Happy New Year, Guild Members!
Your January Newsletter is on the guild website in the usual pdf format, ready to download. You can jump to the download page by clicking http://www.sfbapg.org/newsletter.htm where you can also download the registration form for the regional puppet festival next summer (this was mailed to the mail-only guildmembers as an insert in their January newsletter...download it so you won't be left out!)

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JANUARY NEWSLETTER:

Lots of reviews of holiday puppet shows in the Bay Area!

Details about the Guild Holiday Party Hula-Day Party, the first of many "don't-miss" meetings of 2006!

The Guild year in review: a fond farewell to 2005!

And much more!

Download your newsletter today, and mark your calendars, dust off your tropical wear and tune your ukelele for the guild January Bash!

FROM: MUCH ADO ABOUT PUPPETS Pacific Northwest/Pacific Southwest Regional Puppet Festival, Aug. 4-7 2006, Festival Director Jean Mattson (Phew!!)

TO: Newsletter Editors, Web Masters, Regional Directors (You know who you are!)

We are concerned that your non-P of A Guild members, may not be receiving information about this coming festival (which will be a doozy!).

We would appreciate your sharing the following message in your newsletter, on your web site (or by word of mouth, placards, or smoke signals).

MUCH ADO ABOUT PUPPETS

Prithee take note!

Registrations are coming in for the August 4-7, 2006 Pacific NW/Pacific SW Puppetry Festival to be held in the Greater Seattle/Tacoma area.
Make thy plans now.

The contracts not have been signed as yet, however one of the most renowned, award-winning puppeteers in the Northern Hemisphere has agreed to perform and negotiations are under way with an Otomi Bunraku puppeteer from Japan. AND Pat Brymer, puppet-maker, performer, master puppeteer for Shari Lewis and “Team America” manipulator will be presenting a workshop. BUT WAIT! There will be more!

The attributes of this Festival site, are indeed unbelievable.(Zounds!) The scenery is spectacular (mountains, water, more mountains)! The campus lends itself to our Shakespearean theme (But the plumbing is modern). The food available is gourmet (to be or not to be believed!). And it is co-o-o-o-o-o-o-l in the summer). (Wherefore art thou come August?)

Call or email Registrar Jeanine Bartelt, (253)-833-8377, email jbartelt GCCauburn dot net

Or check the festival web site. www.muchadoaboutpuppets.org

Below are the suggestions we have received so far on what else to include in the guild directory for your further comments (quick responses as we are working on the directory currently). We will see what we can fit, trying to keep the whole thing mailable with one stamp. (I left a few suggestions out because they were listing suggestions that we were already going to include anyway, so if you don't see your suggestion below, that is probably why.)

ALSO, GUILD MEMBERS WITH ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION REQUESTED BELOW, PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT IS THE CORRECT VERSION OF THE INFORMATION GUILD MEMBERS ARE REQUESTING. THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY INFO THAT WE HAVE AND WE DO WANT TO GET IT RIGHT IN THE DIRECTORY. THANKS.

COMMENTS:

I would really like to know who has performances to offer and whether they offer shows for birthdayparties/libary because I get lots of calls and recommend the usual suspects. Wish we could have a showcase so I would know what I was recommending. I rarely recommend shows sight unseen.

I would like to know who gives workshops, where people were trained or
"interned", see pictures of their puppets and know where they live.

I would love to have info on how to use the guild's library. I think that would be useful, and have it include how to borrow books by mail (for folks that are members but who don't attend any meetings but still want to belong to the guild).

I do like the suggestions about other facets of the guild in directory. You might put in newsletter deadline too, subject to calenderical changes of course.

Yes, I think info on the guild, officers, how to contact... what
bennies we have, maybe an application for people to copy themselves and
pass on to friends (P of A does this I think in their membership
books)... also library and who and how to use it is good.... I think
in this day and age, publicizing benefits of membership might be good,
since I'm sure many of us don't know all of them. (Include discounts
to selected performances).

If the person has a puppet-related web site, it would also be very
useful to list the web address.

Although membership renewals are still trickling in, we are going to go ahead and print the new guild membership directory.

YOUR IMMEDIATE INPUT IS REQUESTED:
Besides members names and contact information, what information do you think would be handy to have in your guild directory (assuming there is room for us to put it in)? Is there guild information that you look for on a regular or semi regular basis? Send any suggestions asap and help make the new directory more useful than ever!

