O

Issue Nø 8
September
O
E
P
N
Oz Puppetry Email Newsletter
In this Issue:
Puppet in Space
What’s On September and School Holidays
Opportunities: Puppet Palace 2011; new venue; performance opportunity;
puppet construction.
Review of Joe Louis Live in Sydney
News of Puppeteers: Work, Projects, Travel
Kassius Kamel (would-be political commentator)
About O.P.E.N.

IN ORBIT -
Is this the first puppet in space?
Since 1991 Annie and Tim of AboutFace Productions (VIC) have been making Harold the Giraffe for
Life Education Trust in New Zealand. While in NZ recently, Annie and Tim learned that one of their
Harold puppets had been up in space. Harold accompanied Flight Engineer, Nicole Passonno Stott, on
board the International Space Station during Expeditions 20 and 21. Harold was in space for 91 days
and he orbited our beautiful planet 1456 times travelling 34,944,000 miles. While in space Harold kept
a space diary that school children could check online and he had a video conference with Bono and
Edge from U2!! Harold hopes that Kassius Kamel won't get in a hump about his exciting super stardom.
Whatʼs On - September
The Grimstones - Hatched
Orange Civic Centre 135 Byng Street, Orange, NSW.
Wed 15 September 6:30 pm
Thu 16 September 10 am & 12:30m
(school performances).
Book online through ticketek.com
Also performing at:
Carriageworks
Bay 20 Theatre, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh. NSW.
Mon - Sat Sept 27 to Oct 2
Mon - Sat Oct 4 to Oct 9
www.carriageworks.com.au
_______________________________________________________________________
The Birthday
Sat 18 - Sun 19 Sept, 10.00am & 1.00pm
Sat 25 Sept - Sat 9 Oct, 10.00am & 1.00pm
1 Short St, Fremantle. W.A.
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL www.sppt.asn.au or 9335 5044

Monty & Melville
Who stole Melville, the plastic collection dog full of
donations? Monty, the adventurous Guide Dog puppy in
training, is going to do his best to find out!
Created and Performed by Lana Schwarcz
The Dog Theatre
42A Albert Street
Footscray, VIC
Directed by Roslyn Oades
Sept 18 to Oct 10 at 11.00 a.m.
thedogtheatre.com
The SandDragon’s Tail
by Curious Legends Theatre Company
The SandDragon's Tail is a mythical story about
a lonely child who befriends a dragon on the beach.
As the tide turns, something magical begins.
September 18. 2 pm
Northcote Uniting Church
251 High Street, Northcote
Call 03 86828577 or www.curiouslegends.com
This September sees the return of the Northcote Kids
Festival to Melbourne. Over two weeks during the
September School Holidays, the Northcote Town Hall
comes alive with a selection of theatre, music, magic, and
workshops for children and their families. With 35
performances over 13 days, and workshops in theatre,
music & performance, there's something inspiring for all
ages!
For bookings, please go to:
www.northcotetownhall.com.au

CALL OUR TICKETING HOTLINE - 03 9660 9666CALL OUR TICKETING HOTLINE - 03 9660 9
DREAM PUPPETS
Dreamer in the Deep
21 September at 10.30
North Melbourne Library, 66 Errol Street,
North Melbourne VIC Ph. 9658 9700
Dreamer in Space
30 September at 2.30
Wheelers Hill Library, 860 Ferntree Gully Road,
Wheelers Hill Ph. 9561 6211
_________________
The Arts Centre presents Tipsy Teacup Productions’
A Little Piece
Enter a little world of fables, friends and fiction
with an audience of only six people
22 - 26 Sep 2010
Fairfax Studio Foyer
The Victorian Arts Cebtre
St. Kilda Road
Melbourne
How to Book
Book tickets online at
events.theartscentre.com.au
_____________________________________________________________________
FIN
a tragicomic puppet show
by Sabrina DʼAngelo and Iris Radovic
Friday 24 Sept to Sat 9 Oct.
Fringe Hub - Son of Loft
44 Errol Street, North Melbourne
Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au or call (03) 9660 9666

