*Guild Member Early Registration *

*for Object Animation Puppetry Workshop by Liebe Wetzel*

*Date: Sat March 22 2-5 pm*

This will be a 3 hour workshop, with Guild meeting and Performance
Potpourri happening after the workshop.

There are only 20 spaces available. Guild members can sign up for this
exciting workshop before registration is open to the public (before Feb 15
th) by contacting Herbert Lange with your name, email or regular address and phone number.

Location: Vallejo Music Theatre building, The Old Post Office, at 823
Marin Street, Vallejo.

Fee: Guild members $10 and non Guild members $30 (or they can join Guild
and come for $10)

*Object Animation Puppetry*

* … how to manipulate anything lighter than the kitchen sink*

Liebe Wetzel and her troupe *Lunatique Fantastique* explode puppetic
preconceptions with their mind-bending, eye-popping flights of imagination.
Wetzel's trademark technique is to use ordinary objects -- a feather duster, foam, or newspaper, for example -- to evoke surprisingly well-articulated characters. With a little rearrangement and a few simple gestures, these items come to life right before the audience's eyes, interacting with an amazing range of nuance and emotion. In this workshop you will learn basic object animation techniques.

You will be crafting a narrative story-line, characters and dramatic
action with no words! Whether you are interested in integrating puppets into a play or learning more about the power of visual metaphors and non-verbal action – this workshop offers writers and actors a completely different perspective. Using Lunatique Fantastique's unique style of found object puppetry, this class will teach students how to "write" non-verbally, and will enhance your ensemble skills. Through hands-on experimentation and exercises, you will reintroduce yourself to the fine art of stillness, using techniques such as rhythm change, movement analysis, story boarding, and cartooning to create scathingly funny, socially-relevant non verbal theatre – yes, with NO WORDS! You can bring in an idea that you're currently working on, or create one on-the-spot during the workshop.

Elisheva Hart enthusiastically recommends [sight unseen]:

"Monkey: The Quest to the West". Adapted from the Comic Chinese Classic,
"The Journey to the West". Created and performed by Laura Jorgensen and
Fred Curchack.

The story follows the supernatural trickster Monkey King who makes war
with heaven until he is imprisoned under a mountain by Buddha. After 500
years, he is freed to protect a Buddhist monk on his perilous journey from
China to India to bring back spiritual teachings. On the way they encounter
all manner of dieties, deamons, monsters and outrageous misadventures.

Many Chinese puppet plays-using shadow or hand puppets-have performed
this story. In olden days upper class women were not allowed to accompany
their husbands to the theatres and so commissioned the puppeteers perform in
their homes. Our guild saw some fine examples of these puppet plays at the
S.F. Chinese Cultural Center in the early 1980's. Many other types of
performances also draw on this source material: Beijung Opera, Chinese
ballet, Kung fu movies, anime, and even the US's "Lost Empire."

Anyone interested in Asian puppetry/dance/theatre should see this
terrific duo perform.

Their performances have many similarities to a small puppet theatre
performance. Only two performers create many characters by changing voices
and costume bits, use a minimum of props to set the stage, etc. We all have
a lot to learn from this oh so professional team. Last year they even used
some shadows in their performance! P.S. Appropriate for all ages.

Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd N., Petaluma, Calif. (707)763-8920
Friday and Saturday
February 1 and 2 (reserve tix recommended)
$20 for adults
$15 for seniors and students

Hello Guild members,
January is another very busy month for your newsletter editor, so I would
greatly appreciate your newsletter submissions, articles, reviews,
classifieds, stories, editorials, tips, etc. as soon as you can get to them
so I can get them into the newsletter. The deadline is usually around the
25th of each month (things can come later, especially if I have warning that
they are coming.) Send your newsletter submissions to
magicalmoonshine gmail dot com -
Please send your calendar listings to our calendar editor, Conrad, at
eye independenteye dot org -

This feels like deja vu, but it seems once again that my camera battery went
dead partway through our guild holiday party, so if anyone has any pictures
that capture the spirit and scope of the marvelous event, please send
them...I would love to have a few to choose from for the newsletter. Also,
if anyone wants to do a write up on the event, there were so many there...it
would be great.

--
Michael & Valerie Nelson

bought group discount tickets today for Jim Gamble's Peter and the
Wolf. The tickets are only $15.30 each (I got 10) instead of the
regular $18. They are on the main floor, row J. I have two tickets
available, since we
have committed the other 8. The performance is Jan. 26th at 11:00
a.m. at the Amador Theater (at Amador High School) in Pleasanton.

Please contact me if you would like to buy one or two tickets.

Sharon Clay

just heard a nice piece on the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre on the
California Report on KQED. I found it on the web in case you missed it and
want to hear. The website also has pictures.
http://www.scpr.org/news/stories/2007/08/31/18_bob_baker_marionette.html

See you all at the guild party tomorrow (Saturday)!

Hello Guild members

The program for the Holiday party will start at 5 pm with social,
appetizers, puppet display, and dinner. Performances start around 7 pm.
Father Christmas, gift exchange and puppets for Iraq will happen at an
appropriate time.

