PuppetFest MidWest Scholarship Report 2008 - Matt Sandbank

As I sit down to write this reflection on PuppetFest Midwest ’08, I am experiencing the symptoms of acute puppet festival withdrawal. These include an irrational attraction towards corny humor, an excessively manipulative nature, and spontaneous salivation at the thought of fried chicken from the Wild Onion Café.

PuppetFest Midwest had been described to me as one of the best-kept secrets in the puppetry community. To be sure, when I first arrived in Trenton, Missouri, it struck me as the sort of place that would be the ideal home for a participant in the Witness Protection Program. Trenton’s apparent remoteness, however, soon gave way as the town revealed itself as a vibrant, zany hub for puppeteers from across the country.

Daily, we were treated to remarkable performances, each of which in some way expanded its medium (be it marionette, rod, foam or hand puppets) beyond the limits I would have thought bound it. The excitement from the performers was palpable, and the warmth of the audience was radiant. Everyone seemed to bask in a camaraderie not easily found in a community as oddball and far-flung as ours. For a newcomer such as myself, PuppetFest Midwest was a first chance to identify myself as a part of that community. For seasoned veterans, I imagine that one of the most cherished parts of PuppetFest Midwest is the chance to reconnect to that community in such a small, intimate, and quirky setting.

We spent a majority of each day in our focused, in-depth workshops. I was fortunate enough to learn from Jim Napolitano in his shadow puppetry class. From the ground up, he helped us create living worlds out of scraps of cardboard, plastic, wire, and tape. Nappy’s snappy problem-solving skills and his gentle but incisive suggestions helped me feel confident that I had a performance-ready piece by the end of the week. The consensus among my classmates, and I believe among PuppetFest Midwesters in general, is that the workshops were a comfortable and galvanizing places in which to build one’s puppeteering skills.

My most sincere thanks go to the teachers, performers, organizers, and scholarship committee of PuppetFest Midwest, whose generosity of spirit brought such an enthusiastic and enriching week into being, and which allowed me to experience my first full-scale puppetry festival. I now consider myself a part of that small and dedicated crowd who anxiously await the second week of July and another happy convergence on the town of Trenton, Missouri.

How I Spent My July 8th-13th in Trenton, Missouri - By Stacey Gordon

I was honored and grateful to be one of the scholarship recipients to this year’s PuppetFest Midwest. I knew I would use it to the best of my capabilities as far as my education; however I didn’t know just how valuable it would be as far as building new friendships. I arrived at the airport and was immediately greeted by a small group of puppeteers waiting for the shuttle. That’s where the bonding—which would continue throughout the week—began immediately.

When we arrived in Trenton, I was happy to discover a small campus with dorm rooms close to the cafeteria and coffee break area. When we had free time, there was always someone in the lounge to talk with. The schedule wasn’t overwhelming, and at the same time I was never bored.

There was a workshop available for every type of person/puppeteer. Since I mostly work with moving-mouth hand puppets, I chose Nick Barone’s workshop. I knew it would be knowledge that I could immediately apply when I got home the very next week. (And I did!) Nick was a wonderful teacher. He taught at just the right pace, led by example, and got us excited about all kinds of things—glue for example. The in-depth workshops and small class sizes might make this essay sound like an ad for a small community college, but it’s what really excited me about PuppetFest Midwest. This was exactly what I needed at this point in my puppetry career. Nick taught not just a patterning technique, but a way of building that will make for stronger and more visually entertaining characters.

The evening performances brought out everyone’s A-game. But yet another thing that set this festival apart is that afterwards there was a question and answer session with the puppeteers. The performers sometimes took the curtain off of their stages or even just invited the audience back to see how they had things set up. The unguarded sharing of information at this festival was wonderful to experience.

Before the festival, I was so excited to fill in my registration that I said I would do a small something for Bits and Pieces. Apparently in my excitement, I forgot and was thus ill-prepared. Fear not! I had the wonderful encouragement and support of the seasoned pros to help me get through the nerves of performing solo for puppeteers without a script. I have to say, that’s much more intimidating than performing a duo for non-puppeteers with a script. The veterans used high-quality techniques; such as convincing monologues, pouring glasses of liquid-courage, and even simply changing the order so I would go later in the show. (To give me more time to think about what to do, of course.) Regardless of whether or not I did well, I knew I had the support of everyone there. Bits and Pieces is not held on the first night; and what a wonderful thing, too, because we were able to build a relationship of trust and support before sharing our skills.

