Hope, you enjoy these beautiful spring days.

The May 19 meeting is all set up.
I'm curious whether we will have a better turnover than in November.
Please help promote the events.

Since some of you are only available on Saturdays, I've scheduled our June meeting on Sunday, June 10.

We are probably going to have the second part of the workshop series on puppet manipulation and then Liebe Wetzel from LUNATIQUES FANTASTIQUES will teach us on object manipulation. I'm so thrilled for all of us that she is coming in!!! Liebe and I will meet next Friday to discuss the details.

The location would either be the Homestead Valley Community Center in Mill Valley and/or the Lettie Schubert Grove behind the Mill Valley Library.
We could do a combination of guild meeting and picnic after the workshops.
This means: workshops I and II at the Community Center, picnic and guild meeting at the library or everything at the Grove. What do you think?

Elisheva and Tia are going to find out whether the place behind the library, Lettie's grove, is going to be available, and what the costs and conditions are going to be. If not in June, we could do a picnic there later this year.

Anyway, look forward to getting some input from you.
Have a nice Sunday.

Herbert

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS -- The SFBAPG Nominating Committee is looking
for candidates to be next year's officers.

Are you interested in running for President? Vice President? Secretary?

If you or someone you know might be interested in one of these jobs,
please email Lee Armstrong NOW. The Nominating Committee is under a
time crunch, so please contact Lee by the end of tomorrow -- Friday,
April 27.

images vom dot com

******************

The SFBAPG needs new blood. Please consider making your contribution
by being an officer. Here are the duties, as per the SFBAPG Bylaws:

A. THE PRESIDENT shall be chief executive officer of the
organization. The President shall have the general direction of the
affairs and shall preside at all meetings. This officer shall
appoint the personnel of all committees, chairpersons, and shall see
that all orders are carried into effect.

B. THE VICE PRESIDENT, in the absence of the President, shall
perform the duties and exercise the powers of the President and shall
perform such other duties as are assigned by the President.

C. THE SECRETARY shall record the proceedings of every meeting and
board meeting and make sure the President, Vice President, and Editor
get full reports on all that has taken place at each and every
meeting. This officer shall find a reliable substitute to perform
these duties when unable to attend any meeting. The Secretary will
keep a complete notebook of reports for future reference.

Many of you send email messages to thE SFBAPG membership by
sending your messages directly to me, the Email Coordinator. This
method works, but it requires an extra bit of work on my part.

There is a more direct way to get your message out -- one which saves
me time and energy: Please send your email messages directly to the
SFBAPG Yahoo Group. The email address is

sfbapg yahoogroups dot com

After your message arrives at the Yahoo Group, then it simply needs to be approved by me or Michael Nelson, SFBAPG President. Then, with one click, it will be broadcast to all the members. I check the Yahoo site every day, so you shouldn't have to wait long for your email to be processed.

Cheers,
Mary Decker

Puppet Rampage announces our INCREDIBLE roster of WORKSHOPS
(Subject to Change/More to Come)
(Some will require pre-registration or fees)
(A number indicates multiple sessions)

Pre-Registration forms will be mailed out next week ONLY TO THOSE WHO ARE REGISTERED FOR THE FESTIVAL. To get a form and apply for workshops requiring pre-registration, PLEASE mail in your registration NOW.

