Behind-the-Scenes of "Robin Hood" at Puppet Showplace

DIVING INTO THE "PUPPET WORLD"

by Guest Blogger: Sarah Goone, Artistic Intern

Puppet Showplace intern, Sarah Goone shares her experience working with Artist in Residence Brad Shur on his new production of "Robin Hood." The show premiered this January as part of the theater's "New Year, New Shows" series, an annual event that showcases new work by local artists.  VIEW SHOW CALENDAR

Sarah Goone, Artistic Intern at Puppet Showplace

Hello! My name is Sarah Goone and I am currently the Artistic Intern at Puppet Showplace Theatre for about 7 weeks this winter. I kicked off the season on literally the first day of the year at First Night, where I first met Roxie, who’s acting as my supervisor while I’m at Puppet Showplace, and many other amazing people from the theater and from other puppet theaters. It was a crazy, long first day, but I knew right away that I was in the right place.

Robin's clothes on the clothes line made by Sarah in "Robin Hood" by Brad Shur

Right after the crazy First Night, I started working with Brad Shur on his original production, "Robin Hood." My first assignment was to design and sew tiny clothing items to go on a clothesline in the "Robin Hood" set. I was very grateful that he gave me so much freedom to do so. I am very experienced in sewing but have never made a pattern before, and Brad just told me to try something out and see what I could do. I worked for the day on some little knickers, a few shirts, and a few pairs of socks. It really was not that difficult, and I was pretty happy with what I had come up with, as was Brad.

Guard costume built by Sarah for "Robin Hood" by Brad Shur

After that, he just kept giving me a lot of projects to either completely construct props by myself, or to help prime and sand different props and scenery items that were in the process of being built. My favorite project was to completely re-sew the Guard’s costume because it again challenged my patterning skills, but this time for an actual puppet to wear. It also was a very challenging knit fabric to work with, so finishing the costume felt like I had really accomplished something great. 

Maid Marion's mask, details painted by Sarah for "Robin Hood" by Brad Shur

When I saw one of his shows on the opening weekend, it was so exciting to point out all the things I had made to my roommates who came to see the show with me. I never thought, going into the internship, that I’d be able to say I helped build the set and even got to mend and create some costumes!

Overall, I had an amazing time working with Brad, and enjoyed the times when we’d both be working in the same space so he could tell me about how he got into puppetry, which is very similar to how I did, and he gave me some neat insights into the “puppet world”.  -Sarah

For more information about becoming an intern at Puppet Showplace: VIEW INFO

World Premiere performance of "Robin Hood!"

NEW YEAR, NEW SHOWS! Series at Puppet Showplace
Puppet Showplace is proud to present two puppetry productions by Boston-based artists in their world premiere performances this January and February 2014! VIEW CALENDAR

"Robin Hood" by Brad Shur, Artist in Residence

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Fri, Jan 17 at 7pm 
(Opening night performance, with reception to follow)

Sat & Sun, Jan 11-19 at 1pm & 3pm
Mon, Jan 20 at 10:30am & 1pm
(Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend!)

BUY TICKETS

Join us at Puppet Showplace for our second annual series showcasing new work for youth and family audiences. Past productions have gone on to tour across the Northeast to venues such as La Mama ETC’s puppet festival in New York City, Boston’s Outside the Box Festival, and Maine’s Mostly Puppets Festival. Each year the artists receive production support through the theatre’s Incubator program.

First in the line-up of new shows by Boston-based artists is the classic tale of "Robin Hood" created and performed by Brad Shur, Puppet Showplace Artist in Residence. Get ready for a rollicking adventure through Sherwood Forest with your favorite hero who's watching out for the little guy.  This imaginative re-telling gives thematic story elements an updated twist told against the classic backdrop of late 18th century England. The performance features an original score by composer, Paul Watkins.

Robin Hood, hand-made glove puppet by Brad Shur

About the show: Get ready to occupy Sherwood in this rollicking retelling of the classic Robin Hood tale. When the new Sheriff of Nottingham starts uprooting villagers' homes as part of a grand castle expansion scheme, the starry-eyed Robin sees an opportunity to save the day and fulfill his dream of becoming a hero. Of course, he'll need a little help from his friends. Join Maid Marion, Little John, and some unexpected puppet characters for this exciting forest adventure.

From the studio: characters from "Robin Hood," The Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin and Maid Marion

About the performer: Brad Shur is a versatile puppeteer who has created and performed characters made of everything from pixels to papier mache. As the Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace Theatre he performs regularly and teaches puppetry classes to students of all ages, Pre-K to adult. As protégé of master puppeteer Paul Vincent Davis, Shur trained extensively in glove puppetry and currently performs two of Davis’ classic shows at venues across New England. Shur’s original works include "The Carrot Salesman," "Dr. Doohickey and the Monster Machine," "The Yankee Peddler: Stories and Songs from Old New England" and "The Magic Soup and Other Stories," recently featured at the Puppeteers of America National Festival 2013.

Brad Shur, Artist in Residence with Maid Marion puppet right from the mold!

Prior to becoming the Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace, Shur toured the country as a performer with Big Nazo (Rhode Island), Wood & Strings Theatre (Tennessee) and The PuppeTree (Vermont). As a builder Shur has designed and fabricated puppets for American Idol, Dollywood, Avenue Q, and the U.S.S. Constitution Museum. Shur is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Meet the production team! Brad Shur was joined by a team of incredibly talented artists to put the world premiere production of "Robin Hood" on its feet.  This includes stage director, Roxanna Myhrum and composer Paul Watkins.

Roxanna Myhurm, Stage Director with deer character from "Robin Hood" by Brad Shur

Stage Director: Roxanna Myhrum is the Artistic Director of Puppet Showplace Theatre in Brookline, MA. In Boston, she has recently been puppetry director at the Huntington Theatre Company (Ryan Landry's M), Company One (She Kills Monsters), the Lyric Stage Company of Boston (IRNE award, Avenue Q), Underground Railway Theatre (Roots of Liberty), and Gloucester Stage Company (Carnival). Myhrum is a graduate of Harvard University and a former resident company member of the Eugene O’Neill National Puppetry Conference.

Paul Watkins, Composer

Composer: Paul Watkins is a composer and trombonist from San Jose, CA. He holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in music and psychology from the University of California, Davis, and is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. His music has been performed by Fifth House Ensemble, Freya String Quartet, Meridian Arts Ensemble, flutist Erinn Frechette, pianist Adam Marks, mezzo-soprano Jen Beattie, and the UC Davis Summer Symphony, among others.

At UC Davis, he was the recipient of the President’s Undergraduate Fellowship, the Outstanding Senior Award, and the Olga Brose Valente Memorial Prize for excellence in Music Composition (twice). His primary composition teachers include Kurt Rohde, Ross Bauer, Laurie San Martin, John Morrison, and Paul Brust. In his music, he has taken interest in exploring dense counterpoint, non-linear structures, visual and theatrical elements, improvisation, and forced audience participation.