My NEW Favorite Thing

Hello all,

I am pink, furry and fabulous. Thats right its me, Bella Monster! Reporting live from Puppet Showplace theatre, the first puppetry center in New England. Thank you for visiting our blog. This post is about my new segment called 'My New Favorite Thing', by me! Every Tuesday I will update you with my new favorite thing, things like puppets, pink and strawberries.

This week my new favorite thing is Pinocchio! PST's new show coming out Fourth of July weekend. Pinocchio is a story about a puppet who wants to become a real boy. I'm a puppet, like Pinocchio, and I am on a quest to find out what it means to be real. What do you think it means to be real?





The trees outside are real and give us oxygen. I try to be kind and generous like the trees but they don't laugh and sing like me. The kids I meet are real! Kids play and learn like me. Together we learn from each other. But they aren't covered in fur the way I am.


So being real must come from inside. Being real can't always be seen or heard. The love we have inside is what makes us real. I'm Bella Monster, I'm proud to say I'm real and I know you are too!

Love,

                                                                    Bella Monster        

Last Chance To Support This Year

Dear Friends,

As President of Puppet Showplace Theatre's Board of Trustees, I am a dedicated supporter of "New England's Puppet Theatre." As our fiscal year comes to a close we would like to send a special thank you to everyone who could celebrate with us for our 38th birthday as New England's only continuously running puppet theatre. All you puppet fans helped raise over $6,000 at our birthday gala event! You continually help make Puppet Showplace Theatre a success.


- Adam Courville, 
President PST Board of Trustees

For those of you who couldn't make it, it's not too late to celebrate with us. With our fundraising target being $37,000 we only need an additional $4,000 by June 30th to ensure our goal for the fiscal year. We only have three days left until our fundraising closes so we hope you consider making a donation of any size to help build a large impact. 

As always we strive to promote and present the magical world of puppet theatre to a broad community in order to educate and enlighten audiences of all ages. We are optimistic that you do too. Thank you for all your support and stick around for all the fun we have in store for you in the future at Puppet Showplace Theatre!

2011-2012 Season Kick Off at Puppet Showplace!

September * October * November

Puppet Showplace Theatre is proud to announce our first annual Fall Fairytale Festival! It's our celebration of the "once upon a time" tales and the "long ago and far away" places that people have cherished for generations. Each week from September to November features a different fairytale (or two) ranging from the beloved classics to modern adaptations. View the full schedule online.

Fall Fairytale Kick Off Event, Labor Day Weekend!

September 3rd & 4th, 1pm & 3pm

Featuring: Pinocchio by National Marionette Theatre

BUY TICKETS

Join us on Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day Weekend for a special season kickoff event! We will feature a return performance of the spectacular Pinocchio by National Marionette Theatre--completely sold out in July!--and we'll have activities, refreshments, and a new puppet exhibit on display.

Thank you for an amazing summer season! It was a memorable one with with exciting premieres by Crabgrass Puppet Theatre and National Marionette Theatre, as well as returning favorites including Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers and Pumpernickel Puppets.

Special Note: Puppet Showplace Theatre will be CLOSED Sunday, August 29th through Friday, September 2nd to prepare for the upcoming 2011-2012 Season. Order your tickets for Pinocchio online!

"Singing Turtle" by Brad Shur, PST Artist in Residence

THIS WEEK AT PST
Wednesday & Thursday | April 6 & 7 | 10:30am

About the Show: A young, hard working farm boy, Taro, is desperate to earn money to buy medicine for his mother. He is helped by an amazing singing turtle in this Japanese folk tale.

Featuring beautiful handmade hand puppets. Recommended for ages 3 & up.

About the Performer: Brad Shur, artist in residence at PST, has been professionally involved in puppetry for nearly 10 years. As a fan of all types of puppetry, Brad has built and performed with rod puppets, hand puppets, shadow puppets, larger-than-life costume puppets, Japanese bunraku puppets and marionettes. His shows are high energy blends where at least a few of these styles come together with storytelling, original scripts, and lots of audience participation.

You can catch Brad at least twice monthly at Puppet Showplace Theatre, performing any one of six shows in his repertoire: "Raccoon Tales," "Here Come the Clowns," "The Singing Turtle," "Dr. Doohickey's Monster Machine," "The Carrot Salesman," and his newest production "The Magic Soup and Other Tales."

Brad is also an experienced teacher and offers workshops and classes for all ages on site at PST or private bookings in addition to extended residencies. This programming includes shadow, hand, and rod puppets, or custom workshops. Click here for more info!

BUY TICKETS

Puppet Showplace is Open! Two shows today, Thursday, January 13th!

Good morning Puppet Showplace Fans!

Join us today for TWO performances of "The Reluctant Dragon" by Lionheart Puppet Company. Shows will be at 10:30 and 1:00 today. Spread the word to friends and family who need something to do now that school has been canceled!

Roxie

Meet the Puppets on Display @ PST

Did you know that the Puppet Showplace Theatre is home to the hand-made puppets of some of the area's best-loved puppeteers? It's true! Next time you're at the theatre, look up – they're all around you, displayed up above the Puppet Store in our lobby.

Here are just some of the puppets you're bound to find.

Hummingbird created by Eric Bornstein (puppet in the background created by Paul Vincent Davis)

Betsy and other Cranberry Puppets created by Puppet Showplace Theatre founder Mary Churchill



Rob Roy created by Paul Vincent Davis

Lion created by Puppet Showplace Theatre founder Mary Churchill, shown with a friend of the Showplace, Jim Henson

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!

Puppets Now on Display @ PST: Punch & Judy

This season, the Puppet Showplace Theatre is excited to display posters and puppets depicting and portraying the irascible – and ancient – puppet duo of Punch and Judy. Did you know that Punch and Judy is one of the oldest puppet shows still being performed today? It's true. The show is over 400 years old... and we thought the Puppet Showplace Theatre has been around a long time!

The next time you join us for a show, make sure to look up at the walls all around the theatre. Until then, here's a peek at what you'll find.

Judy & Baby by Paul Vincent Davis


Punch & Dog by Paul Vincent Davis


Punch & Judy by Nancy Laverick

3/20 PuppetSLAM & Three Billy Goats Gruff

It's a busy weekend at the Puppet Showplace Theatre.

Pumpernickel Puppets performs the classic folk tale, "Three Billy Goats Gruff." This is the type of silly that everyone can enjoy. Shows are at 1pm and 3pm, Saturday and Sunday. I personally guarantee that you will love it.

And if you're planning on attending the PuppetSLAM Saturday evening, make your reservations now! The SLAM will sell out, so buy your tickets in advance. Tickets can be purchased here, or by calling our Box Office between 10am and 4pm at 617-731-6400. The SLAM begins at 8:00pm (so find a sitter for the kids).

Where Are The Wild Things? At the PST Puppet Store!

That's right! The PST Puppet Store now has Where The Wild Things Are hand puppets, just like you know them from the award-winning book by Maurice Sendak.

Make sure you check them out the next time you're at the theatre – for a show or just to browse!

The PST Puppet Store is located in the lobby of the Puppet Showplace Theatre, and is open 10 AM to 4 PM, Tuesday through Sunday. Call us at 617-731-6400 with any questions.