festivals.

Dave said guild members should be urged to join P of A and keep up their memberships.

A link to the guild website should be sent to the P of A webmaster.

The P of A site has a Puppet Places link. Peggy Melchior is in charge of it. (The last time I checked, the Hazel Green Opera House was on it. Is there any place else in Wisconsin that should be added?)

The Chicago Puppetry Guild piggybacked a Day of Puppetry with an Irish festival to great advantage. They highly recommend piggybacking a DoP with an existing event.

Other notes: Kat Pleviak organized a puppet slam in Chicago. And Ohio puppeteer Dave Greenbaum died in the spring.

Feb. 12 meeting

Renowned marionettist Joseph Cashore will be performing in Wisconsin in February.

Let's go! (Check out his remarkable puppetry at www.cashoremarionettes.com.)

7:30 p.m. at Thrasher Opera House

Saturday, February 12

506 Mill Street

Green Lake, WI 54941

Green Lake is west of Fondulac

Tickets: $22/each

Order tickets here:

Thrasher Opera House in Green Lake, Wisconsin

http://www.thrasheroperahouse.com/thrasher/events.asp

We could meet at 4 p.m. here for a catch-up meeting/gathering and have supper before the show:

Goose Blind Restaurant one block from Thrasher Opera House (to meet for guild business in afternoon)

http://www.gooseblind.com/

Here are a couple of places people could stay if, like us Voights, they would have a long drive home and want to relax:

Angel Inn B&B

http://www.angelinns.com/

Heidel House Resort and spa

http://www.heidelhouse.com/rooms/roomrates.asp

Pokagon 20

A report by Guild President Sandye Voight

Wisconsin Guilding members Joan McCarthy, Chuck Voight and I, as well as John McCarthy attended the Great Lakes Regional Potlatch Nov. 5-7 at the Potawatomie Inn, Pokagon State Park, near Angola, Ind.

Performances included “The Fisherman and his Wife,” by Brad Lowe; “Captain Cranky and his Crew,” by Dave Herzog; Heidi Rugg’s “The Little Bread Hen;” Bob Brown’s “Secondhand Stars;” Nancy Sanders’ “Rumpelstiltskin;” and Jim Rose’s “Punch and Judy.”

Brad’s and Dave’s shows were repeats from the summer festival in Springfield, but of course, they’re delightful a second time and besides, there were only 38 people at that festival. Registration for Potlatch was a whopping 116!!!! Including about a dozen enthusiastic newcomers.

Receipts from a scotch auction, silent auction and a regular outloud auction approached $900, which will help immensely with the red ink incurred this summer.

The “ice breaker” was an auction of wearable puppet art, hosted by the Cincinnati Guild. I remembered that we were supposed to bring wearable puppet stuff but completely blanked on the notion that we were supposed to give it up to sell. So after a dismal attempt to create a puppet apron by late guild member Betty, I got 2 red blazers and red pants at a thrift shop and quickly sewed a bunch of puppets to them. Unfortunately, many of the puppets I used were ones I didn’t want to sell, including a punch and judy and a couple of antique Clippos. So, we just modeled the outfits (including some goofy headgear.) It was still fun.

One of my favorite performances was “The Little Bread Hen.” I think the company is from Virginia. Anyway, toward the end, you could swear you smelled bread baking! And, we did. The clever puppeteers had a little convection oven going in the back for our olfactory pleasure.

I took Anne Newman’s workshop on making pool noodle puppets. You cut a slice of foam pool noodle and use it as a handpuppet head. It’s already got a hole in the middle for your finger. You can just poke pieces of pipe cleaner into it for features and hair, etc. Put a piece of cloth on your hand and tie off your thumb and middle finger with a rubber band for the 2 hands. I will definitely try this sometime as a workshop at the opera house.

I also sat in on Bob Brown’s workshop on making marionettes from stuffed toys purchased at the thrift shop. He showed how to take some stuffing out, enhance the facial features with paint or markers and add some simple jointing for better movement. He does this to make a lot of new puppets fast for his Tiny Tot Tuesday shows, since the theater kept wanting him to make new shows all the time.

Our guild was in charge of the Trading Post (flea market) this year. Wow! People really take this seriously. There was a lot of great things for sale. Of course, I had to buy a few things!

Guild presidents meeting

Why is this meeting always at 8 a.m. on Saturday! Dave Herzog, who is Great Lakes Regional director, said he’ll try for another time next year.

He’ll be updating us on the new treasury balance after Potlatch.

He has proposed the region consider sitting out the next round of regionals, in 2012, and at least re-examine the approach.

However, there are 2 proposals on the table:

1. Scott Beam, of Indiana, is researching the use of the Howe Military Academy, which is not far from Pokagon and Shipshewana.

2. The Great Plains Region is proposing planning a joint regional, perhaps coinciding with an existing children’s festival, held in West Liberty, Iowa, each year.

(See my report on the regional meeting during which both of these were discussed.)

