Building Under the Canopy

Posted on December 16, 2013 by ccbooks

We’re in the midst of refurbishing old objects and building new ones for Under the Canopy, which Arts on the Horizon will produce in February. After a workshop production last summer, we learned a LOT about how babies respond to objects and what kinds of things capture their attention best. Here are a few photos of us at work as we build umbrella birds and caterpillars, ladder trees and butterflies.

Supplies waiting on the worktable.

Pieces for the umbrella bird, waiting to be glued on.

Pieces for the umbrella bird, all cut out and waiting to be glued on.

All glued or sewn on, now waiting for bird tails.

Amy and Genna at the worktable.

Genna trying out placements for the bird tails.

Research, Research, Research

Posted on December 5, 2013 by ccbooks

So here’s a little secret: I love research. It’s definitely not the most glamorous part of puppetry and doesn’t provide as many fun photo or video opportunities. But lately I’ve been spending lots of time in this room, and you have to admit, it’s beautiful:

That’s the Main Reading Room at the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress and it’s a pretty fun place to do research. You have to request books ahead of time and show a special card to get them (yes, it feels like belonging to a secret club). There are desks with little lights and numbers on them and there’s a huge echo every time someone drops a pencil. The books often have special labels in the front and if I need a break from reading, I can stare up at lots of statues and paintings all around the ceiling. What’s not to love?

We are deep in Phase 1 of our next devised piece, which is inspired by British folklore and in particular, Katherine Briggs’ seminal work A Dictionary of Fairies. Genna and Amy and I, as well as several other collaborators, have been reading all the folktales, fairy traditions, and stories of fairy encounters we can get our hands on. We’re not entirely sure what kind of puppet piece we will end up with, but it’s going to be lots of fun getting there!

November Grab Bag

Posted on November 29, 2013 by ccbooks

Moses from THE TABLE. Photo by Lorna Palmer and Xue Qian

1. Last week, Pat and I got to see a fantastic show by Blind Summit Theatre from England. It was called The Table and consisted of three puppeteers and one puppet telling the story of Moses, along with many clever asides. Really amazing work and the company website includes a set of tips for puppeteers which are also great.

2. A fascinating article about marionettes built by Ralph Kipniss, an artist I had never heard of before. While the Kickstarter campaign mentioned in the article did not reach its goal, there are still people working to raise the money to find a home for this amazing collection and preserve it for future generations. You can find out more and help out by donating here.

3. We made lots of puppets for Cabinets of Kismet out of various kinds of paper, but one kind we didn’t really use was tissues. Maybe if we had seen this video by Yuki Ariga, we would have:

4. Last but not least, yesterday was Thanksgiving, which of course means the puppets that had the biggest audience were the Macy’s Parade balloons. Did you know that Tony Sarg, who first came up with the idea for those books, was a puppeteer? Here is a VERY short clip of him with one of his graceful marionettes. The balloons aren’t nearly so graceful, but they are a lot bigger.

Announcing INTERSECTIONS 2014!

Posted on November 14, 2013 by ccbooks

We are thrilled to announce that BOTH our collaborative projects this year will be presented as part of the Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival 2014!

Under the Canopy by Arts on the Horizon and Fabulas Mayas, co-produced with GALA Hispanic Theatre will each have multiple performances as part of the fifth year of INTERSECTIONS. This festival seeks to connect the broadest possible audience with the most exciting new ways of making community-inspiring art. With performances for all ages and audiences, from music to dance to circus to storytelling and new plays, there is truly something for everyone. Tickets go on sale January 9, so we hope you will join us at Atlas Performing Arts Center on H St. NE from February 21-March 8 to see our shows and some of the other amazing work at the festival. As we get closer, we will have more information here or you can also check out the festival website.

Puppets Support Early Literacy

Posted on November 12, 2013 by ccbooks

Workshop performance of UNDER THE CANOPY. Photo by Arts on the Horizon.

Whenever I see an article like this one (and they pop up pretty frequently), I start thinking about how puppets and theater fit into the push to get kids reading and talking at an early age.

Puppets are a staple of library storytimes and preschool classrooms. Librarians and teachers use them to tell simple stories, teach children songs and introduce topics such as a particular kind of animal. Many classrooms also have puppets the students can play with themselves. Making a puppet talk is one step on a journey to abstract thinking. If a child can imagine an object like a puppet talking, that’s preparing them for the idea that pictures of characters on a page might ‘talk’ with words–and eventually when the pictures disappear, it’s the words themselves that allow us as readers to imagine characters and their actions.

Puppets and theater are also valuable for very young children because they give parents something to talk about with their kids. Taking care of babies and toddlers too young for school is a huge job. Yes, we encourage parents to talk to their children as much as possible, but it’s understandable that it gets tiring after awhile. I taught school full time and often ran out of things to discuss with my students–and I only had to deal with them for part of the day! Experiencing the magic of a theater or puppet show allows parents and children to talk about something new and to discover the world together in a different way. The new vocabulary, ideas and questions prompted by these experiences is what will help our children grow and develop into bright thinkers, ready for school and whatever other challenges life throws at them.

