After-school Activities: PST's After-school Show Series Returns

PST announces Fall 2012  After-school Show Line-up

Starting Friday, October 5, Puppet Showplace Theatre is bringing back its after-school show time series for youth and family audiences. For the remainder of the Fall 2012 season, PST will present a 3:00pm show the first Friday of every month (October 5, November 2, and December 7).

Behind-the-scenes Access:

Ever wonder what goes into a puppet show? Well, you're in luck! Each performance will include a post-show behind-the-scenes puppet demonstration and a Q&A session with the puppeteer. According to Brad Shur, Artist-in-Residence at PST, “These performances are a great opportunity for kids to meet with artists, ask questions, and see how a professional puppet show works!”

Puppet-making Activity:

Following each performance, audience members are also invited to enjoy a FREE puppet making activity. All the materials will be provided by PST, and every child can make their own puppet to take home.

Tickets cost $12 General/$8 PST members/$8.50 for groups of 20 or more.

View Calendar

2012 Fall After-school Puppet Show Season Line-up:

The Magic of Hans Christian Andersen by Applause Unlimited – PST Premier!

October 5 at 3pm

Applause Unlimited celebrates one of the 20th century’s greatest storytellers - Hans Christian Andersen - with this magnificent UNIMA award-winning show. Sometimes serious and heartwarming, sometimes downright silly, but always fun, the show features storytelling and song as well as multiple styles of puppets in three of Andersen’s best loved tales: “The Ugly Duckling,” “Thumbelisa,” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Recommended for ages 4 & up.

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Raccoon Tales by Paul Vincent Davis, performed by Brad Shur, PST Artist-in-Residence.

November 2 at 3pm

The animals in the forest are always getting into trouble playing tricks on each other. Will they learn their lessons? Three humorous tales, inspired by just-so-stories of the Seneca tribe, combine in this delightful show: How the Fox and the Raccoon Trick Each Other; Why the Blue Jay is Blue and the Gray Wolf Isn’t; and, Why the Bear has a Stumpy Tail. Hand puppets. Recommended for ages 4 & up

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Tales of Beatrix Potter by Applause Unlimited – PST Premier!

December 7 at 3pm

A solo puppeteer/storyteller explores the fantasy world of one of Victorian England's best-known authors and illustrators. Set in an old-fashioned nursery, this performance includes three favorite Beatrix Potter stories as seen through the eyes of a young English girl growing up at the beginning of the twentieth century. As she pursues the everyday activities of playing and learning, the tales of "Two Bad Mice", "Jeremy Fisher", and "Jemima Puddleduck" seem to grow from her imagination. Hand, Rod, and Shadow puppets. Recommended for ages 4 & up.

Tickets Coming Soon! 

My New Favorite Thing: Puppetry Festivals!

Hello to all my favorite people,

Fall is steadily approaching! It's almost time for playing in the leaves, apple picking, pumpkin carving and Oh! Halloween! Where you can dress up like spooky, scary things! I'm a monster and supposedly I am scary but Monster is just my last name. I am filled with sweetness like all of you. I use Halloween as an opportunity to show everyone how adorable I am.

However, my absolute favorite thing about Fall is our Fall Fairy tale Festival, which is a collection of fairytale puppet shows presented throughout the season of Fall.

Fall Fairy Tale Festival
September 1 - October 14

To kickstart this year's event is "Cinderella" by Tanglewood Marionettes. The classic story we all know and love told in wit and style, and featuring your favorite characters in a whole new look of lavishly costumed marionettes!

Cinderella by Tanglewood Marionettes
Sat 9/1/2012 & Sun 9/2/2012 | 1pm & 3pm
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I am so excited for our upcoming event that festivals are my new favorite thing! So what is a festival and what does it mean to be festive? A festival is a day or period of celebration. We do lots of celebrating at PST for all the performers who put on great shows for everyone. To be festive is to have a joyous or merry mood. I am always full of joy! I think I have been participating in more festivals than I realize... 

If you love celebrating the art of puppetry with merry or joyous people, you might be interested in some of these other puppet festivals.

Puppeteers of America Festivals
September 7-9, 2012
Puppet Festivals are Awesome! They also have great opportunities for performers to do slam pieces, network, and volunteer. There is a regional festival happening this September 7-9 in New York, lets go!


Puppets In The Green Mountains

September 22-30, 2012

Annual Puppet festival held every other year in Sothern Vermont. Check out the site for more info.

The Grand Auditorium Puppet Festival
October 5-7, 2012
Set in Ellesworth, Maine with performances by FrogTown Mountain Puppeteers, Tanglewood Marionettes, Nappy's Puppets and The Manipulators it is the ultimate celebration for any puppet fan. More info at www.grandonline.org.  






In the mean time, lets try and make every day a festival and be merry together!

The always joyous,
         
Bella Monster  

Internship Opportunities at PST!

A NOTE FROM OUR INTERN

Education Outreach Intern Krista shares her experience this summer

Finding the right internship can be hard, but I managed to spend the summer at a workplace that was engaging and fun!  The Puppet Showplace Theatre (PST) has been providing entertainment and educational opportunities to the community for 38 years now, and I am happy to have been involved in that process.

As an Intern for the Puppet Showplace Theatre, I worked on a variety of projects including assisting with puppetry camps and workshops, reaching out to schools and summer camps, ushering the shows, and generally lending a hand where it was needed.  With such a wide range of responsibilities, I had something new to look forward to every day.  When assisting with classes, I enjoyed interacting with the kids and helping to plan activities.  In reaching out to school and camp groups I gained many office and computer skills.  When ushering the shows, I helped theatre run smoothly and got to watch a new artist perform every week for free!

At the Puppet Showplace Theatre, I really enjoyed learning about how a non-profit organization operates.  The performing arts are definitely important to me, and I value PST’s dedication to providing a variety of educational opportunities to the community.  Their performances, workshops for students, and classes for educators are all focused on sharing knowledge about puppets and performing.   As an Education Outreach intern, my main objective was to establish and maintain new relationships with educators in the community. 

Lastly, one of my favorite things about working at PST was the atmosphere.  For me, the idea of working alone in a cubicle is not an agreeable one.  However, office and computer skills come in handy in nearly any line of work. Whether it be communicating via email, blogging, creating spreadsheets, or keeping files in order; where better to gain experience with the basics than in a colorful environment?  The walls are painted brightly and puppets are displayed throughout the lobby.  I was always welcome to try out puppets, to create a new display board, or to participate in events like the Puppet Slam.  I definitely did not want an internship where I would be ignored.  At PST I felt that the staff encouraged me to be involved and if I needed assistance, were glad to answer any questions.

So if you are interested in an internship that is enriching and entertaining, I wholeheartedly recommend applying to the Puppet Showplace Theatre.  They are now accepting applications for the Fall.  For more information about internships, Click Here.

-Krista, Education Outreach Intern Summer 2012