Michael & Valerie Nelson
707-257-8OO7
mail magicalmoonshine dot org

Happy Holidays, Fellow Guild Members.

EARLY GUILD NEWSLETTER DEADLINE DECEMBER 17

Please note that due to your newsletter editor's holiday travel plans I am trying to get the January newsletter out early (rather than late, as it would be if I did it after I got back in January). Please send your calendar items, reviews (of holiday shows?), tales of joy or woe, classifieds, articles, low rez puppet images, etc. to mail magicalmoonshine dot org or mail to Box 2296, Yountville, CA 94599 by December 17. I apologize for any inconvenience this might cause, and if you have something that just absolutely can not make that deadline, call me (707-257-8OO7) or email me.

Wishing you the very best for the new year,
Michael Nelson
Newsletter Editor

REVIEW BELOW

The Super Dupers in association with Dreamweaver's Theater perform "Once Upon a Wishbone- A Christmas Story" at Dreamweaver's Theater, in the River Park Shopping Center at 1637 Imola Avenue in Napa (Theater is located in the back lot behind The Golden Carrot)
The show runs Dec 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18
Fridays and Saturdays at 7 PM, Sundays at 2 PM
Tickets are $18/adult $15/students, seniors, military, $10/children under 12 (special for this show only) Advanced reservations highly recommended: Call 707-255-LIVE (then press 3# -Note: the theatre is a little hard to locate at first, being as it is facing the back of the stripmall. Don't give up! )

REVIEW

As your newsletter editor I am loathe to use up copy before an issue, but I feel bound to share come comments about Once Upon A Wishbone while guild members still have an opportunity to make it to a performance, rather than wait until the January Newsletter when the opportunity to see this delightful show would have passed.

I had the pleasure of attending the dress rehearsal of "Once Upon a Wishbone," an interesting and engaging collaborative work that guild member Emily Giugni helped create (with some puppet construction assistance from husband Tim Giugni, also known to guild members as our guild secretary and president, respectively.) This show is part art installation, part improv theatre, part puppet show, with the effect that audience members truly feel they are entering into the dream world of the young actress that plays the role of the play's principle heroine (who does sleep through most of the play). As we enter the theatre we wander through a maze of painting and whimsical set pieces that begin to tell us the story of a girl who loved Christmas so much that she wished that everyday would be Christmas day. As often happens in 'wishing' stories, she only kind of gets what she wants, and the result of her wish is that she sleeps for 364 days of the year, missing out on life while she slumbers. Wandering farther into the theatre we pass by the young girl/actress sleeping in her bed, a surprisingly touching tableau. We get to read a letter addressed to the girl's mother from her doctor, commenting on her somnambulant condition, and see various Christmas decorations and toys from the girl's house. As we take our seats and the play begins, the dreams of the girl begin to mix with the things that she is missing throughout the year. Each month is portrayed by two (adult) actresses (Emily and Amber) taking improv suggestions from the audience and then acting them out with great facility (they gave the impression of a well honed improv duo, although I do not know if that is the case), creating a series of funny and well fleshed out characters that find themselves in all kinds of situations. Being improv, each show will be different, and directed by the audience's suggestions. While the play is perhaps 75-80% human actors, there are two puppet sequences worked in as part of the improv scenes, one, an improvised song (I always marvel at people who can make up songs on the spot) with foam puppets with huge noses that colorfully strut the stage in an on-the-floor bunraku style while singing, and the other a rod puppet (a gaunt and cold little girl figure based on the "Little Match Girl" who lights her matches one by one in a pitiful attempt to stay warm) with a shadow sequence. Unfortunately the lighting was not correctly programmed for the rehearsal I saw, so the shadow effects were lost, a problem that I am sure was easily corrected before the first performance. Throughout the play, we were treated to live guitar music (I believe much of it was original, played by the composer) that always appropriately and skillfully supported the action and never overpowered it.

What Emily and her fellow "Super Dupers" did was create a fresh, new Christmas play that captures the kind of story we look for during the holidays, while avoiding the holiday standards and clichés. Exciting, funny, with continual surprises, both Valerie and I give it two thumbs up and heartily recommend it. Don't expect it to be a 100% puppet show, but expect it to be 100% enjoyable!