Performance: If you have a short piece (1-10 minutes) that you'd like to
share, call Lee.
Puppet Display: If you have a puppet creation you'd like to show, bring it
and a stand, for the puppet display
Food: There will be a microwave to heat dishes and it'll be possible to plug
in crock pots, etc. Bring a dish to share. Appetizers are very welcome.
Lee Armstrong

Puppet Quotes of the Day:
"Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, and from desires
that make us their puppets, and from the vagaries of the mind, and from the
hard service of the flesh. "
Marcus Aurelius
"Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is
played out. "
William Makepeace Thackeray

January Holiday Party
Saturday, Jan 12, 2008
5-9 pm
San Leandro Community Center
15301 Wicks Blvd, San Leandro

Driving directions:
Northbound 880: exit Marina Blvd West. After exiting, go over the overpass
and get into far left lane.
Southbound 880: exit Marina Blvd West. Get into far left lane immediately.
AFTER EXITING FROM EITHER DIRECTION:
Turn left onto Merced, the first stop light.
Continue on Merced and bear right on to Wicks (Merced turns into Wicks).
Continue past
Manor Blvd.
The community center is on the right side, across from the park.

One important tidbit regarding your Holiday Party donations to the
Peace through Puppets program in Iraq:

Please do not gift wrap any of the puppets. They are being sent to
a military address, and the shipment will need to be inspected.

DOES ANYONE HAVE TALENT WITH A DIGITAL CAMERA? Could you bring your
camera to the party on Saturday? The Peace through Puppets web site
needs more photos. A couple good ones showing the S.F. Guild
collecting puppets for PTP would be awesome. Please contact me if
you can help take photos: marydeck57 at sbcglobal dot net.

The web address is http://www.peacethroughpuppets.com

Thanks,
Mary Decker

January Holiday Party, Saturday, Jan 12, 2008, 5-9 pm
San Leandro Community Center, 15301 Wicks Blvd, San Leandro

Puppet Quotes:

"*Fie, fie, you counterfeit. You puppet,
you"

*William Shakespeare*

"*I am not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship
NCC-170...[some audience members say 'one'], or own a phaser. And I don't
know anybody named Bones, Sulu, or Spock. And no, I've never had green alien
sex, though I'm sure it would be quite an evening. [Pomp and Circumstance
begins playing] I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt's,
not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me 'Live long and prosper', I
seriously mean it when I say, 'Get a life'. My doctor's name is not McCoy,
it's Ginsberg. And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And
when I speak, I never, ever talk like every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I
live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And yes, I've gone where
no man has gone before, but I was in Mexico and her father gave me
permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian! *"
*William Shatner*

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT GUILD PUPPET PARTY
NEW PERFORMANCE SHORTS ADDED TO THE PROGRAM!

JANAKI RAMPURA PERFORMING A NEW, UNFINISHED WORK

FRATELLO MARIONETTES PERFORMING A HAND PUPPET PIECE CALLED "THE CONDUCTOR"

DAVID MORLEY PERFORMING A MARIONETTE ACROBAT TO LIVE PERCUSSION

DON'T MISS THE FUN (MORE INFO BELOW)

PERFORMANCES:
Puppet shorts by various Bay Area performers including Kevin Menegus, Janaki
Rampura and more!

Featuring:
"One Wacky Winter" by Randal Metz & the Puppet Company

Join us for a bit of holiday fun as the Puppet Company spoofs our classic
Christmas TV specials. "One Wacky Winter", is loosely based on "How the
Grinch Stole Christmas" and is a visual treat with a variety of hand and rod
puppets and marionettes.

Randal Metz & the Puppet Company have been creating "Fantasies in Miniature"
for over thirty years. Trained by such famous puppeteers as Lewis Mahlmann
of Children's Fairyland, Bob Baker of Disneyland, and even the Muppets.
Randal creates shows that appeal to audiences of all ages.

POTLUCK SUPPER
Please your favorite dish to share with others. Microwave available.
Dinnerware will be provided.

CONFIRMED! Father Christmas will be on hand to help with the GUILD GIFT
EXCHANGE. If you wish to participate in the exchange, bring a puppet
related, wrapped gift to add to the pile (in the past $10.00 approximate
value has been suggested.) All who bring a gift will get to receive one.

PUPPET DISPLAY
Do you have a puppet that you've made, that you'd like to display? A table
will be provided for an informal puppet exhibit, so bring your puppet (on a
stand) and share your puppet(s) with others.

Driving directions:
Northbound 880: exit Marina Blvd West. After exiting, go over the overpass
and get into far left lane.
Southbound 880: exit Marina Blvd West. Get into far left lane immediately.
AFTER EXITING FROM EITHER DIRECTION:
Turn left onto Merced, the first stop light.
Continue on Merced and bear right on to Wicks (Merced turns into Wicks).
Continue past
Manor Blvd.
The community center is on the right side, across from the park.

Puppet Power! The SFBAPG invites you to put a smile on an Iraqi kid's face!

