"Sesame Street"

Birthday Party at PST: Help Us Celebrate 39 Years this June!


Celebrate our 39th Birthday with us!

Sunday, June 2nd

1:00-4:00 PM


Join us to celebrate Puppet Showplace Theatre's 39th Birthday with cake and more! Puppet fans can drop-in any time between 1pm and 4pm and enjoy rotating puppet performances, craft activities, and a community giant puppet parade. Participants will be able to bring home balloon animals and goody bags, or make their own puppet at fun craft stations. Tickets: $10 individual, $25 family ($8/$20 members).
Your contributions and "birthday gifts" to the theatre will help us share the magic of puppetry with children from across the Greater Boston Area this summer season. Thank you for helping to make our first family-friendly fundraiser a success!  If you cannot attend, consider making a birthday donation.

RAFFLE PRIZES!

Another way to show your support and help us celebrate 39 years as New England's puppet theater is by purchasing raffle tickets! Tickets are $5 each, and can be purchased on line or at our event on June 2nd.


Thank you to Sesame Workshop, our very good friend Leslie Carrara-Rudolph a.k.a. Abby Cadabby and Henry Bear's Park in Brookline for their generous donations!
PST V.I.P. Summer Pass
4 complementary tickets to each puppet show through 
the summer 2013 season at PST

Elmo Pack
Includes: Elmo Themed Kid’s T-shirt, DVD, baseball cap, 
iphone case, and hand puppet


Abby Pack
Includes: Abby Cadabby doll, photo album, 
phone call from Abby, and a signed photo


Sesame Street Pack
Includes: Autographed cast photo, Cookie Monster doll, Sesame Street book, 
and Big Bird finger puppet.
$100 Shopping Spree!
Enjoy a $100 Shopping spree at Henry Bear’s Park in Brookline Village


Thank you for helping us celebrate 39 years as New England's puppet theater!

The Three Little Pigs Take Over the Net!

Newsflash, Readers!  The Three Little Pigs have taken over the Net.  I repeat: The Three Little Pigs have taken over the net...but that's totally ok because they're cute and cuddly, so no need to be alarmed.  I just thought you should know, what with WonderSpark Puppets returning to PST this week with their rendition of the classic tale.

Yes, in celebration of their return - both WonderSpark Puppets and The Three Little Pigs - I thought it would be best to do a countdown of some of the best Pig-related videos on the Internet, courtesy of Sesame Street, Jim Henson, and his Muppets.

5. Kermit Reports On The Three Little Pigs...and Count Ruins It

CLICK TO WATCH
Poor Kermit.  All he wants to do is interview the Three Little Pigs, but he can't because Count keeps, you know, counting 'em.  That's right.  Every time a Little Pig appears, Count shouts "ONE Little Pig," "TWO Little Pigs," and then "THREE Little Pigs," making it very difficult for Kermit to ask them any questions regarding their encounter with the Big Bad Wolf.  Fed up with all the hullabaloo, the Pigs shut the door - and Kermit walks away without a story...or so you think!  

Just next door are the Seven Dwarves.  Oh, but wait.  That's not good.  Seven Dwarves means seven more things for the Count to, you know, count!  Get ready, Kermit.  The cycle's doomed to repeat itself.  

4. Kermit Reports On Two Homeless Piggies

CLICK TO WATCH
After an unwanted visit from the Big Bad Wolf, two Pigs are left homeless.  

At the first scene of the crime - a big pile of straw - Kermit asks the first Pig what it's like to be homeless.  His response: "What kind of dumb question is that?!  I'm angry!  How would you feel if some big Wolf came along and huffed and puffed and blew your house down?!"

At the second scene of the crime - a big pile of sticks - Kermit asks the second, teary-eyed Pig the same question.  His response: "How do I feel?  How can you be so cruel as to ask me that?  My house is in rubble and you ask me that?  I'm sad!"

At the third scene of the crime - oh, wait!  There is none because it's made of brick.  Knowing this, Kermit asks the third Pig, who stands in front of his brick palace, trying to figure out where his satellite dish should go, what it's like to have a house that's "nice and solid and strong."  His response: "Proud."  Sure, he may seem vain, but when the other two Pigs come a-runnin', he takes them in and protects them from the Big Bad Wolf's big, bad breath.  Kermit, however, is not so lucky because the Wolf huffs and puffs and blows him away.

3. Kermit Reports on the NEW Three Little Pigs Story

CLICK TO WATCH
That's right.  There's a new Three Little Pigs story, courtesy of the Big Bad Wolf, who's invited Kermit and his news team to capture it on video.

The story begins with the Wolf asking the Three Little Pigs to join him outside.  The Pigs refuse because in the old story, he huffed and puffed and blew their houses down.  The Wolf promises that he won't do that again, so the Pigs decide to give him a chance.  They go outside, where the Wolf begins the new story so: "Once upon a time, there were Three Little Pigs and a Frog Reporter.  When the Wolf saw them standing there, he took a deep breath and..." - Kermit and the Pigs jump - "sang a song!" 