After a long day of shows and workshops, our hearts, stomachs, and social-butterfly-i-ness walked to The Wild Onion, the most adorable café in Trenton. Pam, the proprietress, was the loveliest of hostesses. She’s every much as part of the festival as the puppeteers are. The atmosphere was relaxed at the entire festival; however it became more-so at The Wild Onion. Really great times were had by everyone. The food was amazing and I hear that there might be karaoke in her future. That right there is enough of a reason to go back!

I can’t speak enough about how wonderful my experience at PuppetFest Midwest was. I gained skills, confidence, mentors, and friendships. Overall, I know that my experiences there have made me a better puppeteer.

Review of PuppetFest Midwest 2008 - Naomi Kates

For six consecutive years at the North Central Missouri College and the Jewett Norris Library, Peter Allen and Debbie Lutzky Allen of Jamesport, Missouri, creators of Parasol Puppets, have taken on the job of organizing and implementing Puppetfest Midwest. An independent puppet festival, this venue enabled others to teach, learn and perform in a close-knit and intensive format. A staff of puppeteers volunteered their time for a week to run an exciting and intense, morning to night, work and play week.
The festival started with “a group of friends that got together with their love of puppets.” Debbie mentioned on one of the rare occasions she sat down to relax.
Debbie, born in Maryland, moved to Hawaii at the age of five. She remembers attending adult opera when her family had season tickets. She was given a set of finger puppets and sat with the adults. A six year old that can sit through adult opera and focus purely on the imaginative is independent and resourceful. Still full of energy, Debbie was at the helm of this event with her husband, Peter Allen. Peter, who has been a puppeteer for almost 40 years, was born in England and earned his entertainers badge from Wolf cubs at the age of eight. Not satisfied with just this, he proceeded to go out and work as an entertainer in the neighborhood. This dynamic couple with incredible focus had everything prepared.
Flying in on connecting flights from Toronto to Missouri, I was taken in by the greenest fields as my plane lowered to the ground.An almost two hour bus ride from Kansas City airport had us tumbling out later than planned, still happy and anticipatory into the college where our schedules held an exciting itinerary of workshops, performances, galleries, meals, and even a time to stretch and meditate.
Our groups, tipsy from red eye flights and flushed from the Midwest heat was helped with registration by Gayle Schluter, Evey Brown, and the legendary Luman Coad. We fell together at dinner that evening, a group of seventy-five people who knew each other for the first time. The group was made up of people of all ages and from areas that spanned the continent wanting to know all about each other and of course, puppetry!
That evening we attended the first performance of the week. Phillip Huber is a remarkable artist. His marionette show, which was seamlessly beautiful from visual artistry to music to choreography, was performed on the one night that the air conditioning in the theatre must have faltered. But Phillip Huber performed as strong as ever. His characters with delicate detail in costume and feature danced and charmed and sparkled. On speaking with Phillip later in the week, I asked him what his first experience was with a puppet.
He relayed that as a quiet three year old he was given a little Steiff (German crafted toys) fox puppet that he took very special care of and still owns. His own disciplined beginnings as a young puppeteer continued with apprenticing for eight years with Tony Urbano of Dusty’s Treehouse. Phillip’s clear-eyed appreciation and honed talents, complemented by his gracious nature resulted in a show of balletic proportions.
Evening performances took place at The Grundy County Jewett Norris Library, a heritage site in Trenton. Old libraries are so beautiful. This library was bequeathed from the will of Jewett Norris who had originally pioneered in North Missouri and built the library in 1892. The dedication read that it was to always be a free public library and reading room. In the reading areas I noticed how the computers sat quietly on the side while the building held its majestic appeal.The panels, staircase, and hearth looked like oak, quarter sawn to bring out the rich patterns.
Coming in from the heat in the evening we could take a peaceful breath as the wide wood staircase circled and opened onto high cathedral ceilings. It led us up to the Hoover Theatre on the second floor, there we saw a perfect venue for the nightly performances.