Website Update

Posted on November 7, 2013 by ccbooks

Shaper (Jose Pineda) and Creator (Bob Sheire) bring animals to life in FABULAS MAYAS. Photo by Lonnie Dale Tague.

Just a quick note here on some changes around the website that you might want to take a look at! We have new video up on the Cabinets of Kismet page, so if you didn’t get to see the show, check that out for some highlights. If you didn’t get to see our show Fabulas Mayas, it now has its own page, with photos. We have some new additions to our Friends and Family page; people who have great work and cool projects that you can support. Finally, on our Education page there are new descriptions of the workshops we offer to schools and community groups. If you are interested in having us come to your school, please send us an email!

Library Connections for Fabulas Mayas

Posted on November 4, 2013 by ccbooks

Many of the stories in the show came from this collection.

I wrote the show Fabulas Mayas because I wanted to share some of the rich oral traditions among the Maya people of Mexico and Central America. While these stories are nowhere near as widespread and familiar as European folktales, they often follow similar patterns and are humorous and entertaining. Most of our work at Wit’s End Puppets is inspired by stories and artists that you can find easily at any library or bookstore. If you saw Fabulas Mayas and are interested in learning more, or if you just like stories and sharing them, here are some resources to look for at the DC Public Library.

Source for some of the stories of Fabulas Mayas:

The Monkey’s Haircut and other stories told by the Maya by John Bierhorst

Other Latin-American stories and story collections:

People of Corn by Mary-Joan Gerson

Tales our Abuelitas Told by F. Isabel Campoy & Alma Flor Ada

The Hungry Woman: myths and legends of the Aztecs by John Bierhorst

Señor Cat’s Romance by Lucia Gonzalez

Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales

Once Upon a Time/Habia una vez by Reuben Martinez

A Day in the Life of Fabulas Mayas

Posted on November 1, 2013 by ccbooks

Here are some photos giving you the backstage view before and during the show Fabulas Mayas at GALA Hispanic Theatre. We have one more public performance tomorrow at 3pm!

Getting ready in the dressing room, that’s Bob Sheire and Carol Spring.

Bob making faces at his Creator headdress.

The view backstage, with the shadow screen, puppet tables and masking.

A few shadow puppets that are too big for tables wait on the floor, along with costumes.

Our projector! Source of all light and backgrounds!

The shadow screen, with a glimpse of one of the gorgeous backgrounds painted by Amy Kellett.

Three-fourths of the cast of Fabulas Mayas (Cecilia was taking the picture). From the left, Carol, Jose and Bob.

Fabulas Mayas is onstage NOW!

Posted on October 25, 2013 by ccbooks

Come see our first public performance of Fabulas Mayas this weekend at GALA Hispanic Theatre! Our school audiences this week have giggled, given advice to the characters and asked ten thousand questions about the puppets and how they were made. We hope you will join the fun!

WHAT: An hour long show for all ages, adapted from Mayan folktales

WHERE: GALA Hispanic Theatre at Tivoli, 14th & Park Rd. NW. Columbia Heights Metro, parking in the Giant lot next door.

WHEN: 3pm on Saturdays October 26 & November 2

HOW MUCH: $12 adults, $10 students

WHY: Because it’s AWESOME.

October Grab Bag

Posted on October 21, 2013 by ccbooks

Tan’s sculpture for ‘Hansel and Gretel’ retold by Philip Pullman.

Because our show Cabinets of Kismet was inspired by him, I’m going to bring in the artist Shaun Tan as the subject of this month’s grab bag. A few beautiful, thought-provoking and wise items to view or listen to:

1. Shaun Tan theater! Featherwight Theatre is a company of dancers and theater makers from England who presented The Red Tree at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year. It was a beautiful adaptation, with many innovative and surprising ways of bringing Tan’s images and words to life. You can see a video and hear some of the original music on their website.

2. More Shaun Tan theater! Clearly there is consensus that Tan’s stories are compelling on the page and even more compelling when brought to life by actors, dancers and puppets. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, from Fremantle Australia, recently performed an adaptation of Tales from Outer Suburbia, a collection of Tan’s short stories.

3. A new book! Tan’s latest picture book, Rules of Summer was just published in Australia. A story of two brothers and the rules they learn, the book pairs simple phrases (‘Never leave a red sock on a clothesline’) with surreal oil paintings that provoke questions and ideas.

4. An interview about Rules of Summer is available to see here. Tan talks about his inspiration, and process in creating the book, as well as principles of storytelling and bookmaking in general.

5. Tan’s other new book is actually in German. Philip Pullman, the celebrated fantasy author, published a collection last year of his favorite fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. His version of the stories has now been translated into German, illustrated with amazing sculptures by Tan. You can see photos of some of them and learn a little more about why he chose to create sculptures rather than paintings, here.