Tony award winning AVENUE Q is coming to the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Canada. Investment tycoon Aubrey Dan of Dancap Productions Inc. has reached an agreement with New York producers for the rights to this high-profile, touring Broadway musical, although some details may need to be fine-tuned before contracts are signed; Avenue Q has been “advertised” for July 29th-August 31, 2008. Tickets rang from $50.00 - $100.00 each, pretty cheap to some compared performances.

The are many videos of Jim Henson from interviews to behind the scenes footage, but rarely is a video like this one ever seen.  This appears to be intended as a direct message from Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Michael Frith to new Henson employees (or potential employees).  I think there are some great bits of information here and insight into Muppets (specifically Kermit).  What was most interesting to me was the information that Michael Frith gave about the design of a Muppet.  It is great information for anyone who is designing or drawing a puppet.  Watch to see what you think.

(photo credit: Bryan Woltjen)

The Esperance Festival of the Wind was held on 22 March this year. The festival began as an art-themed celebration of the positive energy wind brings to the town of Esperance, Western Australia, but it has now evolved into a celebration of ‘community, art, culture and shared fun’. Puppet designer and maker, Bryan Woltjen, together with animateur Karen Hethey, community groups, schools and individuals, made 8 fabulous giant puppet sea creatures for FantiSea, part of the festival. The frameworks are made from a mixture of bamboo and cane, with wire and gaffa joins, the skins muslin dipped in diluted PVA, and dyed. It is likely the puppets will make an appearance during the UNIMA 2008 festival in Perth.

There has been a great deal of buzz about the tutorial that Project Puppet has just recently been offering on their blog.  I am a huge fan of Project Puppet and a great admirer of the amazing talents of puppet builder and designer Pasha Romanowski.

This tutorial is an excellent resource for beginners and experienced builders alike.  It takes you step by step in modifying one of the Project Puppet Simple Series patterns.  Like many others I am eagerly awaiting the finished puppet.  I don’t know about anyone else, but an instructional DVD from Project Puppet would be one of the best gifts I could get for myself.  I hope they have plans for one in the not too distant future.  Check out the tutorial here.

Monkey Boys Productions, working from designs by James Wojtal, built these seven puppets for a TV commercial for Mexican Televison. The above video is a movement test filmed during the build. What I thought was especially cool, and should be noted, about the puppetry in the clip, was that each animal has its own unique dance style - a very nice detail and a subtle clue into the personalities of the characters. Great stuff!

You may also want to check out this video of an unfinished giraffe puppet showing off his dance moves before falling victim to a violent crime (just kidding - watch the video).

Want to be a One Way Street  puppeteer for I-Fest? If you are between the ages of 15 and 19, love working with a team of 12-15 performers, and can perform in front of a large crowd, this is the job for you. Deadline for applications is April 30, 2007.

Click HERE for the application.

Sesame Workshop has made available the episode “When Parents are Deployed”  (hosted by Cuba Gooding Jr.). The encore presentation is geared to address the challenges military families face with deployment. This television special originally premiered on December 27, 2006. The special also contains scenes featuring Elmo and his Dad, Louie. Elmo’s Mom also appears briefly.

Children video HERE

Adult Video can be found HERE

On a day where many Catholics do not eat meat, I figured this post was a good compromise between traditions of Good Friday and those who have meat on this day.  I have been a big fan of Mr. Meaty, a show that airs on Nickelodeon and CBC, that follow the misadventures of two teenagers as they work at a fast food restaurant.  For other fans of the show I am happy to announce that I have discovered that Nickleodeon has decided to order more shows, and that production for the additional episodes are underway.  I am sure that you are as excited as I am about this news.  Also, be sure to check out an episode if you are not familiar with the show. 

Warning:  This show contains teenage humour and may not be appropriate for younger children.

The Wippets just introduced a new character to join their cast of puppets. The new character was built by the very talented Jarrod Boutcher! I think this new character is a perfect example of excellent character/puppet design by Ron and, of course, a beautiful follow through by Jarrod. Take a look at the Wippets Blog for the original sketches on which the puppet was based.

I’m looking forward to see Phil in future episodes of the Wippets!