puppetry

Making the puppets for ‘The Lost Thing’

Posted by hil

As promised below, here are some pictures of the build of Jigsaw Theatre Company’s production of The Lost Thing. Imogen Keen and I have been making the puppets for the production.

The aluminium structure of the Lost Thing itself was made by Brian Sudding, who also constructed the set. We then covered and detailed it, adding tentacles, claws, and eye mechanisms. The designer, Richard Jeziorny, added further painted detail. The whole framework is made to be suspended on another frame, so that the Lost Thing is about 3 metres tall.

Imogen Keen covering the basic shape of the Lost Thing with foam.
Marie-Martine Ferrari (co-founder of the original Skylark Puppet and Mask Theatre) and I covering the foam shell with muslin.
From above, showing some of the aluminium framework inside.
After the first coat of paint.
The boy’s parents on their sofa under construction.
The mysterious janitor, in an early stage of being made.

The photographs were taken by Tim Raupach. I should have some more in a few days time.

The Lying Rodent

Posted by hil

I’m in the same mind set as a net friend who recently said that he just wanted the electioneering to be over and to be able to cast his vote with grim determination. So I’m trying to let most of it pass me by. But the appearence of protestors in body suits added a couple of brief moments of levity this last week.

At the Perth campaign launch Howard was hugged by a large sheep, protesting the live sheep export trade. A few days later a large rat pestered Howard while he was electioneering on the streets in his home electorate of Bennelong, while other protestors called ‘Lying Rodent for PM’ from across the street.

The ‘lying rodent’ tag stems from a sworn statement a few weeks ago by a Queensland Liberal Party branch official, Russell Galt, that Liberal Senator Brandis said of Mr Howard in relation to the Children Overboard senate enquiry: “He is a lying rodent” and “we’ve got to go off and cover his arse again on this”. Senator Brandis denied the allegation on oath, but went on to explain with a barristor’s distinction:

‘He would only ever call Howard the rodent; never a rodent, because the former is a nickname, whereas the latter would be a pejorative term.’

According to the same article,

‘… the PM has been descriptively tagged as the rodent almost as long as he’s been ironically tagged as Honest John. The nickname dates from the long internecine war between Howard and Andrew Peacock some 15 years ago.’

It began as a reference to the way Howard ceaselessly gnawed at Peacock’s leadership, and was adopted by John Hewson supporters for much the same reason.

Some people in the Australian Rodents Fanciers Society are offended by the slur:

“We would have to say that it’s quite funny that it’s not technically correct,”

“Unfortunately, most rodents, we have around 30 at our place, actually have a little more integrity than prime ministers and politicians.”

Kenny Koala goes to Russia

Posted by hil

Since he emanated from my studio a few years ago, I always take an interest in the activities of Kenny Koala, the puppet mascot and community liason agent of the Australian Federal Police.

For instance, back in March, Kenny and his mate Stewart Waters celebrated Harmony Day by skydiving into Turner Oval, providing some excitement for the kids who up until his descent had been having a great deal of fun bopping each other on the head with blow-up plastic mallets courtesy of the Bunnings show bags that were being distributed.

This week 500 teddy-version Kenny Koalas are being airlifted to Beslan, to be given to the children who survived the school hostage massacre.

‘AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said it was hoped the Kenny Koala Bears, which have been popular with generations of Canberra children, would provide some comfort to children affected by the tragedy.’

The Chequered Ribbon Association, the AFP charity which is organizing the gift, usually sells the Kenny Koala bears as a collectable limited edition toy for fundraising. They are ‘about 25cm in height and is dressed in an AFP uniform with a white peak cap.’

The CRA is asking for donations to help with financing the airlift, and to help with the fundraising there will be an auction at the Canberra Services Club (on Canberra Avenue in Manuka, next to the Manuka Oval) tomorrow, Thursday 16th September 2004 – 6pm for 7pm start. A single numbered Constable Kenny Koala will be one of the items up for auction. ‘Single numbered koalas are are only offered to the public occassionally, so this is a great opportunity to secure what is becoming highly collectable.’