Erth’s Dinosaur Petting Zoo
created by Erth visual & physical inc.
National Tour - September/November 2010
3rd - 11th September - Royal Adelaide Show, Adelaide S.A.
7th - 8th September - Townsville Civic Theatre, Townsville, QLD.
11th September - Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre, Mackay, QLD.
14th September - Gladstone Entertainment Centre, Gladstone, QLD.
17th - 19th September - Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, QLD.
1st - 3rd October - Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, NSW.
29th - 30th October - Parramatta Riverside Theatre, Parramatta, NSW.
5th - 9th November - Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, Bathurst, NSW.
Other upcoming events 2010
25th September - 10th October - Meet the dinosaurs, Australian
Museum, Sydney.
27th September - 9th October - Sydney Children's Festival,
Carriageworks, Sydney.
________________________________________________________________________
Terrapin Puppet Theatre
The Gatekeeper
THEATRE ROYAL, 15–16 SEPTEMBER
TOURING TASMANIAN SCHOOLS, 20
SEPTEMBER – 26 OCTOBER
A whole heap of horse-play in a play
about a horse, and the man that wants to
be one!
Terrapin’s new show is about chasing
your dreams. Puppetry, acrobatics, magic
tricks and things you should not do at
home with elastic, weave a spell-binding
journey for young and old. Digital
projections in places you would not
normally expect; saddles and
oscilloscopes, balloons and hay; these
are but bits of the world with which our
characters must do battle.
The Gatekeeper is about that most
beautiful of all adventures; the adventure
of learning to be you.

Opportunities
http://www.barkingspidertheatre.com.au
_________________________________
Puppet Palace 2011
Garden of Unearthly Delights Adelaide Fringe Festival Feb 11th - March 13th 2011
Puppet Palace is Australia's largest annual puppetry project. In 2011 Puppet Palace will be presenting its fifth
Adelaide Fringe Festival season. We still have room in our program for two productions: one adult and one
family show. Companies need to present a minimum of a week of performances but may even be able to
perform for the whole season. The Puppet Palace 2011 program will be finalised by 30th September, 2010.
In 2011 Puppet Palace will also be coordinating an extra puppet venue at the Goolwa Wooden Boat Festival
near Adelaide on 26/27 February, which will give extra paid performance opportunities for puppeteers.
Puppet Palace is continuing its role in supporting the development of new shows
Puppet Palace is currently working with award winning Appletree Puppet Company from Tehran in Iran to
support their visit to Australia for three weeks. There may be the opportunity for the group (four female
performers) to perform in other capital cities between 17 February and 8th of March.
http://www.appletreegroup.ir/
For more information about Puppet Palace 2011 please contact Keith Preston
artbeatkp@aol.com or Mobile 0418 839 264
Keith Preston www.puppetpalace.com.au

Opportunities cont.
The Dog Theatre in Footscray, Melbourne, is seeking performances for a new monthly
program of short works. Hair of the Dog will be a regular event which will give artists an
opportunity to try out their stuff. The first performance will take place on the 4th September at 8
pm, and 10-15 minute slots are available. Artists will receive a split of the door takings.
For more information contact David Wells on 0421 064 164 or email info@thedogtheatre.com.
Tickets will be $10. www.dogtheatre.com.
___________________________________________________________________________
Tadpole refloated
Greetings fellow fans of puppetry,
Puppetvision is looking for a new home for Tadpole. It's a two-hander black theatre
show with glove and rod puppets, which has been thoroughly road-tested.
The show was last performed at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2007 and has been
resting in the shed ever since.
With the addition of a couple of keen puppeteers with transport and enthusiasm, the
show could be out on the road (or available for handy training possibilities).
If anyone is interested in taking this on, please contact Philip Millar on 0438 744547 or
philip@puppetvision.com http://www.puppetvision.com/tadpole.htm
The show is complete with set, puppets, soundtrack and even a website. It just needs
puppeteers.....Generous terms negotiable.
___________________________________________________
Call Out for Owls
Terrible Comfort will be presenting a halloween show called
Owl in the Spotlight
at the Carlton Courthouse from 21st October to 6th November.
If you would like to assist in making owl puppets for this
occasion, please contact Sayraphim Lothian at
transmit@terriblecomfort.com
www.terriblecomfort.com

