Vischmarkt Spotlight: Rough Magic Theatre, UK

Who is that 'nice woman'...?

Collette Knowles is a puppeteer.  Soon, she will be performing a production of her original adaption of "Hansel and Gretel" at the upcoming toy theatre festival in the Netherlands.

A Man & His Dolls

My friend Vanesa shared this trailer with me recently. As she says, "This looks like an extraordinary film about dolls and a man's relationship with them..."

A Nazi scrutinizes Captain Hogancamp...

After viewing the trailer, viewing still shots taken by Mark (the man behind all this), and reading about the story behind the film, I couldn't agree more. An amazing use of the imagination and creativity for self-healing.

Puppetry International Issue #29: TOY THEATRE!

Several weeks ago, I was asked if I would be interested in submitting an article for the next issue of Puppetry International, which was going to focus an entire issue on toy theatre. I happily agreed, and submitted a book review about Mo Heard's new book, Leo's Heroes.

Well, the issue has just been published, and I got a copy in the mail today.  I am tickled pink with the result.

The entire issue highlights the wonderful world of toy theatre, including of course some of its history, but just as importantly, the current renaissance of the form in many wonderful ways.

Nashville in Miniature

See more miniatures here...

I recently was on holiday to visit my daughter and her family, as well as my son. all of whom live in the Nashville, Tennessee area.

While there, I was able to take in an amazing exhibition at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens entitled Trains in G.

The exhibit is a miniature town consisting of various landscapes, plants, infrastructure (bridges, roadways, railroads, etc.), and buildings.  All the buildings and infrastructure are made from natural material - plants, trees, rock, etc.  The buildings are all re-creations of actual homes and businesses, either historical or modern, that either existed or did exist once, in the Nashville area.

As a novice toy theatre enthusiast, it was a marvelous outing on a beautiful day.  I must say, I greatly admire the artist behind it; the exhibit was designed and constructed by Paul Busse, of Applied Imagination, using something he calls Botanical Architecture...

The Nashville Parthenon - a re-creation itself - is recreated here in miniature...

Toy Theatre Festival 'Trailer'

The biannual toy theatre festival in the Netherlands is coming up soon. Check out this trailer showing highlights and performers from other recent festivals there to give you an idea of what you can see if you attend (which is highly recommended by the way...!)

Muppet Toy Theatre

Maple floor boards, fully functional footlights, & hand-crafted baroque panels

Lance Cardinal is a genius in my book.

Take a look at his Muppet Theatre project. Take a good look. It's utterly amazing, the detail and quality of his work. I am blown away...

Behind the scenes...

In a different post, you can see the design process itself...Fascinating!

Lance, you have a rare and special gift.  Thank you for sharing this project with us!

Third Int'l Toy Theatre Festival at Vischmarket

A festival performance, in-process...

This June, the bi-annual toy theatre festival in the Netherlands will be happening.

The Third International Toy Theatre Festival at Vischmarkt (Fishmarket) in Harderwijk, Netherlands will be June 1-3, 2011. You can check out the festival's website for more information (continually 'under construction' with updates...)

A wonderful pictorial overview of the last festival can be found at this site.

Posts about past festivals on this blog can be found here.

A performance over, the 'man behind the curtain' reveals himself...