Pontine Theatre: Exciting Improvements!

Pontine Theatre announces its 42nd Performance Season at its newly renovated venue located in Portsmouth's West End at #1 Plains Avenue. Audiences will enjoy ample free onsite parking and comfortable seating in the intimately-scaled, fully-accessible studio theatre. This season offers three original productions by the company and two productions by invited guest artsts.

First up on the schedule is Pontine's adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Gothic Romance, The House of the Seven Gables, playing October 11- 27. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, the story follows several generations of the ill-fated Pyncheon family, bowed under a curse dating from the famous witch trials, and trapped in the once magnificent but now decrepit family mansion. This production is underwritten by Piscataqua Savings Bank.

November 8-10, guest artists, Great Small Works, perform their original production Three Graces & Other Works. This company is a collective of artists who draw on folk, avant-garde, and popular theater traditions to address contemporary issues. Based in New York City, they produce works on a variety of scales from outdoor pageants with giant puppets to miniature "toy theater" spectacles. The company has received a Puppeteers of America Jim Henson Award, a Village Voice OBIE Award, and an UNIMA Citation for excellence in puppetry.

Pontine celebrates the Holiday Season, November 29 - December 8, with its annual New England Christmas production. This year's rendition features a story by South Berwick, Maine's celebrated author, Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909). A Neighbor's Landmark: A Winter Tale with a Christmas Ending, is a tale set in a rustic coastal fishing village populated by taciturn Yankee characters who struggle to bring their community together in time for Christmas.

January 24-26, Pontine presents guest artist, Sarah Frechette, founder of Puppetkabob, in her original production, The Snowflake Man. The piece is inspired by Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, the self-educated farmer and scientist who attracted world-wide attention when he bccame the first person to photograph a single snow crystal. The play features creative storytelling, intricately designed Czech-style marionettes, and a striking pop-up book of water color scenery. This UNIMA-USA award-winning show tells a little known story to magical effect. Ms. Frechette studied marionettes in Germany with legendary Master Puppeteer, Albrecht Roser.

The season culminates March 27 - April 12 with Pontine's premiere of a new production, Robert Frost's New Hampshire, based on the early poems of the long-time summer resident of Franconia NH. Known for his New England settings, his down-to-earth, stark depictions of the difficulties of rural farm life, and his use of colloquial speech, Frost is widely admired as a true American Master.

Performances are Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 3pm and Sundays at 2pm. The five-event Season Subscription Package is $108 and may be purchased online at www.pontine.org. Tickets for single shows are $27 and may also be purchased online. All productions are designed for adult audiences. Performances are offered at Pontine's resident venue located at #1 Plains Avenue in Portsmouth's West End. Pontine Theatre is supported by a grant from the NH State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Source:  Broadway World

Private Toy-Theatre Exhibition Opens in Preetz

About 50 toy theatres, hundreds of sceneries and tiny paper models - the lovely, private collection of Dirk and Barbara Reimers - has found an official home in the Heimatmuseum (Local History Museum)  in Preetz.

All of the toy theatres have been part of a show once upon a time. The oldest is an original from 1869.

You can combine your visit with a private toy theatre show of Dirk and Barbara Reimers in their theatre room, upon request.  To get an impression of the exhibition, click here.

The Attic at the Preetz Local History Museum,  is the new home of the Reimers' Collection

In the Heimatmuseum in Preetz:  Dirk and Barbara, the founders of the International Preetzer Papiertheatertreffen, recently celebrated the official opening with Mayor Jörg Demin along with several journalists. 

House of Automata

In a wood in the far North of Scotland, there is a magical workshop where Maria and Micheal Start work preserving and restoring antique automata. With over 25 years experience, they painstakingly bring these pieces back to life...

The House of Automata from Euan Myles on Vimeo.


(BBC) - Automata in The Modern Age from Matthew Knight on Vimeo.

Matthew Knight, the filmmaker, says: 

"Automata are mechanical moving figures; throughout history their lifelike movements have fascinated such creative minds as Da Vinci and Faberge. 

"One century ago however, production fell silent. Now though, in a fortuitous twist, the computer age is turning the gears of an automata revival. Michael and Maria Start who run the House of Automata in Scotland are two of the world's foremost restorers of antique automata. 

"Here, they discuss their love for automata, and why more people are drawn to the craft."