Peter Allen told a few of us at lunch one day, that the Hoover Theatre sits 150 people and the North Central Missouri College dorms fit 147. As with so many parts of the festival, there was a synchronicity that brought all together. All of this couldn’t have happened without the assistance of John and Megan Regan, our technical staff. The extra seats in the theater were available to the public. Every night as the theater filled with hushed, excited voices of both young and old, appeared a little troupe of wee blondes clutching their soft toys, who showed up with their party dresses skimming the tops of their running shoes. The little lineup, attended by grandparents, happy to stand through all the performances, was among the many who waited for the exciting moments when they could climb backstage and see where those puppeteers hid their magic!
Of the workshops, Pam Corcoran of Wisconsin taught mine. A textile expert who has learned all aspects of the art of felting, she brought her love and knowledge of the craft to us while connecting it to the area of puppet building. A group of us attended the cool classroom and became colluders in the quiet enthusiasm that comes with never wanting to leave your project and learning from your teacher with admiration. Pam, a busy wife, mother, and artisan, told us of her new addition to her family farmhouse, which consisted of two sheep. Our experienced teacher became the centre of our week.
We marveled at how she continued to focus on our work, minutes before her own performance of “August and June.” In this show, Pam incorporates her soft colorful puppets into a story about June, the felted turquoise dragon that has to learn to brush her teeth. In just the right amount of time for little attention spans, she wraps up a show, clever, pretty, and simple, in the way that you know much hard work and experience has been put into it.
Weaving coffee and snack breaks into a full week, the performers doubled and tripled as our hosts, our teachers, our welcomers, our entertainers, and even our bartenders at the Wild Onion Cafe on the nights after performances. We were even scolded for good measure when we forgot something.
One evening after 10:00 p.m, Jim Napolitano, master shadow puppeteer, sat at a table with five of us who were hungry to hear more about his art. Patiently, though some of us were not in his workshop, he continued to be the excellent teacher that he was late into the evening when he might have been relaxing. He answered our questions, explained materials, and even drew diagrams on table napkins for us. This generosity, mixed with talent, was typical of this week at PuppetFest MidWest.
It was hard to choose amongst workshops. Should we do shadow puppetry? Some of the braver participants had chosen the script writing course. Luman Coad, a long time expert, was coaching a group towards learning the art of script writing. Paul Mesner was building rod puppets with a lucky group who could learn from his perfect timing, humor, and skill. When Paul performed Beauty and the Beast, his inclusion of contemporary wit with handcrafted puppets that still retained an old world look gave us such pleasure in his evening performance. Nick Barone, with his sense of fun and dramatic puppet style, helped a group create their own moving mouth puppets. He was generously available to all who needed direction, info, and most of all, fun.
An elegant display of puppets and marionettes, both old and new, a raffle, and casual talks filled the week. Lynn Jennings with her encouraging energy and visiting camera made us feel welcome and connected.
Holding the troupes with class and humor, Randel McGee was our MC. His tireless wit at every show and event, along with his talented son, Matt (watch out for future star) kept us in stitches the whole time!
It seemed even our roommates were well chosen. Sight unseen, I was perfectly placed with Roxanne from Hawaii, smart and easygoing, a complement to my slightly over conscientious self. We shared stories of working in the entertainment/arts world that overlapped with our bringing puppets into the field of health and raising our children. Karen Konnerth brought her Calliope Puppet's version of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. From her innovative set to hearing of her outreach work with children’s theatre throughout South and central America, Karen was truly an inspiration to us all.
And then two Cinderella’s, so different yet still the story we know and love. Drew Allison of Grey Seal Puppets performed with smooth experience. His contemporary Salsa Cinderella glowed with simplicity and splashes of wild color and music. I loved the hot pepper Cinderella (she had such a great wardrobe). Nancy Smith and her daughter and coworker Gwen Bonar, created some magic with their Cinderella. They brought us the three step ladies we love to hate and the gorgeously crafted coach and effects showing us the work of Great Arizona and Ken Bonar. Hopefully next year, Grey Seal Puppets and Great Arizona Puppet Theatre will be part of the workshop lineup. We can’t wait.
