Happy Holidays to all you Guild members!
I am afraid I was so involved in the holiday celebrations and shows
that I let the GUILD NEWSLETTER DEADLINE (normally the 25th of each
month) completely slip by me and I apologize.

If you have articles, reviews, holiday tales, puppet travel stories, calendar listings, classifieds, a news years message for the guild, or any other appropriate items for the newsletter PLEASE EMAIL THEM TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE at mail magicalmoonshine dot org - If you have something you are going to send but don't have it quite ready yet, inform me right now by return email so I will know to hold space for it. Or, if you want to call to discuss the newsletter, I am at 707-363-four573 (Valerie and Michael's cell phone).

Thanks, and again, my apologies for this late notification.

Yours,
Michael Nelson
Guild President
Acting Newsletter Editor

--
Michael & Valerie Nelson
Magical Moonshine Theatre
www.magicalmoonshine.org

December 24, 2006

George Latshaw, 83, Dies; Made Puppetry Into an Art
By MARGALIT FOX
George Latshaw, an internationally renowned puppeteer who for half a
century breathed life into a diverse array of inanimate objects, and
in so doing helped gain acceptance for puppetry as a legitimate art
form in the United States, died on Tuesday in Temple Terrace, Fla. He
was 83.

I just got a call at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time from a good friend of the
Latshaws, Bonnie Remsberg. She gave me the sad news that George
Latshaw died in the hospital last night -- Tuesday, December 19. I
don't know anything more, but my heart goes out to the Latshaw family.

George was editor of the Puppetry Journal for many, many years and
was a major force in the puppet world. I'm sure that more
information about his life will be forthcoming.

Let's all keep George's wife, Pat, in our thoughts.

Mary Decker

Winter Puppet Festival at the Sonoma Community Center!
276 East Napa Street, Sonoma, CA

January 20-21 * February 17-18 * March 10, 11, 25 2007

Saturday, January 20 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Soft-Sculpture Hand Puppets, a 6-hour workshop*
Luman Coad, Instructor
$65 member, $72 non-member (includes materials)

Sunday, January 21 2:00 p.m.
There's a Dinosaur in the Closet & The Box, performed by Luman Coad
$10 member, $12 non-member

Saturday, February 17 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Puppetry 101 for Teachers, a 5-hour workshop*
Lynne Jennings, Instructor
$65 member, $72 non-member (includes materials)

Sunday, February 18 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Family Day Interactive Performance: Try Your Hand at Puppetry
Lynne Jennings, Instructor
$20 member, $22 non-member (includes materials)

Saturday, March 10 2:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Puppets in Action, a workshop for ages 5-11*
Michael & Valerie Nelson, Instructors
$45 member, $50 non-member (includes materials)

Sunday, March 11 2:00 p.m.
Coyote Sings, performed by Magical Moonshine Theater (Michael & Valerie Nelson)
$10 member, $12 non-member

Sunday, March 25 3:00 p.m.
True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf, performed by Paul Mesner Puppets
Story used with permission from Jon Scieszka
$10 member, $12 non-member

January 8 - April 15, 2007
World Literature through the Wonder of Puppets
An Exhibition of Selected Works from the Alan G. Cook Collection at
the Conservatory of Puppetry Arts
No admission fee

*Workshops require advance registration. Forms are available at
http://www.sonomacommunitycenter.org

For more information, call the Sonoma Community Center at
707-938-4626. or Mary Decker at 650-361-1310.

This link to an interesting example of puppetry came from Lettie
Schubert's husband, Gage.

http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/jerome%20murat/video/xf9oo_jerome-murat

If you're willing to drive to Portland, Oregon to do a puppet
performance, check this out:

This is a Call for PUPPETEERS and ANIMATORS
to become a part of Drunk Puppet Nite!!
Feb 1, 2, and 3, 2007 in the coolest new venue in Portland
Someday Lounge!!

We're opening up the Portland shows to all interested, up and down
the coast, as far as you're willing to travel. (housing not provided,
but a few couches can probably be found).
Some of you may not be familiar with Drunk Puppet Nite. It was
started by a very hip group of artists in Seattle 7 years ago, and
has been featured on Tears of Joy's stage for the last two. As the
name implies, it is puppetry for adults, but unlike the name, these
evenings of puppetry have been varied in style and content, but of
generally high quality.