* Steve ABRAMS: Finding a Voice
* Peter ALLEN/Parasol Puppets: Perfectly Formed Puppet Heads
* Lee ARMSTRONG/Images in Motion: Producing a Demo Reel (8)
* Yostie ASHLEY/Puppet Factory Kidstown: Body Puppet Masks
* Aretta BAUMGARTNER/ImagineNation: Mask Playshop
* Aretta BAUMGARTNER/ImagineNation: Puppetry 101
* Sunny BIRKLUND/Stephen SCHAFFER: P & J Mechanical Toy Theater (2)
* Bobby BOX/Center for Puppetry Arts: Adapting the Classics
* Ronnie BURKETT: Festival Keynote Address
* Joe CLOKEY: Conversation with Joe and Gumby
* Luman COAD/Coad Canada: Getting into Character (8)
* Alan COOK: Legends of American Puppetry Curator's Tour
* Tracey CONNER/MicheLee: Write Winning Grants!
* Pan CORCORAN/Corcoran Puppets: Needle Felted Puppets
* Rob D'ARC: Opera marionettes
* Marisan DE LELLIS/Heather HENSON/Puppetslam.com: Puppet Slam Nation
* DISNEY Casting: Disney World Puppeteer Auditions
* Martha ENZMANN/Elkland Art Center: Painting for Puppeteers (2)
* K. Elizabeth EVANS/Renaissance Artist Co.: Creating a Table Top Puppet (2)
* Carol FIJAN/National Theatre of Puppet Arts: Acting with Hand Puppets (2)
* Sarah FRECHETTE/PuppetKabob: Snowflake Man/Classroom Shadows
* Jessica GABRIEL/Chloe ZINER/Mind of a Snail Co.: Shadowjam!
* Dianne GASCH: Giants in the Classroom (2)
* Phillip HUBER: National Exhibit Curator's Tour
* Christopher HUDERT/Applause Unlimited: Business is not a 4-Letter Word
* IMNOTLOST: Movement with Screens/Multimedia Rehearsal and Performance (8)
* Reay KAPLAN/Julie Dansby SCARBOROUGH: Me and My Shadow
* John KENNEDY/Hands in Art: Foaman Workshop (2)
* Laura KRENTZ/Krentz Calico: Storytelling Techniques with Puppets
* Allelu KURTEN: Meet the Artist (4)
* Rebekah LANE/Michelee Puppets: Through the Body
* Bill LORENZEN/University of South Florida: Casting in LiQuaChe (3)
* Ginger LOZAR/Lozar's Puppets: Removing the 4th Wall
* Theresa MASON/Spirit Bound: Giant Puppets for Rituals
* Margo McCREARY: Kid's Workshop (8)
* Randel McGEE/McGee Prods.: Thinking in the Box/Cardboard Stages
* Jim NAPOLITANO/Nappy's Puppets: Table Top Shadow Construction
* Irina NICULESCU/Carte Blanche: Fetishes of War (2)
* Judith O'HARE/You and Me: Teaching Artists in Nairobi, Kenya
* Judith O'HARE/You and Me: Puppetry in Ed. and Therapy Symposium
* Kamela PORTUGES/Images in Motion: Sculpting and Molding Workthrough (8)
* Puppet JOB FAIRE: Auditions & Portfolio Reviews by Major Firms and Universities
* Martin ROBINSON/Sesame Street: Conversation with Martin and Telly
* Margaret SAVAS/Spyglass: Body Alignment for Puppeteers
* Julie Dansby SCARBOROUGH/Center for Puppetry Arts: Ensemble Puppetry 101
* Coyote SCHAAF/Tih PENFIL: Puppets in Therapy
* Colette SEARLES/Artists from Sesame Street/Bread & Puppet: UNIMA-USA Symposium
* Leslie SMITH/Sammysnail.com: Ventriloquist Logic and Lack Of (3)
* Leslie SMITH/Sammysnail.com: Voice
* Leslie SMITH/Sammysnail.com: Educational Niche
* Charmaine SPENCER: Script Writing for Puppet Theater (3)
* Lisa STURZ/Red Herring Puppets: Critical Response
* Debbi STUTZMAN/Peewinkle's Studio: Script Writing with Children
* Steven WIDERMAN/Puppet Co.: Stuff I Learned from Bil
* Robertson WITMER/Spyglass: Dark Ride/Secrets of Blacklight Puppetry
* Paul ZALOOM: Found Object Puppetry Master Class

...AND EVEN MORE TO COME!

Space is Limited - Don't be Left Out - Register TODAY!

email: director puppetrampage2007 dot org
web: http://www.puppetrampage2007.org

PLEASE RSVP if you are coming to the April 22nd gathering of SFBAPG
members! All SFBAPG members are invited! We will see Lewis
Mahlmann's new show, "Through My Eyes: A Tale of Don Quixote" and
celebrate David Jones' birthday!

*****************

All SFBAPG Members are Invited to Attend a Lilliputian Players Production of

Through My Eyes: A Tale of Don Quixote
A Puppet Show of Deep Proportions

and

Celebrate David Jones' Birthday!

To be held at the Storybook Puppet Theater
in CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND in Oakland

SUNDAY, APRIL 22nd 2007

Join us for a beverage and snacks at 5:30 PM
Puppet show is at 6:30 PM

Lilliputian Players: Lewis Mahlmann, David Jones, Randal Metz

Come back stage to see our new workshop and newly renovated puppet theater!

HOPE YOU CAN COME!