This song turns out to be a game.  The Wolf sings, "Three of things belong together.  Three of these things are kinda the same.  One of these things just doesn't belong here.  Now it's time to play a game!"

Guess how the game ends.  Kermit, a frog, does not belong with the Three Little Pigs, so the Wolf huffs and puffs and blows him away and he and the Three Little Pigs live happily ever after.  As the Pigs rejoice, Kermit pops out of his coat and says, "I think I like the old story better."

2. Kermit Reports On the First Pig

CLICK TO WATCH
Kermit interviews the first Pig, the one with the house made of straw.  When he asks, "Why straw," the Pig responds so: "Because straw is light and easy to carry - and when we get hungry, we can nibble on a wall or two."  Kermit suggests it would have been wiser to build a house made of wood or bricks, in case a Big Bad Wolf comes along and huffs and puffs and blows it down.  The Pig laughs this off, saying he worked on the house for four days and is, therefore, strong, then returns inside.

Moments later, the Big Bad Wolf arrives and Kermit - who thinks he knows the story of The Three Little Pigs - stands to the side and watches as he huffs and puffs and blows everything down...except the Pig's house.  Boy!  You may think you know the story, but then something like this happens.  It may not make sense, especially to Kermit, but that's what makes it funny.  

1. A New Way To Walk

CLICK TO WATCH
Welcome to Mac TV!  Today's music video features kickin' music and pork bellies.  It's called "A New Way To Walk" and it features the talented Oinker Sisters.

Yes, this video - an obvious homage to Madonna, (specifically Madonna from the 80's) - is just delightful.  And it certainly puts a new twist on the story of The Three Little Pigs.  In the version we grew up with, they're running scared from the Big Bad Wolf.  Here, they're singing and dancing - and giving "Girl Power" a whole new meaning. 

I don't know about you, but this is definitely worthy of the number one spot.  It's got everything you could ever want from a Sesame Street music video: Madonna-esque dancing pigs and an 80's pop song - guaranteed to put a smile on your faces.

Feel like you need more Pig-related fun in your life?  Then come on down to PST this Saturday (or Sunday) to see WonderSpark Puppets perform their version of The Three Little Pigs.

'Til next time.  Yours truly, Esra Erol - marketing intern.

PS: Tell us what some of your favorite pig videos are!






Puppets Around the Web: Forgotten Muppets


We've spent a lot of time watching Sesame Street. And we bet you have too, either as a parent or growing up as a kid.

Remember Leo the Party Monster? No? Neither did we.

Which is why we were excited to find Ryan Roe's post on Tough Pigs: "7 Sesame Muppets I Never Thought I'd See Before There Was YouTube."

And though he's not a Muppet, be sure to check out the last clip of Mr. Roger's visit to the Sesame neighborhood.

Puppets in Primetime...and on the Silver Screen

We at Puppet Showplace love live puppet theater more than anything, but we also know how important TV and film have been to making puppets famous around the world. Our regular Friday evening series, "Puppets in Primetime," is coming up April 16th at 6:30. Come on by the theater for a double bill of classic Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock episodes.

If you're craving more puppets on the big screen, our friends at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge are doing a weekend muppet marathon, with screenings of the Muppet Movie, Labyrinth, and other great films.

When I watch TV or film puppetry I'm always on the lookout for examples of the subtle manipulation techniques that really make the puppets come to life. It's a lot harder than it looks! Not only do puppeteers need to re-wire their brains while performing on camera so they can watch their puppet in monitors that show everything in left-right reverse, but they need to choreograph their movements so they translate well from 3D to 2D.
For a manipulation skill that's also translatable into live puppet theater, next time you watch the muppets try using your hand as a mouth (for extra fun, add a set of "peepers" eyes from our store) and see if you can talk in time with the puppets. Make sure the movement is mainly coming from your thumb rather than your top fingers--otherwise, your eyes would move every time you opened your mouth! This skill, called "lip synch" is one of the first things puppeteers need to master when working with talking mouth puppets.

Bonus: for an example of (intentionally) not-so-great on-camera puppetry, check out last week's episode of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart where he satirizes RNC chairman Michael Steel with a crazy puppet routine (the puppet appears about 10:30). Funny, or just painful to watch? The character is based on a Sesame Street routine set in a restaurant where Grover waits on a man who keeps sending his soup back. Enjoy!

FREE Family Movie Nite 8/8 - Follow That Bird!



Before The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, there was Follow That Bird, Big Bird's road-trip adventure movie.

Here's a quick synopsis: Big Bird wants to get to know other birds. But when he goes to live with a crazy bird family–the Dodos of Ocean View, Illinois–he decides he would be happier back with his friends on Sesame Street. He has to count on the help of old and new friends to help him to make it back home.

Like other Muppet movies, a handful of celebrities make cameo appearances peppered throughout the film. In the clip above, country singer Waylon Jennings sings with Big Bird. Other stars making appearances include Chevy Chase, John Candy, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty and Sandra Bernhard. (89 min, G)