Unima Australia

Quanzhou Marionette Troupe in Melbourne

(photo taken at Unima 2008 at the Transit Lounge)

Drawing on two thousand years of marionette history, the renowned Quanzhou Marionette Troupe will travel to Melbourne to perform their magical theatre in late June and early July 2008.

A cultural treasure of China’s Fujian Province, and one of the best known professional artistic performing groups in China, the Quanzhou Marionette Troupe was established in 1952. Since then, they have performed all over China and in over 40 countries around the world.

The puppeteer has a special place among Chinese performing artists. Delighting audiences with their life-like puppets, master puppeteers manipulate single or groups of strings with their fingers. These expressive puppets portray men and women of all ages and professions, spirits and wild animals. Puppeteers, who often begin training as children, may take five years to learn basic techniques, and over 20 years to completely master more than 30 strings of the more complex puppets.

Animating the marionette’s body, enabling the character to express lifelike and vivid movements, the Quanzhou Marionette Troupe’s repertoire includes historic tales, children’s plays and modern stories. Eight of the Troupe will perform their magical theatre for Melbourne audiences in late June and early July. These amazing and skillful puppeteers are not to be missed!

For details of performance times and workshop opportunities, please check here. Please note that performances run to Thursday 3rd (not 4th).

To see a short video of the troupe in action, check the Chinese Museum page here.

(thanks to Tirese Ballard, Art Link Co-ordinator at Polyglot Theatre)

Tags: puppetry, puppets, unima australia, unima,  australia

Labyrinth Masquerade: call for puppeteers

Labyrinth Masquerade is a new public event being held in Melbourne, Victoria. Now in its second year, the event pays homage to the wonderful imagination of Jim Henson's fantasy adventure film Labyrinth and celebrates all fantasy in general.

Olivia Duval ,the founder and Event Director, has put out a call for Puppeteers and Puppets to perform at the event on July 12th 2008, either as roaming performers in the crowds, or in stage performances of around 20 minutes. Puppeteers are asked to bring their own puppets. These puppets can be of any type, e.g. marionette, hand puppet, etc, but need to fit a high fantasy or masquerade theme.

Tickets are $25 (regular), $30 (cash at the door) or $20 (early worm special if booked before the end of May).

More detailed information can be found here , or on their website.

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Puppets for re-sale in shop

Tehan Richter-cross   is looking to speak to anyone who is interested in selling puppets to her for re-sale in her small shop in Killarney, Queensland, an hours drive south of Toowoomba. She is hoping to find unusual or unique items. Anyone who is interested is encouraged to contact her on 0739148500 or by email.

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Proposed Performing Arts Theatre Complex, Sydney

Sean Manners at Puppetry Australia has forwarded the following request for imput concerning the McDonald Foundation Cultural Trust (proposed) Performing Arts Theatre Complex, Sydney:

My name is Michelle Ford, our company is working with The McDonald Foundation Cultural Trust to undertake a Feasibility Study for a proposed Performing Arts Theatre Complex to be developed at North Strathfield, Sydney.

You may know or heard of the Founder/Director of The McDonald College of Performing Arts - Margaret Markham. Margaret is a great champion of Youth Performing Arts, please visit the website.

An opportunity has arisen to have a Performing Arts Theatre Complex built by the Developers of the Bakehouse Quarter, a huge old warehouse building with tremendous character, located at George Street, North Strathfield (between CBD and Parramatta).

The McDonald Foundation Cultural Trust is the entity wishing to develop the concept and they will administer the Complex and be responsible for the fit out which includes a Drama Theatre seating 250, and a Proscenium Arch Theatre seating approx 1500 with Fly Tower, plus Rehearsal, Dressing and Meeting rooms and storage areas.

Primary market: Schools, Youth and Disadvantaged Groups (this major venue for Youth will be a first for Australia, and possibly in the World).

Secondary market: Professional Theatre & Touring groups and private performances.

We are contacting the Directors of Theatres, Performing Arts and Management groups to present the idea and gauge their level of interest in and support for this Performing Arts Theatre complex as a potential venue for their performances and/or touring shows or other performing arts needs including Rehearsal spaces.

We certainly would appreciate your valued opinion and comments.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Michelle Ford, Producer, JAM Media Group
Sydney, Australia, t. +612 9918 6884 • 0418 288 788
jamd@jamdirections.com.au
www.jamdirections.com.au

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Mothers Day work opportunity

Tanya Lauder from the Coober Pedy Council writes:

I am looking to hire a person to perform a puppet show (any extra talents would be a plus) in Coober Pedy for Mothers day (11th May 2008) to entertain kids. Flights (or cost of travel from Adelaide or Alice Springs), meals and accommodation will be provided. Please provide a quote and references and/or clip of your performances if you are able to commit to this event.

