This past month I had the pleasure of taking a workshop and speaking with Connecticut based Jim Napolitano (aka “Nappy”).  As a UCONN Puppet Arts Program alumnus he has a bunch of television credits under his belt including Between the Lions and The Book of Pooh.

There are many people and things that I admire, and one of those things is the passion that people have towards whatever they do.  Jim has it and I admire that.  After taking his workshop I am now ready to investigate this form of puppetry more.  I would like to thank Jim for that. 

And one more thing I should mention.  As a teacher I know a lot about good ones, Jim is one of the best I have ever had a workshop with.  Great pacing, extremely clear; I would highly recommend hiring him. School event, daycare event, corperate team building event?  What not look at taking a workshop with Nappy?  Hats off to you Jim!  Go check out his website.

In my opinion Philip Hatter is an amazing young talent when it comes to puppets.  As the owner of Thistledown Puppets in Virginia, he has done a bunch of puppet videos for Youtube that has received some attention.  Most recently he has decided to make a little introduction video that has him talking a bit about his puppets and his studio.

I think this is a great idea.  It acts as a sort of demo reel, but with more of a personal touch.  After watching it, I feel like I know him personally.  This works really well in creating customer confidence.  I have long been planning to make my own demo reel and after watching this video I am convinced that I need to do it sooner than later.

Make sure that you check out some of the puppets that Philip has made and check out his new blog called Thistledown Puppets: Behind the Curtain.  Awesome job all around Philip!

The long awaited second PlaySoup video on puppet building featuring Dave Privett is now available.  Both videos are available for a package price or owners of the first video can get a discount.  The first one was a great investment. 

Get yours today.

As a puppet builder I have learned a lot about the craft (or technical aspects), but I have learned even more about how to appreciate the art behind truly beautiful puppets. After one look at the puppets from Whatta Character!! I found yet another artist whose work I truly admire. Artist/puppet builder Dave Pavelonis has truly outdone himself with the wonderful and sometimes breathtaking (at least for me) puppets that he has built.

It must be noted that these puppets are truly works of art. Sculpted from a solid block of foam, each one if filled with personality and life. As a puppet builder who admires detailed puppets, just look at some of the detail on these guys. I can only imagine the hours that go into each puppet.

As an artist Dave has many abilities that he can put to use (should you need them). He is an illustrator as well as a sculptor.

Want to see these beautiful puppets in action? Simply click here to see Whatta Character’s video demo (please note this is a direct link to a quicktime file). You can also see one of the videos posted on You Tube by clicking here.

If you would like to find out more about Whatta Character!! drop Dave an email. He is a really nice guy and I am sure he would love to work with you on your next project.

I hope you have been as inspired by these puppets as I have. I feel like building right now.

Well it would seem that there are some very cool things happening over at the Ontario Puppetry Association (see previous post). First off I would like to congratulate Phil Arnold and Mike Harding (see previous post), on their new positions as President and Vice President of the OPA, respectively.  I must admit that I was a member years and years ago, and I have let my membership expire. I may just have to join again and get some puppetry socilaizing in. It was a lot of fun and I actulaly met many of the members (who are now running the OPA) when I first joined years ago.

To read more of what is happening with puppetry in Ontario just visit the News and Views section of the OPA website.

Anyone who has visited Prague will probably have seen these puppets on the Charles Bridge. The Boretcheque Marionette Theatre consists of Josef Borek, his wife Jana and their son Petr. At least one them can be seen performing on the Bridge most days during the tourist season.

The marionettes play along to classical music by Bach, Mozart, Gershwin and more. My favourite character is the guitar playing clown pictured above.

Until you make it to prague you can see short video clips of their performances on their website -
http://www.boreczech.com/en/index.htm

I am always interested by puppeteers who have a high enough level of skill to perform on Henson projects, but who for the most part are not nearly as well known as the main performers. Over the past year I’ve had the chance to meet many of these performers and I must say I am a better performer for having whatched them at their craft. Now I came across a video demo on You Tube of a performer named Michael Ziegfeld. I’ve never met him or seen him perform in person, but with some of the impressive pictures in his gallery and after seeing some of his video clips, I can see he is quite talented. I don’t get MTV so I know very little about MTV On Demand, however I am curious to find out more. To check out some of his puppeteering go to his You Tube demo or go to his website and read up on him. Sometimes we can learn a lot from simply watching the performances of others.

Enjoy.