"classes for adults"

Learn Mouth and Rod Puppetry at Puppet Showplace!

Furry Monsters 101 with Jonathan Little, Little's Creatures

4 sessions, February 25 - March 18

Tuesdays, 6:30-9:00pm
Members save 10% on registration!


MORE INFO/ REGISTER ONLINE

Some characters are too good to keep bottled up. Let out your inner monster with the "Furry Monsters 101" class at Puppet Showplace Theatre taught by master puppeteer Jonathan Little of Little's Creatures. This class is for adults and mature teens ages 16 and up.


Students practicing with puppets made by Little's Creatures at Puppet Showplace.

Take a page of the Muppet, Sesame Street, or saucy Avenue Q handbook and create your own character through the use of a professional hand and rod puppet. Work with “Little Creatures” puppet company founder Jonathan Little, and give life to your inner characters. Will your puppet character be sassy? Meek? A childhood hero or an inner demon? Explore an exciting, visual storytelling medium in a supportive classroom environment with fellow adventurers.


Jon Little of Little's Creatures, Fury Monsters 101 instructor at Puppet Showplace

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Jonathan Little is the founder of Little’s Creatures, a full service puppet company based in Medford, MA. Little’s Creatures has built puppets and performed for individuals and companies across the United States and abroad. Current puppetry projects include the Time Machine Guitar TV series and the National Fire Prevention Association’s “Sparky the Fire Dog” fire safety videos. Jon has been a Puppet Showplace teaching artist since 2011.

Jon and Chris Little, Little's Creatures performing Sparky the Fire Dog.

He received his own puppetry training from some of the nation’s best television puppeteers including Muppeteers Martin P. Robinson, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Tyler Bunch, Tim Lagasse, and Jim Kroupa. For the past four years, Jon has worked as the teaching assistant in Jim Kroupa’s mechanism workshop at the Eugene O’Neill National Puppetry Conference. In addition to performing, Jonathan is skilled in the fine arts, including sculpture, film, video, drawing, and painting. He holds a degree from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He is a skilled dancer, with over 14 years of ballet training (Red Shoes Ballet, South Shore Dance, and Boston Ballet). He has also trained in comedy improv with ImprovBoston.

ABOUT THE CLASS:

In Furry Monsters 101, participants will learn the proper technique of hand and rod puppetry. Professional puppeteers know how to make these characters appear as living, breathing beings with their own thoughts, desires, and motivations. After learning the basics (breathing, lip-synch, focus, and body position), participants will also be able to bring their own characters to life too. Their hands will start to have minds of their own!

For samples of last year’s students’ creations in the Furry Monsters class checkout Little’s youtube page:



Participants will also cover essentials such as character interpretation, rhythm and timing, storytelling, puppet-assisting , working with props, creating a puppet film, improv and comedy, television monitor technique, and puppet/actor interactions. This is an ideal class for actors, comedians, die-hard Muppet fans, dancers, animators, or anyone interested in learning puppetry.



For those ready to embark on the hilarious, rewarding adventure of bringing your own puppet character to life, “Furry Monsters 101” is the perfect opportunity!

You can find more info about upcoming classes at Puppet Showplace online. CICK HERE.

Learn How to Build Giant Puppets at PST!

CLASSES FOR ADULTS AND TEENS

THINK BIG: Giant Puppet Construction and Performance Class
Six sessions | March 11 - April 15
Monday nights | 6:30-9:00 pm

Not so little anymore? No need to fret, the bigger you get, the bigger the puppets! We invite teens and adults alike to join us and learn how to build your own larger-than-life puppet. Come and THINK BIG at PST in this empowering workshop.

Register by March 1: $150 + $20 materials fee. After 3/1/13: $175 + $20 materials fee. PST members save 10% on registration!

ABOUT THE CLASS

Participants will learn techniques for designing and constructing giant puppets from simple materials such as cardboard, papier mache, fabric, and recycled objects. Topics will include large-scale designing, flat-to-3D building, cardboard fabrication, strong papier mache, painting, transportation planning, and puppet manipulation. Participants will each complete their own giant puppet, and will have opportunities to perform with Puppet Showplace Theatre in various community art events throughout the year.

WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN BIG PUPPETS?

From "First Night" in Boston to "Wake up the Earth," festival in Jamaica Plain, street protests to community festivals, giant puppets are everywhere! 


"First Night" in Boston
"Wake up the Earth" festival in Jamaica Plain
YOUR INSTRUCTOR 

This workshop is led by PST’s own Artist in Residence Brad Shur. Brad performs almost every month at PST as well as teaches classes and workshops to students aged 3 to adult. For nearly 15 years he has been professionally involved in puppetry since he began as a performer with the Providence puppet and Mask Company Big Nazo. He has worked in various capacities with Wood & Strings Theatre (Tennessee), and Vermont PuppetTree, and as a builder has designed and fabricated puppets for American Idol, Dollywood, and other theaters and performers from Austin, Texas to Boston, Massachusetts.  
PST Artist in Residence, Brad Shur

Announcing Fall Adult Classes 2012

PST HAS THREE UPCOMING CLASSES FOR ADULTS!
LEARN MORE/ REGISTER

Puppet Shorts!
Six sessions, September 10th - Oct 15th
Monday Nights, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Cost: $150/ $125 before September 1st!
Click Here to register online, or call 617-731-6400

Introduction to Puppetry Arts
Four sessions, October 9th - 30th
Tuesday Nights, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Cost: $125/ $105 before October 1st!
To register, call 617-731-6400

Introduction to Shadow Puppetry
Five sessions, November 12th - December 10th
Monday Nights, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Cost: $150/ $125 before November 1st!
To register, call 617-731-6400

Our artist-in-residence at PST, Brad Shur, will be teaching these three new classes for adults starting in September!  Brad has been professionally involved in puppetry for almost 15 years.  Creating and performing with his own puppets, he is equipped with an incredibly broad knowledge of various forms of puppetry and performance techniques.


Puppet Shorts! -  How do you get better at making puppet shows?  Practice!  Any great writer will tell you that in order to write well, one must write as often as they can.  The same is true with puppetry.  This class is designed to stretch a puppeteer's creativity and skill through a variety of projects.  Using different puppetry styles each week, participants will create six short performances.  With the help of the instructor, the class will also learn formal critique methods to analyze and improve each others' work.

Introduction to Puppetry Arts - Learn about the basics behind the scenes!  If you have always admired puppets from a seat in the audience, maybe it's time you got a closer look.  This class will teach the basic materials and performance methods used by professional puppeteers.  In addition, the class will study and discuss the work of great puppeteers such as Richard Bradshaw, Burr Tillstrom, and Sergey Obraztsov.  From constructing your first puppet to understanding the concepts of what makes an excellent puppet show, the subjects covered in this class are vital to a beginner puppeteer.

Introduction to Shadow Puppetry - Tap into the power of playing with light!  Shadow puppetry can be a wonderful way to tell stories, and at the heart of it, all you may need is a light, some paper, and a screen.  From the simple fun of playing with light, to more complex and diverse styles of shadow puppetry, this class is for anyone interested in this beautiful art form.  Through the use of building exercises and performance assignments, participants by the end of this class will have the tools to create their own shadow puppet plays.


Any questions about class content may be directed to instructor Brad Shur: bshur@puppetshowplace.org.  For more information about all of our Adult Classes, please Visit Our Website!