The Atlanta Puppet Press The Newsletter of the Atlanta Puppetry Guild April 2008 -------------- What's Inside? -------------- * Atlanta Puppetry Guild Website Refresh * Puppet Gumbo: The Southeast Regional Puppetry Festival * Other Upcoming Puppetry Festivals * Join Puppeteers of America! * Playing at the Center for Puppetry Arts * Atlanta Puppetry Guild Mailing Lists * Recent Guild Happenings * Minutes from the November 4th, 2007 meeting * Minutes from the April 13th, 2008 meeting * About the Atlanta Puppetry Guild * Atlanta Puppetry Guild Officers -------------------------------------- Atlanta Puppetry Guild Website Refresh -------------------------------------- - Kevin Pittman, Guild Webmaster As promised at the last guild meeting, I have given the guild website a complete refresh to bring it up-to-date for 2008. Here's just a few of the changes you will find there: * A 'Member Login' button on the front page to make it easier to get to the members-only aspects of the website * The "Guild Activities" and "Puppet Happenings" pages have been combined into a single "Puppet Happenings" page, which is now generated automatically from a data table, making it very easy for me to post updates quickly. News of puppetry happenings (performances and workshops open to the general pubic) in the greater Atlanta area to post on this page would be much appreciated, BTW. * The "Puppetry Links" page has been completely refreshed with new links to puppetry resources and current festivals. It, too, is now generated automatically from a data table to make it easy to keep updated regularly. Suggestions for additional links would be greatly welcomed, BTW. * The NDOP page now talks about how the reader can celebrate puppetry him/herself, and links to the PofA NDOP page for additional information. Our archives of pictures from our 2001 and 2004 celebrations are still available on that page. * The "Join the Guild" page is now a fully functional web form for requesting membership online. Whenever someone fills out the form, it now generates an email response to me and to the Membership Officer. Of course, the new member will still have to mail in his/her dues or bring them to the next guild meeting. * New pictures in the Guild Photo Album, with big thanks to Heidi! If anyone else has pictures from recent meetings or guild outings, I'd be more than happy to add them to the album. * I've been posting more old newsletters to the Historical Archive section. I'm hoping to get that finished up within the next few weeks, so that all newsletters that I have in my possession will be accessible via the website. If you have suggestions for the website, or have contributions for the 'Puppet Happenings' or 'Puppetry Links' pages, please feel free to send them my way. If you would like to have your own information listed on the website (or update your existing information), just use the handy "Update Your Member Profile" form that is visible after you go through the "Member Login" link. ------------------------------------------------------- Puppet Gumbo: The Southeast Regional Puppetry Festival ------------------------------------------------------- "Puppet Gumbo", the Southeast Regional Puppetry Festival is coming up this June! Located in beautiful and historic Savannah, Georgia, the festival will run from Thursday, June 12 Through Sunday, June 15th. It is being hosted on the campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design. Already lined up are such amazing performers as Blair Thomas, Hobey Ford, IBEX, Tanglewood Marionettes, Madcap Puppets, Puppet People, Shiny Shoes Children's Theater, and Custom Puppets. Nearly a dozen workshops are also lined up as well. Of course, there's the ever popular Potpourri as well as a Puppet Slam. There's even a Savannah River Moonlight Cruise on Thursday night! What more could you ask for in a festival? Register now if you haven't already - space in the on-campus lodging is filling up fast: http://www.puppetlove.com/se2008/docs/registration.pdf For more information on Puppet Gumbo 2008, please see the festival web site: http://www.southeastpuppetfestival.org/ One very special event is the festival's Street Fair, which will be held on Saturday, June 14th in Johnson Square from 9 AM until 1 PM. The Johnson Square park is shady all over with two fountains. The Street Fair will be open to the general public and will feature a flea market, street performers, stage shows, make-n-take puppet crafts, and a children's puppet parade. The lead