Kind regards

Tanya Lauder
Child Care Links Officer
District Council of Coober Pedy
Ph: (08) 8672 4621
Mobile: 0439 864 166
email: Tanya Lauder [tlauder-at-cpcouncil.sa.gov.au]

(via Puppetry Australia )

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The Grimstones: A Gothic Fairytale

The Grimstones, created by Asphyxia, will preview at Northcote Town Hall, Studio 2, on Saturday 3rd May 2008, 2:00pm and 7:30pm . Tickets cost $20.

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Puppet making opportunity

Peter Solomon writes:

I am a Melbourne based artist with a interest and early background in puppetry. In the 1970’s I workedfor Peter Scriven’s Tintookies as an ASM.

Over the past four years I have been restoring and revising an independent film I made thirty-five years ago. Part of the revision will be to re-shoot various puppets manipulated against a green screen, which will be keyed-out and composited back into the cine. This is an independent self funded project.

I need need two puppets and one figurine constructed for the film shoot I’m doing in August this year. The first puppet would most likely be a rod/trigger of a “living doll” character. This puppet would have wrist, elbow and shoulder joints. Hands are modelled without any movement. The head will need to move about on its neck. No facial expressions other than open/close doll-like lids are called for. The torso is moulded like a doll’s torso. Indeed, the lateral thinking puppet maker would probably chop up a large plastic doll and add his/her own modifications. The lower half of this puppet is stuffed cloth (but probably would need to be jointed simply within.) The puppet would be approx 2’6" high and closely match a 3D animated character (that in the film is about 4” high)..

The second puppet is of a Victorian plate camera (tripod and wooden camera), pushed into the fantasy realm. This “camera creature” lurches back and forward like an insect, and visually would be a cross between an old gnarled tree and a Victorian plate camera. This puppet would most likely be a rod/trigger variety too, and stand about 2’6” high.

The third object to have made is a 12 inch high figurine of the screen actor who was in my film. We wish to use a figurine on a model bed in a table top miniature,as the set will have delicate transitional lighting applied to it, and perspective distortion. To do this special effect “life scale” would be prohibitive.

So to summarise, the “china music box doll” has been designed by a 3D digital animator, and now I need to find the right person with modelling skills to realise this dimensionally. I have not fully designed the monstrous Nightmare Camera, and as I am I very busy doing compositing and rotoscoping on the computer, I’m hoping to find an independent puppet maker to do this work, rather than doing it myself.

Finding the right person is essential. I am a serious and sensitive artist, and prefer to work with talented folk who I can connect with on levels other than a an exchangeof manual kills and money. I need to find someone who has the right sensibility and imagination to help out.

Finally, if we need to discuss payment, given everything else I need to budget for on the August reshoot, I was thinking I could go to about fifteen hundred dollars for each puppet - and I don’t know – up to four hundred for a cracking figurine.

All the best,

Peter

554 Neerim Road
Murrumbeena Victoria 3163
Ph: 03/9568 3367
petersolomon-at-eftel.net.au

Tags: puppetry, puppets, unima australia, unima,  australia

ArtPlay: Professional Develoment Workshop

ArtPlay is offering a professional development workshop for teachers and artists on Wednesday 23 April 2008.  Are you a teacher who works with artists in residence in a Primary School? Are you an artist who works in a school or in educational programs with children? This introduction to teachers and artists working together will cover some of  the main issues associated with these creative partnerships. Three hands-on activities with experienced partnership artists will help to illustrate best practice approaches to creative arts partnerships and will stimulate a facilitated discussion. The morning session will involve teachers and artists together; the afternoon is a special session for artists only.  FREE                         .

To book call 9664 7900 or email artplay@melbourne.vic.gov.au  by 16 April. This professional development session is run by ArtPlay in partnership with Arts Victoria and is part of Arts Victoria's 'Learning with Creative Practitioners' initiative.

(Apologies for the late posting, but maybe it still might be possible to go?)

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Unima 2008

A big thanks to Philip Mitchell, his whole team at Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, and everyone who was involved in making Unima 2008 in Perth such a wonderful success!

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World Puppetry Day greetings

Greetings to all our puppetry friends around the world on the occasion of World Puppetry Day, 21 March!

This year Mr. Jean-Pierre Guingané,  (stage director, dramatist, Burkina university professor, vice-presidentof the International Theatre Institute and founder and director of FITMO, the Ouagadougou International Puppet Theatre Festival) has written the special message for WPD, in which he turns the focus on the part puppetry may play in Africa.

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