Incubator at PST, Tuesday. Where Great Ideas Are Hatched!

THIS WEEK AT PST
Incubator!
TUES | April 5 | 7pm to 9pm

About Incubator: Every other Tuesday, PST hosts a "drop-in" session where emerging artists, veteran puppeteers, teachers, and puppet enthusiasts gather to discuss and develop creative ideas in a casual, informal environment.

Here artists of all media and genres, experienced or not, can experiment with new puppetry ideas, materials and styles. It's a place where knowledge is shared, constructive critique is the norm, and collaborations are born. This event is free and open to the public, with a suggested donation of $5.

What's happening this week:
Quick and dirty puppets-Starting a new puppet project? Before you pour your heart and soul into crafting perfect puppets, you need to make sure everything works. In this session, we will learn several techniques for creating quick, simple practice puppets using inexpensive materials (paper, tape etc).

A Coat for Poverty- Brad Shur, Artist in Residence at the Puppet Showplace, will share a new part of a larger piece titled, "Magic Soup and Other Tales," based on Yiddish Folktales.

We will also be getting ready for the National Day of Puppetry, which is April 23rd.
Upcoming Incubators in 2011:

April 5, 19 May 3, 17, 31 June 14, 28

July 12, 26 August 9, 23

Click here for more info, call 617.731.6400, or email us at artistic@puppetshowplace.org with "incubator" in the subject.

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Puppet Showplace welcomesThe PuppeTree on November 6th and 7th!

This weekend, Puppet Showplace Theatre welcomes a NEW company to our stage! The PuppeTree was founded by Ann Legunn and tours widely from its home base in Vermont. They will be presenting their fabulous piece "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." This shadow spectacle uses three puppeteers! We are excited to see the show come to life on our stage.

The PuppeTree’s mission is to promote an appreciation of the performing arts, with an emphasis on children’s theater and puppets, among diverse audiences. Rather than start a traditional puppet or theater company that just performs theater pieces before an audience, founder Ann Legunn created a “touchable” theater--one in which members of various community groups could become active participants in all aspects of theater arts. The Puppetree is unique in that the participants not only build puppets, but are encouraged to handle those made by Ann--something usually forbidden by most puppet companies--the way they would handle other props, costumes, and scenery.

To this end, the PuppeTree will kick off Puppet Showplace's children's workshop series with a great hands-on workshop! Immediately following their 3:00 pm show on November 6th, members of the troupe will lead a hands-on shadow puppet construction and manipulation activity at the theater. Tickets are $5, or just $3 if purchased in conjunction with a show ticket. Don't miss this exciting event! Buy Tickets Online or call the theatre for reservations at 617-731-6400.

Funded in part by the New England States Touring Program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts Agencies.

Puppets in Development...

In addition to being a fabulous place to see puppet theater, Puppet Showplace is a great resource for artists developing new works. Every other week, we host our puppet incubator where artists of all persuasions meet to discuss and develop their works-in-progress. I love getting feedback from artists who work in different mediums or puppetry styles, and I always leave incubator fired up to build or write or rehearse.

Our puppet slams are also great ways for artists to try out pieces of a larger work in front of an audience. At our last slam, Diane Kordas of Romper Rhythm & Puppets performed part of her "Pirates and Tales of the Sea" show, which she will perform as a full piece at PST in September. Also, Bonnie Duncan of They Gotta Be Secret Agents performed an excerpt of her show Poste Restante, which I saw in its complete form (twice! once with my Mom! it was that good!) over the weekend at the Charlestown Working Theater. We're also waiting with great anticipation for the day when our friends and regular slam performers Z. Briggs and Chad Williams of Wonderspark Puppets will present a full-length show at PST. (Z. recently informed me that she did her first solo performance as a puppeteer at PST. We're so proud!).

For artists who are not working on a full length show but who still want to advance their puppetry skills, PST is a great educational resource. This weekend we are hosting a workshop with master puppeteer Dan Hurlin of Mapp International Productions while he is in Boston performing at the Institute of Contemporary Art as part of the Emerging America Festival. Then on Sunday, the Boston Area Guild of Puppetry (BAGOP) will present (PST board member!) Eric Bornstein of Behind the Mask as part of their Guild Meeting at PST. New members are welcome!

Still not sure how to take advantage of the artist resources that PST has to offer? Email me or drop by the theater and we'll talk! We had two puppeteers (Allison Daniel of Chicago and Agus Nur Amal of Indonesia) serendipitously drop in last week and wow us with their work. Our doors are open to you too!