Throughout this festival I held mini interviews with some of the performers and artists I came to see. I asked them each what they thought was the essence of communication in puppetry. This power was described in many different ways. As Peter Allen says, the magic is when you forget there is a person working the puppet and it has a life of its own, or as Paul Mesner says, making the puppet live and breathe or Art Grueneberger who talked about the “silent agreement” between actor and audience, and Jim Napolitano talked about the audience filling in the spaces and the belief in the puppetry. Art Grueneberger will be our future workshop leader in the sensitively coordinated art of Table top Puppetry. Rose Sage reminded us that training is so important; those who hold a puppet have a responsibility to the discipline they are working in.
The week ended with the soulful bagpipe music of Nancy Fawcett. I was privileged to have the opportunity to meet Nancy during the week. Nancy is an actress, teacher, and co-creator of the Puppet theatre company in Iowa called Octagon Players, which remains a model for others. At the end of the festival she demonstrated the Native American drone flute with the same power she employed to play Bagpipes, a difficult instrument and not for the faint of heart.
Coming home, my second flight was delayed by a number of hours and I sat hoping that there was a higher power that protected puppets in baggage on delayed connecting flights, as I had brought three of my hand made puppets. Now with two new ones I created at the festival, they all had to make it home safely.
Seizing the first bit of quiet time in weeks, I settled into the gate with a copy of the book about the theatre that Nancy and her work partner, Veronika Ruedenberg had created. I thought about the power of this medium on people’s lives and careers and how this fest spoke to all.
My own career as a visual artist, training in a rigorous Toronto muppet shop and, more recently, in arts education and art therapy, drew me intrinsically to the material. My thoughts went to a patient I had treated in art therapy, a 90 year old man with Parkinson’s disease. To add insult to injury, he had suffered a stroke and surgery shortly before I was introduced to him. A former technician, his need for perfection was severely tried.
After trying the pastels and waterpaints that are in an art therapist’s toolkit, I saw his frustration level rising. I quickly put them aside and instinctively grabbed whatever I could find that was familiar from empty yogurt containers to bits of hardware. Through a period of nine weeks we laboriously built a crude marionette together, taking a long time, as he, without much movement in his hands, still drove the project with the scrutiny of one with technical expertise. The resulting puppet was certainly not one the likes of Philip Huber’s nor would it have reached the rigorous standards of the Toronto muppet shop that I had training in a few years back. But a marionnette it was, and at the end of this period the elderly man held the puppet up so it’s feet met the tabletop and, looking directly at the puppet, he exclaimed, ”He can stand now!”
The power of puppetry!
Puppetfest Midwest successfully spanned puppetry in theatre, to puppetry in art, to education and health. From professional puppeteer to ardent aficionado, this festival was a big success. I am looking forward to seeing all and more at PuppetFest MidWest 2009!

Naomi Kates
www.naomisark.com

Salsa Cinderella

Grey Seal Puppets

Grey Seal Puppets brings their trademark whimsical approach to storytelling and exquisite puppet design to a new performance, Salsa Cinderella. This classic tale of love and footwear is told with a spicy twist! Come with us as we take a fresh look at the story of Cinderella-re-imagined with Latin flavor. With an original Latin musical score and dazzling puppets and staging, this show is sure to delight the salsa fan in everyone! Pass the tortilla chips, please!

Calliope Puppets

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Calliope Puppets' version of this classic tale from the Brothers Grimm features a strong and quick witted girl whose ability to read is her greatest asset in overcoming a wicked sorcerer. This magical presentation features a striking array of puppetry techniques, including introductory puppets that appear from within a cape worn by the puppeteer, a life size girl and sorcerer, hand puppets, as well as rod puppet flying birds and shadow puppets in the exciting chase scene. The audience recites simple poems as they assist in the working of magic spells. And the girl remains true throughout to her mother’s advice to do something that puts good into the world.

Cinderella

Great Arizona Puppet Theater

The girl, the guy, the glass slipper. Great Arizona Puppet Theater's CINDERELLA is performed with elegant hand puppets.