If you're interested, we're looking for performances of 2 - 15
minutes, which include puppetry, and your own wild and wacky, deep
and probing, eccentric and electric way of presenting it. Film
submissions also welcome. We will do our best to include as many
proposals as possible, and you need not perform all three nights (let
us know if you can not perform on any of the dates). Performers will
receive a portion of ticket sales as financial stipend.
Our tech will provide basic sound and lighting, if your piece
requires familiarity you should bring your own tech.

Come if you can to the Someday Open Stage at 8pm December 27th and
January 3rd you can see the space and perform for the open mic
audience. Please email Lana if you will be there on one of these
nights so you can meet her when you arrive.

RSVP for Drunk Puppet Night by Friday Jan 5th to:
lanashively gmail dot com

For venue information: www.somedaylounge.com

Feel free to pass this info on to those you feel might like to join us!!
Thanks-

Although there was not much funny about the Vietnam war, this true story of how puppetry may have saved a man's life may serve to amuse. For those of you too young to remember, during the Vietnam war there was a mandatory military draft in the United States. In those days, upon reaching the age of 18, all young men had to register for the draft, and report to the draft board for a physical and mental exam to determine their suitability to serve in Vietnam. Tens of thousands of young men who went to Vietnam did not return. That, plus the questionable morality of the war made it a very undesirable prospect for some young men who were given no choice in the matter. One such young man found himself in the situation of appearing before the draft board and being asked about his current occupation. He replied that he was a puppeteer. What is a puppeteer? In attempted to explain this unusual profession to the questioning officer, the young man enthusiastically began to demonstrate by acting out a part of his current show, using only his bare hands as he had no puppets, and delivering dialogue in the various character voices. After the interview he went home to await the letter than would tell him his fate. When it finally came he was both relieved and somewhat insulted to find that he had been categorized 4F. It appeared that his attempts to demonstrate his puppetry profession for the officers had led them to the conclusion that he was of questionable mental state, and thus unsuitable for service in the military.
Michael

Your December 2006 newsletter is online and ready to download on the guild website at http://sfbapg.org or directly at
http://www.sfbapg.org/newsletter/archives/december06%20newsletter.pdf

I hope you enjoy the holiday issue dedicated to puppetry with children. I also hope in my haste to get the newsletter out that I have not made too many errors. Thanks to all the guild members who responded immediately to my request for material (at the last minute) and my apologies to those of you who were not given enough time to respond and thus did not get your listings into the newsletter. To those of you in this category, I urge you to post your listings to the guild email list at sfbapg yahoogroups dot com so that guild members can learn about what is going on in puppetry this month!
Happy Holidays to all.

--
Michael
Magical Moonshine Theatre
www.magicalmoonshine.org

VERY DATED NOTICE: PLEASE READ NOW
Hello Guild Members,

There has been a last minute change in newsletter editors for the guild. If you have anything for the December newsletter please take a moment RIGHT NOW to email them to Michael Nelson at mail magicalmoonshine dot org or magicalmoonshine gmail dot com - I am going to try to put together a newsletter on the fly (am on tour in Puerto Rico where internet is not as easy to find as at home) and get it out as soon as possible. If you have a show or event that you want to let the guild know about that comes up in the first week or so of December, send it to me but also you should send it to the guild email list at sfbapg yahoogroups dot com so guild members can hear about it in a more timely fashion. I apologize for this last minute, rush request, but as you know, sometimes things change when we don't expect them to, and we must improvise.

Please send: Calendar listings, articles, reviews, puppet holiday photos,
etc.

Happy Holidays to you all,
Michael

--
Michael & Valerie Nelson
Magical Moonshine Theatre
www.magicalmoonshine.org

Who has ever tried to spin straw into gold?

Come see the Fairytaletheater's production of

RUMPELSTILTSKIN

a fun show for all ages 3 +

Friday, December 8, 2006
at the Goethe Institute of San Francisco
530 Bush Street (near the big Chinatown Entrance Gate)
San Francisco, CA 94108
phone: (415) 263-8760

Parking: affordable garage on Sutter/Stockton

when?
6:00 p.m. Happy Hour
7:00 p.m. show starts

Admission is free.
Donations are welcome.

Hope to see you there.
Holiday Cheers to all of you!

Herbert Lange