Dave is also proposing:

A multi-tiered festival fee schedule, with differing fees for senior citizens, senior citizen couples, students, children, couples and families.

A separate workshop setup for children, so that while adult workshops are going on, there’s something for the kids to do. Ideally, the kids would make puppets and perform something at Potpourri.

A public performance coordinator (preferably a young puppeteer who would receive a stipend) to publicize shows to the general public and to provide outreach to local high school and college students for theater credit. (He’s recommending this for the nationals, also.)

Guest artists from outside the region.

Performers booked by bidding, including the price of the performance, with travel expenses and free registration provided BUT NOT FOOD AND LODGING.

When a budget is chosen, the festival board stick to it.

A call for performers at least 1 ½ years in advance.

That meal packages be optional, not mandatory.

That venues in smaller cities be considered for their affordability.

Each guild gave a report.

Ginger Lozar noted that the Central Illinois Guild has been ‘reborn’ and now has a half dozen active members.

I noted that the Wisconsin Guild has only a half dozen active members, but maybe we should count ourselves lucky, too. I reported on the June Day of Puppetry at the Hazel Green Opera House.

The Chicago Guild is looking into hosting puppet slams.

Western Michigan had fun making humanettes for sale, but no one bought any.

The Detroit Guild is planning a youth puppet rally.

Cincinatti has “Dummies and Donuts,” quick get-togethers and also takes touring puppeteers to lunch.

Columbus puppeteers made Muppet-type puppets.

PGNO is “on life support,” but makes a ton of money on and annual garage sale.

Indiana is “not quite on life support,” but has difficulty meeting because of being spread out.

Next year, Wisconsin Guild is in charge of exhibits at Potlatch.

Regional meeting

There was extensive discussion of the 2 proposals about the next regional.

Scott Beam said the Howe Academy would be able to offer us dorm lodging of $15 per night. He believes he could come up with a package of $250 per person, including lodging, meals and registration.

The site is not handicap accessible, but we could rent ramps for some venues.

Also, there are some motels and B&B’s nearby for those who don’t enjoy dorm living.

There was enough interest among members to pursue the idea further.

We will also continue to look into the idea of a joint festival with the Great Plains.

A presidential note

PGNO president Jean Jackson noted that she’s in her 5^th year of a 2-year presidency.

I’ve been Wis. Guild president since the guild show – definitely more than 5 years. We haven’t had an election of officers for quite a while, because it’s hard to find a time to get together. And I take a share of the blame, since Chuck and I are so busy with shows and other events at the Hazel Green Opera House.

I will be happy to hand over the baton, if someone is interested in jumpstarting or at least continuing this organization.

So, think about that, please. I will try to figure out a time when we can gather in late winter/spring. Any thoughts? Should we meet in Madison? Anyone want to host a meeting or invite us to preview a show, attend a performance, join in a workshop?

If anyone has any questions or ideas, please email me. And email Joan to update her on your puppet doings.

Labor Day weekend show

On Labor Day weekend we'll present a wonderful African fairy tale called,

"The Cloud Princess."

We fell in love with this quirky story when we first read it in a collection of folk tales with a preface by Nelson Mandela.

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4

2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 5

at the AIR CONDITIONED opera house

$5 adults and $4 children

The story, from Swaziland, which is near South Africa, is about a hare, a woodpecker and a mouse. They encounter a mysterious rainbow bird who possesses a magical feather. As often happens in African tales, animals turn into humans and humans turn into animals. The three friends embark on a dangerous adventure up in the Cloud Kingdom.

We present this story using hand, rod and shadow puppets on our dual stage (Sorry, marionette lovers. No string puppets in this show, but we know you'll love it anyway.)

This show, which we recently presented at the Great Lakes Regional Puppet Festival in Springfield, Ill., features original music composed by our daughter, Katie Voight. The other puppeteers at the festival were very impressed with our 'authentic' African music!

And then, watch for us in Benton's Labor Day parade on Monday, 9:30 a.m.

Hands 2 Grow's Fishtank Tales

Hands 2 Grow Puppet Productions is now performing their Summer 2010 show entitled "Fishtank Tales." Last Thursday the show was presented in Darboy's Harrison Buchanan Park east of Appleton. The day was dubbed Puppets in the Park. The afternoon began with playground program leaders and helpers working with the youngsters on building different types of puppets including paper bag puppets, finger puppets, and more. Hands 2 Grow Puppets were the feature performers of the day.

Fishtank Tales tells the story of Stan and Cynthia who have volunteered to keep the classroom aquarium fed and cleaned over the summer for the teacher. Unfortunately, Stan loses the instruction book and that leads to hilarious problems. Tthe fish in the aquarium -- Gil, Finn, and Bubbles -- share their opinion of the hijinks - especially when Stan tries to feed them salsa instead of fish flakes! In the photo above, the fish and a pirate are enjoying bathtub time as Stan and Cynthia try to clean the fish and the tank with bubble bath. Hands 2 Grow is based in Appleton but travels across northeast Wisconsin and the Midwest.

Happy summer to all!