Oh … and you have to know Kenny’s motto: ‘What do we want? No trouble!’ ;-)

An Introduction to the Creativity of Puppetry: One-day Workshops with Gary Friedman

Posted by hil

The experienced puppeteer and international trainer, Gary Friedman, is leading workshops entitled ‘An Introduction to the Creativity of Puppetry’. This one-day hands-on workshop is ideal for uni-students, teachers and professionals, and will include creative genres like object improvisation, paper performance and simple puppetry techniques in performance.

Over the past 20 years, Gary has used puppetry to nurture creativity through performance, all over the world. Participants will discover how the puppet, as a visual metaphor, can empower them with the confidence to improvise and perform.

Venue : Rex Cramphorn Studio, Dept of Performing Studies, University of Sydney
When : Sunday 15 and 22 August 2004, 10am to 5pm
Workshop fee : only $85- for the full-day (including materials)
Max participants : 20

For bookings or further info, contact Gary:

Gary Friedman Productions : Seymour Theatre, University of Sydney, PO Box 1125, Bondi Junction, NSW 1355, Australia
Office : 02-9351.7948
Mobile : +61-401-038.985
Email : gary@africanpuppet.com

‘The Space Between’ by Peter J. Wilson and Geoffrey Milne

Posted by hil

I’m looking forward to reading Peter Wilson and Geoffrey Milne’s book ‘The Space Between, The Art of Puppetry and Visual Theatre in Australia’. The book has just been published by Currency Press, and was launched last Tuesday at the Arts Centre in Melbourne.

‘A history of puppetry and image related theatre in Australia, written from extensive research but which also offers a personal view from one of Australia’s most experienced and imaginative puppeteers, Peter J Wilson. The book includes practical information on how puppeteers go about their work and documents a host of innovative companies and individuals who helped shape puppetry in Australia in its broadest sense; and looks at how puppetry has influenced, and been a part of, major theatre company’s programming.’

In 2002, when Peter held an Arts Centre Senior Creative Fellowship at the Victorian College of the Arts, he also brought together the celebration that was the first National Puppetry Summit , and he has gone on to develop the first Australian tertiary course in the art of puppetry at the VCA.

Geoffrey Milne is head of Theatre and Drama at La Trobe University, Melbourne. He has worked in theatre since 1967 in many capacities, especially as a lighting designer, and since the mid 1980s as a theatre reviewer for print and radio.

‘The Space Between’ is available from all good bookshops, and retails for $49.95. I’ll have to check when I get my copy, but I think the cover photograph was taken by Jeff Busby, and the featured puppets were made by Rob Matson.

Handspan Visual Theatre International Study and Travel Grant 2004

Posted by hil

Applications are now open for the 2004 Handspan Visual Theatre International Study and Travel Grant. This is a $2,000 grant, awarded annually to an Australian artist who works in puppetry and visual theatre, specifically for international study and travel.

Handspan Visual Theatre was a Melbourne based Theatre Company which created and produced puppetry and visual theatre performance from its inception in 1977 through to 2002. Artists who worked with Handspan Visual Theatre shared a creative spirit and passion for puppetry and visual theatre. It is this unique form of ‘expression’ that Handspan wishes to support in the form of an international study & travel grant.

Unima Australia has further details and an application form.The closing date for applications is September 30th, 2004.

Compagnie Philippe Genty’s ‘Vanishing Point’ currently touring Australia

Posted by hil

‘Vanishing Point’ had its Australian premiere in at the Canberra Theatre Centre last week. It is the latest production by Compagnie Philippe Genty to tour Australia, following Stowaways in 1996 and Dedale in 2000.