PLEASE RSVP: Call David at 510-83two-7619 or Lewis at 510-839-30seven8. We
need to plan the food. Thank you!

If you are a member of The Puppeteers of America, please let me know
if you have or have not received your P of A ballot. I am told that
the ballots had pre-sorted first class postage and were mailed on
March 28th. But it is now April 11th, and I have not received my
ballot yet.

Please let me know if you got yours or not, so I can figure out this mystery. Email me at marydeck57 sbcglobal dot net. (If you just hit "reply," it will go to the Yahoo group rather than directly to me.) Thanks.

-Mary Decker

More information about the upcoming PuppetFest MidWest coming July 10-15:

Thanks for helping to spread the word about the independent
puppet festival, PuppetFest MidWest. We really appreciate it when you
forward these emails to other interested people. We don't know how to
reach everybody, but with your help we've been getting inquiries from
people that hadn't heard about this unique puppet event.
Word is spreading about PuppetFest MidWest in other ways as
well. A great magazine article was just published about it in RURAL
MISSOURI Magazine. The author, Heather Barry, spent three days with
us at last year's festival. From her review, she must have had a very
good time. You can view it online through this link:

www.ruralmissouri.coop/07pages/07AprilPuppets.html

Here's the latest news about this year's 5th Annual
PuppetFest MidWest (July 10-15, 2007) in Trenton, Missouri. Phillip
Huber's "Advanced Marionette Manipulation" workshop is filling up
fast. If you would like to take this wonderful 20 hour opportunity
to work with one of the best marionette artists in the country,
please get your registration in soon. We would hate for anyone to be
disappointed.
Phillip Huber and Joseph Cashore at the same Puppet Festival?
It's a dream come true for most marionette enthusiasts.
You will all be thrilled to learn that not only will Joseph
Cashore and The Cashore Marionettes be performing at this year's
PuppetFest MidWest, he will be offering a special 2-hour "Behind the
Scenes" lecture the day after his performance for Festival
Participants only.
For more details about PuppetFest MidWest, please look on our
website www.puppetfestival.org . Our website wizards, Nick and Rose
Sage Barone, continue to work technical and artistic wonders to
capture the excitement of our unique puppetry event. You can also
read some great reviews written by participants of last year's
PuppetFest MidWest.
We hope to see you at this year's PuppetFest MidWest. Please
let me know if you have any questions. And PLEASE, we'd appreciate it
if you would Share this Information with Everyone who might be
Interested.
Thank you,
Debbie and Peter
Contact Information:
PuppetFest MidWest
Festival Directors,
Peter Allen & Debbie Lutzky Allen
P.O. Box 14
Jamesport MO 64648
Phone: (660) 684-six825
email: dlpallen grm dot net
www.puppetfestival.org

If you haven't seen the puppet exhibit at the Sonoma Community Center (276 East Napa Street), you still have two weeks to check it out! The run has been extended an extra week, and now the last day to see the exhibit is Sunday, April 22.

"World Literature through the Wonder of Puppets" features about 55 puppets from the collection at the Conservatory of Puppetry Arts (COPA) in Pasadena. Represented stories include: Alice in Wonderland, Hamlet, Othello, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Rabbit, Pinocchio, The Ramayana, Red Riding Hood, Rip Van Winkle and more.

If you know of a venue (library? school? community center? museum?) that might want to host "World Literature through the Wonder of Puppets," please contact Mary Decker at marydeck57 sbcglobal dot net or 650-361-131O. The exhibit can be doubled or tripled in size.

************************

More info about COPA:

The Conservatory of Puppetry Arts is a non-profit organization in
Southern California dedicated to promoting and preserving the art of
puppetry. COPA sponsors puppet performances and educational
activities, and continues to build its library and archives. Since
its establishment in 1999, COPA has toured many exhibitions of its
puppets. At the present time, the COPA collection includes about 3000
puppets from all over the world.

I thought guild members might enjoy this "article" on puppet violence by the
humorous "The Onion."

Local Puppet Ignores Repeated Audience Dragon Warnings:
'Look Out!' Children Tell Prince Bumbo

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30192

Some of you may have known Sharon Moyer who was a very long-time member of
the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry. Sharon died on Thursday, April 5.
She had heart surgery at the beginning of January, but there were
complications and it was not successful. She was taken off
life-support on Wednesday.