REVIEW
A Touch of Thai:
“Joe Louis Live in Sydney”
at the Sydney Opera House
By Kay Yasugi
Last month I attended a fantastic free event
organised by the Royal Thai Consulate at the
Sydney Opera House. The show was “Joe Louis
Live in Sydney”, which was a one hour showcase of
traditional Thai puppetry. Joe Louis (also known as
Sakorn Yangkhiawsod) was the one of Thailand's
top puppet masters and the country's last 'Grand
Master' of the Thai puppet art form known as Hun
Lakhon Lek. His troupe now travels around the
world to share his legacy of amazingly crafted
puppets. This show consisted of various acts,
including a demonstration of traditional Thai dance
and an excerpt from “The Ramayana” epic
(“Ramakien” in Thai), which is the most popular play
performed by the troupe.
On first glance, the puppetry looked similar to the
Japanese style of Bunraku (Ningyo Joruri), as each
puppet was operated by three performers – two
controlling the arms/head and one controlling the
feet. Like Bunraku, the puppets have a somewhat
fragmented existence – they dance and move on
stage while their voice comes from elsewhere: a
cluster of musicians for Traditional Thai chanting,
cymbals and drums – producing sounds ranging
from the dramatic to the soothing and almost
hypnotic. However, there are distinct differences
between the art forms. For example, all the
puppeteers’ faces are in full view (whereas in
Bunraku, only the master puppeteer shows his
face). Unlike the ‘invisible’ puppeteers of Bunraku,
the Thai puppeteers are very much part of the
performance. They work in tandem with the puppet,
mimicking gestures and facial expressions like
ripples in a pond. The puppets also ventured out
into the audience, greeting them (and even
borrowing a lady’s handbag, to the great
amusement of the crowd).
As an incredibly rare treat, the audience was invited
at the end of the show to come up and see the
puppets (and even touch them!). This was a
wonderful opportunity to have a look at the
ingenious rod mechanisms of the puppets, which
allowed their wrists to flick, wave and even pray.
The puppeteers use their thumbs to control small,
grooved spools embedded in the rod handles, which
are connected with string to the wooden hands of
the puppets like miniature pulleys. It was amazing to
see how the performers delicately and skilfully
operated the control to achieve subtle nuances in
movement.

Overall, this performance made me question my
own philosophy on puppetry. I had heard it said
that puppets are not ‘miniature actors’ and had
been discouraged from using puppets to mimic
humans (after all, why make a puppet walk when it
can fly?). However, it is an intriguingly beautiful
aesthetic to see a puppet perform a classic Thai
dance, while mirrored by three dancing operators.
They weaved their way around the stage, pausing
and turning to display carefully balanced body
compositions like graceful ballet artisans.
The ‘human puppet’ sequence of the show also
made me further ponder my ‘puppetology’. This
involved 2 performers – one puppeteer and one
dancer dressed like a traditional Thai puppet.
Masked in white make up and clad in a shining
gold and crimson costume (complete with a golden
headdress and long, metallic fingernails), the
‘human puppet’ moved just like a real puppet with
loose joints, swinging limbs and weighted feet.
Most definitions of puppetry clearly state that
puppets are inanimate objects, and yet this
performance challenges that (perhaps this is a
new level of ‘puppet existentialism’?).
The fusion of three bodies into one, the
fragmented existence of the puppet who dances
with a borrowed voice, the fluid transition between
the puppeteer and actor, and the playful synthesis
between the traditional and the avant garde all
combined to create a performance that was both
engaging and endearing.
“Joe Louis Live in Sydney” was performed at the
Sydney Opera House on 19 th August 2010. For
more information on the Joe Louis Thai Puppet
Troupe, please visit www.thaipuppet.com
by Kay Yasugi, Sydney
NEWS
(PUPPETEERS, THEIR WORK, PROJECTS AND TRAVELS)
Marianne Mettes (Puppeteer and Puppet Builder based in Canberra)
Earlier this year Marianne received a
scholarship to attend PuppetFest Midwest in the Mid
West of America in July. She began to plan the
‘Ultimate Puppetry Adventure Tour’ and set off to
explore what’s on offer puppetrywise in Kansas City,
Atlanta, North Carolina and Miami. She participated in
festivals and workshops and had the opportunity to
work on a puppet film. Read her blog:
Dream Puppets (Melbourne) Richard Hart and Julia Davis
Dream Puppets will be taking a ‘rest’ over the September holidays (This means we will be
repairing puppets and working on new shows!) From 2nd August to 3rd September
(5 weeks) we performed 55 shows between the two of us - in schools, kindergartens, libraries
etc... In October Richard will be working as Artist in Residence at the Ipswich Gallery,
Queensland for 2 and a half weeks, performing, exhibiting, running workshops and teacher inservices.
His 1994 Townace Toyota has done over 620,000 kms. He’s hoping it will see out
the year!!!

