As you might have heard, we’ve had some wild weather in and around the Great Lakes in the last week or so. Parts of Toronto were without power for most of Monday, which is why this week’s News Round-Up is late. It’s also why we’re going to make do with the silly graphic above, which is a decent artistic interpretation of how I spent most of my day yesterday. – Andrew
Asia
Indian puppeteer M. Kalaivanan is celebrating his 40 year journey as a puppeteer.
A story about the rich history and uncertain future of Bunraku puppetry in Japan.
Taiwan’s “King of the Theaters,” glove puppetry master Huang Chun-ching (黃俊卿) died last week at the age of 88.
A look at poetic arts and shadow puppets with Indonesian artist Jumaadi.
Australia
The Creature Technology Company explains how to to build an animatronic dinosaur.
Europe
The Manipulate Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up.
London’s famed Pollock’s Toy Museum will host a special late night Festive puppet show.
A review of Nina Conti’s new DVD, The Dolly Mixtures.
Got No Strings is a brand new puppetry conference in Britain.
UNIMA Denmark is presenting Copenhagen’s first ever Puppet Slam on November 30th (link goes to a Facebook post, login or registration may be required).
North America
Watch as Jim Carry takes his puppetry skills for a test drive on the Tonight Show.
Celebrate the publication of The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance with a special day-long puppetry event in New York City.
Jim Napolitano played a pair sold-out shows at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry.
Geoffrey Navias is retiring as Artistic Director of Open Hand Theatre in Syracuse, New York.
Despite a brief reprieve earlier this year, Florida’s Puppetry Arts Center of the Palm Beaches is likely to close in January.
Remembering the late Diane Houk, one of the founders of Missouri’s Puppetry Arts Institute.
The avant-garde puppeteers of New Orleans’ Mudlark Public Theater are striving to recover from a recent fire.
Special FX legend Steve Johnson shares his views on the state of the visual effects industry (some content is NSFW).
Auditions and Job Opportunities
La Compagnie La Machine is currently hiring a Commercial and Technical Assistant in Nantes, France (link goes to a French language .pdf document).
Call for Entries
Freelance and self employed artists based in England can apply to the Artists International Development Fund.
Toronto’s Puppet All Sorts is seeking 10-15 minute long puppetry pieces for their annual Night of Shorts.
Workshops and Training Opportunities
Masterclasses at the 2015 Manipulate Festival in Scotland have been announced (link goes to a Facebook Page, login or registration may be required).
The 24 hour Puppet Theater Workshop in Los Angeles will challenge you to produce an original live performance in 24 hours (contact Anne Pierce at acetheatrical@gmail.com for more information).