This year, the SFBAPG Holiday Party will host a new kind of Gift
Exchange. Open up your closets and bring out those puppets!! They
will be mailed to Peace Through Puppets, a non-profit organization
that was started by Army 1st Sergeant Bruce Reges and his mother,
Jean Reges Burn, a long-time member of Puppeteers of America.

Did you read the article in the Washington Post? In the Observer?
In the Fall Puppetry Journal? When 1st Sergeant Bruce Reges entered
an Iraqi school classroom for the first time, he was dressed in full
body armor, and the children were absolutely terrified. Sergeant
Reges was profoundly upset by this, and he immediately contacted his
puppeteer mother and asked her to send puppets. Three weeks and
several boxes later, Peace Through Puppets became an official
non-profit organization, and the staff has been collecting and
shipping puppets to Iraq ever since. One interesting note: the PTP
staff members include Judy and Bob Brown, who just won the 2007
Puppeteers of America President's Award for 50 years of outstanding
contribution to the art of puppetry!

Besides taking donations of puppets, Peace Through Puppets also is
accepting donations of stuffed animals and cash. The cash allows
them to buy more puppets and pay for shipping!

So, Good SFBAPG Members.... Let's make this a very special gift
exchange! Bring your puppets and stuffed animals, and any hard cash
you wish to donate toward shipping! If the puppets are used, just be
sure that they are clean... And one important thing to note: Jean
Reges Burn says no depictions of people or pigs, please. Iraqi
culture doesn't accept those.

Let's make the SFBAPG the model for other guilds to follow! Bring
those donations on January 12!

Sharon Clay shares the following:

Jim Gamble Puppets will perform the program (Peter and the Wolf) is at 11:00
a.m. on Saturday Jan. 26th at the Amador Theater
in Pleasanton (at Amador High School). Tickets: Adults $10, $14, $18
Child tickets $6, $10, $14.
Amador Theater 1155 Santa Rita road, Pleasanton
Tickets available 24/7 online at www.civicartstickets.org and you can
choose your seat online. Group sales discount 15% for 10 or more tickets
to the same performance on a single order. Phone or walk up orders only.
Convenience Fee applied to all online and telephone orders.
Tickets avilable at box office 2 hours prior to show time.
Telephone: 925-931-3444.

Do you have some cool puppet-related stuff to donate to the January
12th SFBAPG Holiday Party Raffle?

Got puppet-making materials? Books? Posters? DVDs? Puppets?
(Remember, puppets depicting people or pigs can't be sent to Iraq,
but they CAN go in the RAFFLE!) Got some plastic Muppet kitsch to
unload?

If you have Raffle donations, contact Mary Decker at marydeck at
sbcglobal.net. She'll make sure each of your items
gets its own collection box for raffle tickets.

Also BRING MONEY! Raffle tickets are $1.00 each or $5.00 for six.
Such a deal.

Puppet quotes of the day

"*I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, A poet, a pawn and a king; I've
been up and down and over and out, And I know one thing; Each time I find
myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race*"

"*Any time you take something that is not alive and imbue it with life,
that's puppetry. In my book, clay animation is a form of
puppetry"

*Bobby Box *
--

*

January Holiday Party

Saturday, Jan 12, 2008

5-9 pm

San Leandro Community Center

15301 Wicks Blvd, San Leandro
*

*

PERFORMANCES:
*

Featuring:

"One Wacky Winter" by Randal Metz & the Puppet Company

Join us for a bit of holiday fun as the Puppet Company spoofs our classic
Christmas TV specials. "One Wacky Winter", is loosely based on "How the
Grinch Stole Christmas" and is a visual treat with a variety of hand and rod
puppets and marionettes.

Randal Metz & the Puppet Company have been creating "Fantasies in Miniature"
for over thirty years. Trained by such famous puppeteers as Lewis Mahlmann
of Children's Fairyland, Bob Baker of Disneyland, and even the Muppets.
Randal creates shows that appeal to audiences of all ages.

*

POTLUCK SUPPER

Please your favorite dish to share with others. Microwave available.
Dinnerware will be provided.
*

CONFIRMED! *Father Christmas *will be on hand to help with the *GUILD GIFT
EXCHANGE*. If you wish to participate in the exchange, bring a puppet
related, wrapped gift to add to the pile (in the past $10.00 approximate
value has been suggested.) All who bring a gift will get to receive one.

*

PUPPET DISPLAY
*

Do you have a puppet that you've made, that you'd like to display? A table
will be provided for an informal puppet exhibit, so bring your puppet (on a
stand) and share your puppet(s) with others.

*

Driving directions:
*

Northbound 880: exit Marina Blvd West. After exiting, go over the overpass
and get into far left lane.

Southbound 880: exit Marina Blvd West. Get into far left lane immediately.

AFTER EXITING FROM EITHER DIRECTION:

Turn left onto Merced, the first stop light.

Continue on Merced and bear right on to Wicks (Merced turns into Wicks).
Continue past

Manor Blvd.

The community center is on the right side, across from the park.