ABOUTFACE PRODUCTIONS (VIC)
The last three months have been very
busy for Annie Forbes and Tim Denton -
firstly, in June returning to NZ to
perform their production ‘The Miss
Muffet Show’ at the Once Upon an
Island Waiheke Festival of Story, then
travelling down to Wellington to remount
BOXES for a two week season at the
National Theatre for Children. Annie and
Tim devised this show with L. Peter
Wilson (Annie and Tim performing, Peter
directing) and this remount featured a
new soundscape composed by Thomas
Press and a new lighting design by Jason
Morphett (associate lighting designer on
Walking with Dinosaurs).
BOXES: Elton and Bernie face-off. Photo by Stephen A'Court.
In 2011 BOXES will have a season in Auckland and will tour Australia, Singapore and Shanghai. To read a
review of BOXES click on this link: http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/review.php?id=3216
Tim has recently arrived back from spending 6 weeks in Vermont, USA with
Bread and Puppet Theater and Sandglass Theater as the recipient of the
Handspan Visual Theatre Scholarship and the Lorrie Gardner Scholarship.
(In the next newsletter Tim will write a full account of his experiences
there.)
Finally, while Tim was away Annie has been working with the Student Union
Theatre (Melb Uni) advising them on shadow puppetry for their upcoming
production ‘Sweeney Todd‘ directed by Tom Gutteridge. The show is playing
at the Union Theatre from September 10 to 18, bookings at
union.unimelb.edu.au/sweeneytodd
Gary Friedman Productions
Mother Earth from the
Bread and Puppet pageant.
Work in progress:
marionette - only 2 strings.

Just Desserts
Curiouser and Curiouser!
by Kassius Kamel
I’ve been reading about the Adventures of Julia in Blunderland. It all seems
a bit familiar, like a story one heard in childhood: falling down Abbott Holes, Mad Katter’s tea
parties, a dodo, a Jabber-Hockey, a game of chess involving a Red Queen, three kingmakers, two
Bishops (!!), many a pawn, three jugglers, (including an evasive Cheshire Cat from Port
Macquarrie), more and more Abbott holes and calls for decapitation!
So I’ve decided to set out in verse the goings-on in Australia of the past two and a half weeks ,
with an apology to Lewis Carroll (who was really called Charles Dodgson) who wrote, ‘ “Will you walk a little faster?”
said a whiting to a snail’ (which was really based on Mary Howitt’s poem, ‘“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the
spider to the fly’, which was in turn based upon a song, ‘The Spider and the Fly’)
“Will you walk a little faster?” said the Gillard to the Rabbit,
“For I am Moving Forward now and I intend to Grab It.”
“No I won’t. ” replied the Rabbit. “You’ll just send us to the dogs,
And I’ve Billions in my pockets - and Budgies in my Togs!”
The Gillard turned a little Green and raised her eyebrows higher
“Do you think I’ll get Real Action from a Climate Change Denier?”
How eagerly the feted independents did advance.
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you,
Won’t you join the dance?
Valiantly, the motley three would all reveal their stances.
The Gillard had tea with the fair GG - and now she leads the dances.
“Let the sunshine in!” she said, “All obstacles we’ll surmount”.
“Ferociously,” the Rabbit cried “I’ll hold you to account!”
“Ignore the Rabbit! As is his habit, he always raves and rants.
We’re safe and sound - on Common Ground. Let’s ALL join in the Dance!”
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you
Won’t you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you
Will you join the dance?
May we all get our just desserts.
K
____________________
P.S. I’m not revealing my current whereabouts; however I am still on the planet Earth. I think it’s an
outrage that a humpless, spotted ruminant with an over-elongated neck was invited to orbit the earth
before a proper consideration was made of my superior qualifications. Humph!

About O.P.E.N (Oz Puppetry Email Newsletter)
O.P.E.N. is a free and voluntarily produced newsletter and is open to all. You can contact
us on dreampuppets@netspace.net.au
Please send reports of any known or suspected puppet activity by the 25th of each month. (Profiles of
puppet characters or drawings/cartoons also welcome). Please
keep photo resolutions low. Preferably send written material in .doc form so that it can be edited or
rearranged on the page.
Publication will be during the first week of each month.
If you have urgent news: deadlines or notice of performances previously not
advertised, you can send it to us for inclusion in Op-date at any time.
Julia Davis and Richard Hart
Dream Puppets
LINKS to more information about Australian puppetry:
www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au
www.PUPPETRYNEWS.com
http://africanpuppet.blogspot.com
www.unima.org.au
http://twitter.com/OzPuppetry
www.dreampuppets.com
www.puppetpalace.com.au
YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS READING O.P.E.N.
PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE!