A puppet festival this summer!

We are getting carried away with AMAZING WORKSHOPS at our 6th annual
PUPPETFEST MIDWEST (an independent puppet festival). This year's
PuppetFest MidWest runs from Tuesday July 8 to Sunday July 13, 2008
in Trenton, Missouri. You can download the registration form and see
who will be teaching and performing this year. You can find it all at:
www.puppetfestival.org

Even if you cannot attend this year, I hope that you will forward
this information to anyone interested in learning more about puppetry.

Just as a teaser, please let me show you what workshops we are
offering this year.
Registrants to PuppetFest MidWest will focus on their
favorite aspect of puppet theatre by choosing ONE week-long intensive
workshop. Participants spend each morning in their workshop, enjoy
special events in the afternoon, and attend mainstage performances
every evening. We end the week with a "Recital" where everyone shares
and performs what they have created.
MAKING A MOVING MOUTH HAND PUPPET with Nick Barone, Nick Barone
Puppets Participants will go home with a completed moving
mouth puppet that they have built out of foam and fabric and will
acquire manipulation and lip-sync techniques.

STYROFOAM & PAPIER MACHE CONSTRUCTION with Ken Bonar & Nancy Smith,
Great Arizona Puppet Theater
Make just about any kind of puppet out of lightweight,
durable, inexpensive styrofoam and papier mache. Learn techniques
for reinforcement, making moveable mouths, controls, etc.

THE PLOT THICKENS with Luman Coad, Coad Canada Puppets
Learn the basics of dramatic structure as you write and
revise your own script for puppet theatre.

NEEDLE FELTED PUPPETS with Pam Corcoran
Learn felting techniques and complete at least two puppets.
Knitting can add a new dimension to felted puppets - and is also
great for manipulation skills.

TECHNIQUES IN TABLE-TOP PUPPETRY with Art Grueneberger, Puppet Art Theater
Learn how to build, perform, and direct multi-performer
table-top puppet productions. In this workshop participants will
become cast members in a performance of Grueneberger's "Perspectives"
that will take place at the end of the week.

ADVANCED MARIONETTE MANIPULATION with Phillip Huber, The Huber Marionettes
The Goal of this workshop is to demystify the process of
marionette manipulation and performance. Participants will work with
stock marionette figures from the Huber Marionette archive to
complete a series of movement and manipulation exercises.

PUPPETRY 101: A PUPPET SAMPLER with Lynne Jennings, Puppetry Center
of San Diego
Perfect for entry level puppeteers and educators and anyone
who wants to rediscover the basic and essential types of puppets.
Explore four different techniques in four days. Emphasis on how to
bring an inanimate object to compelling life. Experience in building
basics and
performance practice.

TRADITIONAL HAND PUPPETS: Casting Heads in Neoprene, Painting Tips,
and Manipulation Techniques with Karen Konnerth, Calliope Puppets
"I have been building shows and experimenting in materials
for over 25 years, and neoprene is my favorite material so far. Also,
lately, I love the traditional hand puppet."
Each workshop day will have two parts: Construction, and
Manipulation Techniques.

VENTRILOQUISM: AN ANCIENT ART DEMYSTIFIED! with Randel McGee, McGee Productions
A movable mouth puppet will be produced! Secrets of ventriloquism
will be revealed! Characters will come to life! Dialogue will be
developed! Showmanship will flourish! By the last class we will plan
for each participant to share a 2 minute presentation with their new
partner.

ROD PUPPETS AND PERFORMANCE with Paul Mesner, Paul Mesner Puppets
In this workshop, you will build simple rod puppets, learn
to manipulate them and create a short performance piece, ready to
perform by the end of the week. As a performer and director, Paul
Mesner has a unique sense of movement, dramatic timing and humor.
Don't leave your imagination at home, you will need it.

SHADOW PUPPETRY with Jim Napolitano, Nappy's Puppets
Hands-on exploration of traditional shadow puppetry including
history, construction techniques, materials, light sources and
manipulation. By the end of this workshop, you will have built at
least three shadow puppets, a free-standing, performance-quality
shadow puppet stage and a five-minute performance piece ready to take
on the road!

It is going to be a GREAT Puppet Festival! For more
information, please email us or go to the festival website at
www.puppetfestival.org. Please share this information with anyone you
think might be interested.
Thank you,
Debbie Lutzky Allen and Peter Allen
PuppetFest MidWest
www.puppetfestival.org