Sharon was very active with the L.A. Guild and her husband, Phil, was
past president of the L.A. Guild. During the Christmas season, Phil
and Sharon transformed into Mr. and Mrs. Claus. They were a
wonderful team!

When I went to the L.A. Guild's 50th Anniversary Celebration, I spent
most of the time with Phil and Sharon. I am so grateful.

-Mary Decker

Thanks for helping to spread the word about the independent puppet
festival, PuppetFest MidWest. We really appreciate it when you forward
these emails to other interested people. We don’t know how to reach
everybody, but with your help we’ve been getting inquiries from people
that hadn’t heard about this unique puppet event.
Word is spreading about PuppetFest MidWest in other ways as well. A
great magazine article was just published about it in RURAL MISSOURI
Magazine. The author, Heather Barry, spent three days with us at last
year’s festival. From her review, she must have had a very good time.
You can view it online through this link:

www.ruralmissouri.coop/07pages/07AprilPuppets.html

Here’s the latest news about this year’s 5th Annual PuppetFest MidWest
(July 10-15, 2007) in Trenton, Missouri. Phillip Huber’s “Advanced
Marionette Manipulation” workshop is filling up fast. If you would
like to take this wonderful 20 hour opportunity to work with one of the
best marionette artists in the country, please get your registration in
soon. We would hate for anyone to be disappointed.
Phillip Huber and Joseph Cashore at the same Puppet Festival? It’s a
dream come true for most marionette enthusiasts.
You will all be thrilled to learn that not only will Joseph Cashore
and The Cashore Marionettes be performing at this year’s PuppetFest
MidWest, he will be offering a special 2-hour “Behind the Scenes”
lecture the day after his performance for Festival Participants only.
For more details about PuppetFest MidWest, please look on our website
www.puppetfestival.org . Our website wizards, Nick and Rose Sage
Barone, continue to work technical and artistic wonders to capture the
excitement of our unique puppetry event. You can also read some great
reviews written by participants of last year’s PuppetFest MidWest.
We hope to see you at this year’s PuppetFest MidWest. Please let me
know if you have any questions. And PLEASE, we’d appreciate it if you
would Share this Information with Everyone who might be Interested.
Thank you,
Debbie and Peter
Contact Information:
PuppetFest MidWest
Festival Directors,
Peter Allen & Debbie Lutzky Allen
P.O. Box 14
Jamesport MO 64648
www.puppetfestival.org

Happy April Fools Day.
Your April 2007 newsletter is ready and online! Includes a rare picture of
a well known puppeteer in a revealing situation (can you identify the
mystery streaker?)

Click on the link (or paste it into your browser, or go to the guild website
and follow the links to the newsletter) below to jump right to the download
of your April 2007 Guild Newsletter as a pdf file, including info on Paul
Mesner's recent performance for the guild, Sharon Clay's 4 H group wins a
prize performing, guild library up and running, discussions on a universal
puppet calendar online, largest puppet exhibit in world planned, calendar,
classifieds, future guild meetings and more:

http://www.sfbapg.org/newsletter/archives/000811.html#more

--
Michael Nelson
Your Friendly Newsletter Editor

Our May meeting will be held on Saturday, May 19, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Location:
Homestead Valley Community Center
315 Montford Avenue
Mill Valley, CA 94941

The meeting will probably look as follows:

3:00 - 3:50 p.m. manipulation workshop with Mike Wick on
"How to make puppets come alive" (1)
basic exercises and improvisations with hand puppets
first part of a 5-part series
3:50 - 4:00 p.m. Break, Questions & Answers
4:00 - 4:45 p.m. RUMPELSTILTSKIN by Fairytaletheater (me)
4:45 - 5:00 p.m. Break, Questions and Answers
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. regular guild meeting

More information when I return from Germany (= after Easter Sunday).
I'm gone starting tomorrow and do not have regular e-mail access.

Let's try our best and attract teachers, librarians and families to the May meeting to make it into a big success for the guild.
This could help it regain inspiration and power.

Also, we should try to schedule a Sunday meeting in June to help out the folks who are hardly available on Saturdays. Maybe we can combine the June meeting with a picknick at the Lettie Schubert Grove in Mill Valley.
Elisheva and Tia, can you please look into that?

In June, we will do the second part of the manipulation workshop series, but we need something "juicy" in addition to that.
Any ideas? A presentation, another workshop, a performance, a work in progress?

Have a great Spring Break all of you!

Love

Herbert