contact/point person for the street fair is Lee Bryan (lee@puppetguy.com ). Here's all the details on the fair for those who are interested in participating in it: SELL YOUR STUFF AT THE FLEA MARKET The SE Regional Puppet Festival is not going to have an official puppet store. But fear not, the street fair will be a great opportunity to sell all your puppet stuff at the PUBLIC Flea Market! This could be a fantastic money maker for individuals or a fund raiser for your company/guild. The street fair will not only be open to festival attendees but also open to the general public! Reserve your table(s) before we run out! Table rentals start at just $40/each and chairs are $1/each with no additional fees for any puppet display stands you may want to bring. Deadline is June 6. Make Checks payable to Puppet Gumbo 2008 and mail to Lee Bryan, PO BOX 78937, Atlanta, GA 30357-2937 before June 6 Contact Lee Bryan -- lee@puppetguy.com to reserve your tables and chairs. WALK ABOUT PUPPET AND MASCOT CHARACTERS Bring a favorite puppet character to perform as a walk around? Or maybe you have a costume mascot character? Or maybe you've got a giant parade puppet you would love to bring to Savannah and do some walk about? Contact Kevin Pittman -- info@forestpuppets.com to sign up for a time slot or two. MAKE-N-TAKE PUPPET CRAFTS We need both supplies and volunteers to man booths. We are looking for guilds to gather up all of your left over puppet "make-n-take" Day Of Puppetry supplies and bring them along to the Festival. We plan to have several booths so the public can make a puppet for free. Or perhaps your guild would consider donating some of the supplies (or your time) to man an activity booth for your guild? We need YOUR help to make this a huge success. There is no fee charged to the public for these make/take puppets. Contact Yostie Ashley -- yostie_a@yahoo.com CHILDREN'S PUPPET PARADE Would you like to help street fair attendees to construct and decorate giant puppets culminating in children's puppet parade at the end of the festival? All materials are provided and it is a great activity to take back to your next National Day of Puppetry event. Learn to create butterflies, birds, giant flowers, people characters and more! Contact Claire Ritzler -- ritz09@yahoo.com to volunteer! PARK DECORATING AND SET UP/TEAR DOWN Of course we'll need a group of volunteers to help decorate the park beginning at 8am and of course some folks to help pick up the decorations after the fair ends at 1pm. General needs day of street fair: * A drummer for the giant puppet parade around the park would be great * Kazoos and bubbles for parade folks - or any other noise makers. --------------------------------- Other Upcoming Puppetry Festivals --------------------------------- Great Lakes Regional Puppet Festival June 26-29, 2008 - Shipshewana, Indiana Shipshewana Town Center and Mousetrap Puppet Theater http://www.mousetraptheater.org/index_files/Page877.htm Northeast / Mid-Atlantic Festival - Capital Fireworks July 10-13, 2008 - College Park, Maryland College Park Campus, University of Maryland http://www.puppetfest2008.org/ Pacific Northwest: The Rolling Regional Puppetry Festival April 27, 2008 - Portland, Oregon June 28, 2008 - Missoula, Montana August 3, 2008 - Seattle, Washington August 23, 2008 - Victoria, British Columbia http://pnw-rolling-regional-festival.org/ National Puppetry Festival July 14-19, 2009 - Atlanta, Georgia Contact Lee Bryan for Additional Information. Submissions for Performances and Workshops are currently being accepted. Lee Bryan and Jeff Cornett are the co-chairs of the festival, with Reay Kaplan and Jamie Donmoyer as the artistic co-chairs. This festival will occur at the same time as the UNIMA 2009 International Puppet Festival, meaning that attendees of the National festival will be able to see many international performers at the same time. --------------------------- Join Puppeteers of America! --------------------------- Here's just a few reasons to join the PofA right now: * Four Puppetry Journals a year, plus the Playboard newsletter * PofA Handbook and Membership Directory, just chock full of useful contact information. * Ability to get group rates for liability insurance. * Discount on items in the puppetry store. * Access to PofA consultants * Discounts on registration for national and regional PofA festivals For more information, please visit the Puppeteers of America website: http://www.puppeteers.org/ --------------------------------------- Playing