It’s good to be back online!
As you may have noticed, the PuppetVision Blog has a new URL and was offline for a longer-than-expected makeover this past month. It will still be a few more days before all of the archives and new features are available, but in the meantime a lot has been happening in the world of puppetry.
Here’s a bit of a global round-up of some of what’s been going on while we were away…
Asia
83 year-old puppeteer Padma Shri Suresh Dutta plans to bring water puppetry to his native India.
In Ahmedabad a new play explores the life of Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the “Founding Fathers” of modern India.
Elsewhere in India, the new show Bollywood Bandwagon uses humanettes to poke fun at the Hindi film industry.
A phallic-looking puppet on a children’s TV show in Japan is raising a few eyebrows (warning: the content of the linked story may offend some readers).
Australia / New Zealand
The Jim Henson Company’s Puppet Up! is coming back to Australia.
The classic `80s sitcom The Golden Girls was brought to the stage in Melbourne in puppet form earlier this month.
The Deep plays at Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in Western Australia until February 1st.
Europe
The 30th Anniversary of the British satire series Spitting Image will be celebrated in a new documentary on BBC 4 this spring.
Speaking of which, The UK edition of Metro recently interviewed veteran puppeteer Nigel Plaskitt, one of the puppeteers who worked on the legendary series.
Andercon is a new annual convention for fans of the late British puppetry legend Gerry Anderson. It takes place April 19th-20th in London, England.
The Manipulate Visual Theatre Festival returns to Scotland next week.
Martin Bridle brought Punch and Judy to the shores of Barcelona earlier this month.
Ever thought about visiting the Czech Republic? Discover Prague’s Passion for Puppets.
The Middle East
The Egyptian branch of Vodaphone recently made international headlines after being accused of using a commercial featuring the popular puppet character Abla Fahita to transmit coded terrorist messages for Egypt’s banned Muslim Brotherhood.
North America
Puppeteer Alexander Winfield and opera singer Latana Phoung are using puppetry and opera to help children in Bermuda follow their dreams.
Famous People Players were profiled by Canada’s Global News late last year.
For those that didn’t already understand, American University Radio explains why puppets still have appeal in the modern world.
Heather Henson talks about Ibex Puppetry’s new show Flight: A Crane’s Story.
The Cashore Marionettes are back on tour throughout the United States.
The Muppets will be starring in a Toyota commercial on Super Bowl Sunday.
The Center for Puppetry Arts has announced a major expansion of their puppetry museum, including a huge new permanent exhibit dedicated to Jim Henson’s work.
With a new museum on the way it’s especially nice to see The Muppets up to their usual spoofing tricks with the latest trailer for Muppets Most Wanted.
Speaking of Muppet movies, The Muppets Take Manhattan was chosen to kick off a new series of monthly movies at New York’s elegant, yet little-known United Palace of Cultural Arts.
A new Chicago International Festival of Puppet Theater has been proposed.
The World On A String is a new exhibit of puppets from the International Puppetry Museum and the Alan Cook collection in California.
Puppet School will celebrate its expansion to Seattle with a Grand Opening on February 1st.
Hawaii’s East-West Arts Centre is presenting one of the most comprehensive exhibits of Chinese puppets ever staged in the United States January 25th through May 11th. Taiwan’s Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company will be Artists-in-Residence during the exhibit.
Calls for Entry
Workshop Proposals are now being accepted for Puppet Homecoming 2014 in Rhinebeck, New York.
Auditions & Job Opportunities
A “Puppetry Workshop Leader” position is available in Edinburgh, Scotland. Applications will be accepted until January 30th.
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre is seeking an Administrator to join their team in Western Australia. Applications are being accepted until January 27th.
Workshops & Training Opportunities
The O’Neil Puppetry Conference is now accepting applications for its annual summer program.
Applications are also available for the second annual Toronto Puppetry Intensive.
The Stan Winston School is offering a special “Business of Making Monsters” online course. FX Artist and producer Shannon Shea will be teaching participants the business side of the creature making and special FX business.
Puppet School is offering new courses in television puppetry in San Francisco.
Want more puppetry news? Never miss an update!
Subscribe to the PuppetVision Blog, like us on Facebook or follow Andrew on Twitter.