There were some wonderful scenes, of which I had two favourites. One was a conversation between a man and a dog whose mimed gesticulations extended into visual question marks, arrows, punctuation, aggressive lines and sharp angles that attacked, choked and tickled. It reminded me of Victor Borge’s aural Phonetic Punctuation skit, and also of the great ‘piece of rope’ puppet in Company Skylark’s production of Wake Baby some years ago. My other favourite scene involved a puppet that I particularly liked: a grotesque and huge inflated ogre who several times proceeded to swipe and eat the head of one of the men. In an article by Irma Gold in the current issue of Artlook,

“Genty explains that working through these ideas in Vanishing Point was cathartic. ‘I found that this huge, monstrous thing I had inside myself was actually deflating. Indeed, this is actually what happens on stage. At the end you have a huge monster almost four metres high, which is an aspect of the subconscious of the main character, and finally it deflates in the longest fart in theatre history!'”

I thought the manipulation of a bird puppet that was also eating a person was really good, as were the two scenes where people were floating and diving high in the air, and the tiny shadow puppet crowd at the very end. I also enjoyed the aesthetic quality of the music, lighting and illusions.

There were two themes along the lines of ‘maybe what you are seeing is a little bit of yourself ‘ and ‘the murderer is also the victim and vice versa’, but I didn’t follow any particular development of them beyond that. I understand that part of the idea of the play was to present surreal sequences of interior landscapes that, like dreams or inner conflict, are puzzling. The audience interacts by trying to figure it all out and interpret it like the images in a dream, rather than being given a rational path to follow. Hopefully they find different perspectives on their own inner experiences through recognizing some of the images. I have mixed feelings about the success of that. I think one probably needs to see the show more than once to really explore the images and the connections between them, and few of us get that opportunity.

Here are the dates for the Australian Tour of Vanishing Point:

Canberra: July 6-10, Canberra Theatre
Sydney: July 14 – 31, Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay
Adelaide: August 4 – 7, Her Majesty’s Theatre
Melbourne: August 11- 21, Comedy Theatre

A review:
Vanishing Point, Compagnie Philippe Genty, by Jill Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald

Some pictures (by JoJo):
Canberra Theatre Vanishing Point Photo Gallery

The picture accompanying this post is from the collection above.

Perth wins the bid to host the 20th UNIMA Congress in 2008

Posted by hil

The following is a press release from the Western Australian government dated June 25th, 2004:

Perth beats China and Switzerland to win World Puppetry Congress and Festival

From the Hon. Bob Kucera, MLA, Minister for Tourism; Small Business; Sport and Recreation; Peel and the South West:

Western Australia will host the 20th Union International De La Marionette (UNIMA) World Puppet Festival and International Congress in 2008.

Tourism Minister Bob Kucera said that more than 1,000 participants from interstate and overseas, as well as thousands of Western Australians, were expected to converge on the new Perth Convention Exhibition Centre for the 10-day festival.v

“This is a major coup for the arts and cultural industry as well as the tourism industry in WA,” Mr Kucera said.

“It was a highly competitive bid won against Switzerland and China, and is a first for Australia.

“To have secured such a unique and prestigious cultural event shows that WA is a desirable destination for traditionally European-focused events.

“Hosting international events like the World Puppet Festival and Congress showcases WA as a culturally rich and diverse tourist destination.

“The festival will also give Western Australians the opportunity to see some of the world’s best puppetry performances throughout the city.”

The bid for the 2008 World Puppetry Congress and Festival was secured jointly by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre (on behalf of UNIMA Australia), EventsCorp, a division of the Western Australian Tourism Commission, the Perth Convention Bureau and the City of Perth.

The event, to be held mid-year in 2008, combines a congress and a festival.

Mr Kucera said that the State Government, through a partnership between the Perth Convention Bureau and EventsCorp, would provide funding of $130,000, and the event was expected to generate about $9million in combined direct expenditure for WA.

The event, which is held every four years, was in Croatia this year, with puppetry companies and artists from Vietnam, Norway, Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France and Canada in attendance.

Minister’s Office – 9213 7000

Australian Puppeteer Magazine call for reviews

Posted by hil

The Australian Puppeteer Magazine looks at national, international and historical puppetry news and events, reviews, and philosophical and technical discussions. You can recieve your copy by joining UNIMA Australia. The Winter edition of the magazine is due out soon, and the editor invites those of you who have attended recent puppetry performances to review them for the magazine. Please forward reviews to the editor. The deadline is June 10th, 2004.