Next SFBAPG Meeting will be our Annual National Day of Puppetry!

When: Saturday, April 17, 2004
Where: San Leandro Main Library 300 Estudillo Ave. (510) 577-3970
Time: 11:30 am - 8:30 pm The entire library will be filled with puppets (No meeting, just fun!)

We need SFBAPG volunteers to help run this important public event. If you can volunteer, please show up at 11:30 in the morning.

Performances:
1:00: Rapunzel presented by Tim Giugni of Il Teatro Calamari. A tale brought to life through the use of found object puppetry and clowning!

4:00: Magical Moonshine Puppet Theater will present Animal Folktales of the Americas, featuring the tales of Brer Rabbit. Large Bunraku puppet theater with live musical accompaniment.

7:00: An Evening of Adult Puppetry! Tim Giugni will present Oddities which uses various styles of puppetry and masks. And Lewis Mahlmann of The Lilliputian Puppets will present Upset Boulevard - a takeoff of Sunset Boulevard.

The day will also feature a Massive Raffle, a large Puppet Exhibit, and workshops for children and adults. Please bring your puppets to display in the Exhibit. Contact Kevin Menegus at pelpup1@msn.com. He will make a nice placard for your puppet display. Email him the details regarding your puppet(s), including name and year it was made.

Complete Schedule of Events:

Noon to 4:00 pm (ongoing): St. Felix's Puppet Petting Zoo by Ron and Barbara Johnson, Motion Maker Puppeteers. Television Puppet Workshop by Lee Armstrong of Images in Motion.

12:00: Kids' Theater and Puppetry by Penny Peck and the San Leandro Youth Group.

12:00 & 2:00: Make It and Take It workshops led by Tia Smirnoff, Pamela Brown & Elisheva Hart.

1:00: Rapunzel by Tim Giugni of Il Teatro Calamari

2:00: Advanced Puppet Workshop for Children (pre-registration required) led by Michael Burroughs of The Fratello Marionettes. Cost: $6.00. Children only.

3:00: Free workshop for teachers, librarians, day care providers, preschool teachers, rec leaders, scout leaders & camp counselors. Learn how to do an easy puppet show. Presented by the librarians.

4:00: Animal Tales of The Americas by Michael and Valerie Nelson of Magical Moonshine Puppets.

5:00 - 7:00: Dinner Break. There are lots of restauraunts in the vicinity (walking distance).

7:00: Oddities by Tim Giugni and Upset Blvd by Lewis Mahlmann. Plus other surprises.

Driving directions: Take 880 N/S and exit Davis St. Continue for about 2 miles, passing under the BART track and up to the traffic light at E. 14th St. Continue straight through the light (Davis St. turns into Callan St. at this intersection.) Continue for 1 - 1 1/2 blocks. The library is on the right side of the street.

Another wonderful puppet festival to consider attending this summer! The PuppetFest MidWest got rave reviews after its debut last summer. It is held at a small college with very limited dorm space, so register ASAP to make sure you have a spot! You will see lots of marvelous mainstage performances, and you will attend ONE intensive, 20-hour (5-day) workshop.

PuppetFest MidWest
July 13-18, 2004 in Trenton, Missouri

An independent annual puppetry festival that is presented, organized
and financially supported by puppeteers as a gift to other puppeteers
in the hope that it will inspire, strengthen and renew our commitment to
Puppet Theatre.

Intensive workshops this year include:

"POLYFOAM PUPPETS THE FOAM BOOK WAY" Drew Allison, Grey Seal Puppets
Design, create and learn to manipulate your own polyfoam hand and rod puppet.

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

"WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY?"Kurt and Kathy Hunter, Hunter Marionettes
Develop your message into performance through scriptwriting and hands-on puppetry experience.

"TABLETOP BUNRAKU", Lynne Jennings
Make a simple tabletop puppet and create a series of short performance pieces.

"SHADOW PUPPETRY", Jim Napolitano, Nappy's Puppets
Construct your own shadow screen, shadow puppets and short vignettes.

"MARIONETTE DESIGN ON PAPER" Phillip Huber, The Huber Marionettes
Cover the basics of marionette design including body structure, jointing and stringing. Take your concept
for your marionette character from initial idea and mental visualization to a complete drafted drawing with patterns.

Contact information:
PuppetFest MidWest Directors, Peter Allen & Debbie Lutzky Allen
PO Box 14, Jamesport, MO 64648
Phone (660) 684-6825
Festival web site: www.puppetfestival.org

Hey SFBAPG members,

Heads up! Cheap flights are available to the Phoenix Puppet Festival NOW, and they are going quickly!! I have looked at many airline web sites and the best bet is Southwest Airlines. Their promotional fares can't be beat. I only paid $123 roundtrip, including tax, from San Jose. There are only a few flights available from San Jose, but there are still quite a few flights available from Oakland. But they will disappear. Go to www.southwest.com.

(One thing to consider: stay an extra night at the luxury resort and fly out on Monday. The flights from San Jose are a lot cheaper on Monday.)

Here is the Fest schedule, so you can plan your flights:

Thursday, June 24 - Pre-fest workshops geared for teachers. 8:30 AM to 12 noon. (Session I: 8:30 to 10:00. Session II: 10:30 to 12:00.) This is not part of the formal Festival, but is open to everyone. Registration for this extra half day of workshops is $50. Workshop presenters are:

*Debbie Lutzky Allen from Missouri: Simple Puppets for the Classroom - How to Make and Use Them
*Judith O'Hare from Massachusetts: Toy Theater for Educators plus At the Improv with Little Red
*Ginger Lozar from Illinois: Hang It All (building three types of puppets from hangars)
*Ellen Schulze from Long Beach, CA: Polyfoam Animal Heads (building)

Thursday evening - The Festival formally starts with dinner. There will be an evening show.

Friday and Saturday, June 25 & 26 - Great workshops, great shows.

Sunday morning, June 27 - The last meal together will be breakfast. The last show will be about 10:30 to 11:30.

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We are staying at the San Marcos Resort in the city of Chandler, about a 30-minute drive from the Phoenix Airport. The Resort provides shuttles which will take you from the airport to the resort.

Check out the website: www.azpuppetfest.com. (Information about the teachers' workshops is not on the web site yet, but it will be there soon.)