at the Center for Puppetry Arts --------------------------------------- Cinderella Della Circus by Jon Ludwig April 10th through June 22nd Xperimental Puppetry Theater (XPT) - 18+ Only! May 15th through May 18th The Dragon King by Tanglewood Marionettes June 24th through July 13th The Bremen Town Musicians by Crabgrass Puppet Theatre July 15th through July 27th Sleeping Beauty by Paul Mesner Puppets July 29th through August 10th The Ugly Duckling by Michael Haverty August 15th through September 14th La Cucarachita Martina (Martina, the Little Roach) by Teatro SEA (Sociedad Educativa de las Artes / Society of Educational Arts) September 18th through September 28th Brer Rabbit and Friends by Jon Ludwig September 30th through December 7th ------------------------------------ Atlanta Puppetry Guild Mailing Lists ------------------------------------ The Atlanta Puppetry Guild has two online mailing lists for keeping in touch with its members, and keeping its members in touch with each other. The lists are on Google Groups, and if you're not already a member, you can request to join either by going to the appropriate web URL: http://groups.google.com/group/apg-announce/ http://groups.google.com/group/apg-discussions/ Just select the "Apply for group membership" link on the right-hand side of the page to join that list. The Announcements list is just for Guild-related news and announcements, and only the officers can post to it. The Discussions list is for general puppetry-related discussions and non-guild announcements, and anyone in the guild can post to it. If you just want Guild news, then subscribe to just the announcements list. If you would like to see and participate in all of the discussions, then make sure you subscribe to both mailing lists. ----------------------- Recent Guild Happenings ----------------------- On Saturday, January 26th, the guild hosted a potluck dinner held at the Center for Puppetry Arts for the 25 Puppeteers of America and UNIMA-USA board members who were holding joint meetings in Atlanta. Following the dinner attendees and board members were treated to a performance of "Anne Frank: Within and Without". On Sunday, March 2nd, guild members attended a performance of "There's a Dinosaur in the Closet" at the Center for Puppetry Arts by Coad Canada Puppets. After the show, puppeteer Luman Coad came out and talked with guild members about his show and his puppetry work. Wine and cheese and other refreshments were provided by the guild. In sad news, guild member Matt Adler passed away on Sunday, February 17th. Matt was the husband of guild member Alice Rhodes and became her ever-cheerful companion in various puppetry pursuits. Several guild members attended performances of Avenue Q, which was in town at the Fox Theater from March 25th through March 30th. All gave the show rave reviews. ------------------------------------------- Minutes from the November 4th, 2007 meeting ------------------------------------------- We began our meeting with a wonderful potluck dinner. In attendance were: Matt and Alice Adler Tricia and Bob Berrett Carol Daniel Barbara Goltz Greg Wallace Peter Hart Tim Monteith Kevin Pittman Walter and Betsy Stark Heidi Carpenter Evy Wright Irena and Sheldon Tricia Berrett, President, called the meeting to order. We realized that we are having some problems with our membership list, some of the members have not been receiving e mail notices. Hopefully this will be correct before the next e mail notification goes out. We discussed making better use of our Google group message system to notices on various puppetry information, such as upcoming shows. That way people may find it easier to find puppeteer friends with whom to attend the activities, we could also use this tool to arrange transportation to these events. We discussed the possibility of presenting short pieces in the atrium at the Puppetry Center prior to their scheduled shows. It seems that so far the Center has not been very interested in that idea. We discussed the "String Fling" held annually at the Center. It has become a very expensive fund raising activity. Heidi wondered if there is an opportunity to volunteer for that. Jeff Cornett and Lee Bryan will be co-directors for the upcoming national festival in Atlanta in 2009. Reay Kaplan and Jamie Donmoyer are the artistic directors. If anyone wishes to apply to perform, they are the people to contact. We discussed various ideas for National Day of Puppetry. Perhaps we don't need to think so much about the particular DATE, and find an activity that would create awareness of puppetry, and our guild, at a time more suitable for our guild members. Kevin suggested possibly Marietta Days, the first weekend of May. This brought up a discussion about people doing free shows. While we realize it may give exposure to a performer, it also has the potential of cutting out work for a paid performer. Irena briefly described her experience at the O'Neill Center in Connecticut this year. This is an intensive nine day hands on workshop for people who are serious about this art form. Throughout the nine days the groups will write, build, rehearse, and perform a show. The total cost to attend is around $900, not including airfare. The annual festival in Missouri, run by Peter and Debbie Allen, is a similar type of activity, in which you choose a track, and work in that track each day with your workshop leader. The evenings are spent watching performances. Luman Coad will be performing his delightful DINASAUR IN THE CLOSET show at the Puppetry Center this year. We discussed holding a reception for Luman. We all introduced ourselves and gave a short description of our involvement in puppetry. Several people indicated that they are planning to attend the BREAD AND PUPPET THEATRE performance this coming weekend at Seven Stages. The next meeting will be held at the home of Walter and Betsy Stark. Meeting date TBA. Respectfully submitted Carol Daniel Secretary ----------------------------------------- Minutes from the April 13th, 2008 meeting ----------------------------------------- The April 13th meeting of the Atlanta Puppetry Guild was held at the home of Walter and Betsy Stark. It began with a potluck dinner, with a delicious beef brisket, compliments of Walter and Betsy. We all seriously went well over our allotted calories for the day. Members in attendance were: Tim Monteith Lorna and Jim Sampsell Jeff Cornett Gregg Wallace Kevin Pittman Barbara Goltz Carol Daniel Peter Hart Tricia and Bob Berrett Heidi Carpenter Betsy and Walter Stark Elections were held for the positions of Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Officer, and Vice President. After some discussion, it was determined that Heidi would be the Treasurer and Membership Officer, and would work with Gregg Wallace on Vice Presidential duties (primarily lining up activities for the guild meetings) for the next term. Carol agreed to continue on as Secretary for another term. We had a guest, Al Waller, an art teacher in Stockbridge, who is working on a project with puppetry and animation. He graciously demonstrated his work for us. It was most interesting, and I am sure we all hope he will have great success with this project which is entitled BE A KNOW IT ALL. Respectfully submitted Carol Daniel Secretary -------------------------------- About the Atlanta Puppetry Guild -------------------------------- Chartered in 1974, the Atlanta Puppetry Guild is dedicated to bringing together artists, educators, librarians, hobbyists, professionals and everyday people who share an interest in the art of puppetry. Current activities include potluck socials, field trips to view and discuss puppetry presentations, occasional workshops, and participation in the National Day of Puppetry on the last Saturday in April. Members receive notifications of meetings, new newsletters, and other local puppetry events via e-mail. The cost of a membership is $10 for an individual or $15 for a dual membership. The membership year runs from May 1st through April 30th. Please send membership application and a check payable to "Atlanta Puppetry Guild" to: Atlanta Puppetry Guild, 2510 Sunset Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30345 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: E-mail: Address: City, State, ZIP: Telephone number: (Home unless you prefer to be contacted at work; please indicate which number you're listing) Also member of [ ] Puppeteers of America [ ] UNIMA-USA Special interests or other information: ------------------------------- Atlanta Puppetry Guild Officers ------------------------------- President Tricia Berrett 404-633-1575 TBBerrett@aol.com Secretary Carol Daniel piccadillypuppets@comcast.net Vice President Gregg Wallace greggwallace@compuserve.com Treasurer and Membership Officer Heidi Carpenter HiDC228@aol.com Newsletter Editor and Webmaster Kevin Pittman info@forestpuppets.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Atlanta Puppetry Guild - www.atlantapuppetryguild.org