In the Spirit of Easter...

If you have a twisted sense of humour (as I do), you'll appreciate these slightly bent adventures of marshmallow bunnies, some presented in a theatrical wrapping...

Commission Toy Theatre Update #2

Ann sent some tantalizing (and amusing) updates yesterday on the progress of the toy theatre she has been building for me...

I am about to go out and give your theatre the shellacking of it's life! Everything else is done except for a cover for the footlight hole. (Middle of the night last night, 'the voice' said - "you really ought to figure out how to put something in that hole until she gets footlights. It looks less spectacular than the rest of the thing.")

The Grrip glued worked wonderfully, the proscenium pieces went together just right. George figured out how to make the hasp gizmos work, so the proscenium comes apart and lays flat easily, and I figured out just how to attach the proscenium to the theatre base. The orchestra piece is covered in muslin, same as the front, and I put a back on the base "box". Pictures will be taken tonight. (And we will try very hard not to send such huge files. New camera, new software. Learning curve.)

Next step is to make a parts list, and instructions for you for putting the theatre all back together when it arrives. And I have to make a crate (only kidding, a box) in which to ship this creation. I have been debating whether to put a bottom on the theatre base, to give you a "right side up box" to store everything in. Or you could just use the shipping box. The plan is to use hardboard for the bottom, which will add to the shipping weight. What do you think?

Later in the day, she writes again...

More news as we get close to "done". Any statement like, "It shouldn't take long to shellac the parts of the theatre." is erroneous.

Sand, then wipe, then dilute the shellac, then brush it on, then it dries, and one sands, wipes and shellacs, undiluted, again. Took most of the day. All the pieces are hanging by their little bolt holes on hooks bent from wire coat hangers on our hand puppet stage frame. I would like to get a shot of that, if George gets close enough to getting the taxes done to swing free to take pictures.

Went down to the lumber store, and they cut me a piece of thin hardboard to the right size for the bottom, and cut our piece of luan for a new floor (we buy a big piece, and then take it back when we know what size we want cut, and they cut it for free!). I just wasn't satisfied with my cut of the curve for the front, and I would like the floor to overhang the back piece. So now I have to shape the floor once again. This time I WILL get it perfect. All of the instructions for you are written in long hand, I just have to type them into the computer. I can type fast enough. And there is a bit more little stuff, while the shellac dries on the new floor. (p.s., the lumber store would like to see the theatre before I ship it off. They are quite intriqued!)

Glad to hear you're writing me instructions, Ann...Lord knows I'll need it, greenhorn that I am!

Master Puppeteer Leaves the Stage

"...I learned from him that all is not foolishness in puppetry...that truly beautiful things are possible"

"Bill was one of the few people in our profession that truly deserved the title master puppeteer."

"Five generations of my family visited Kungsholm and Opera In Focus. Bill's dedication and love of making beautiful productions will live forever in our minds."

William B. Fosser has left the stage...

Commission Toy Theatre Update

Awhile back, I commissioned Ann Neff to build a traditional wooden toy theatre. I would have loved to have done it myself, but alas, I live in a wee apartment and no access to a shop.

I was thrilled when Ann accepted the job. She's been diligently working on the project as time has allowed, and recently began sharing some highlights of the experience of building a toy theatre, as well as some images of the theatre coming together...

March 28th - All right, progress continues. The orchestra piece is delightfully bowed, though I had to cut another orchestra piece and another floor to get it the way I wanted. (Don't worry, if we ever get the Reddington front, we will have all the pieces, "seconds", but usable.)

This last week has been dedicated to "glue trials". And I mean trials! The concept is that there is a luan plywood front (thin) which folds like the proscenium, to which you will paste the paper proscenium. The plan is to cover it with muslin, which makes the hinges, and gives you a good surface on which to glue. The luan will be sturdy, and easier to attach to the stage floor. I am "practicing", or perfecting the design, with a West paper proscenium that we had.

I was told to use wall paper paste. Didn't hold. The hardware store suggested starch(!) or kitchen and bath wallpaper paste. Yecch, still too easy to peal off. Then I tried wood glue. Too much glue, though it did hold. A fellow puppeteer tried some Grrrip she had on hand, which worked well, but we couldn't find it in stores. So I sent away for it, as well as small hinges. It was frustrating, day after day, waiting for tests to dry, only to find they didn't work! But we persevere.
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March 15th - I was able to work all day on the theatre, and tried out the latest scheme to hold the wooden pieces of the proscenium in the 3D position. Actually, I got the idea for a wooden tongue, on which the top piece sits, from the pictures of the rear of the Urania theatre that was recently offered on eBay. And it all went together! I used hinges on the lower uprights, the ones next to the inside of the opening, that attach to the angled upper piece. I works, but it fights. The next time (for yours) I will use a homemade "hasp" made from a mending plate. So the prototype worked.

While I am waiting for the Grrrip glue to arrive I am rasping out the bevels on the wooden pieces for the final proscenium (yours) that "fold" backwards. George made me a jig with a 1/4" opening at a 60 degree angle in which I insert the luan piece, tighten it up in the vise, and rasp away. It beats free-handing it with the rasp and sand paper.
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March 11th - I am please to report that your toy theatre/stage is well under way. I will send some pictures when the pieces go together. I've got all the parts done. The hardest part was conceptualizing the thing from the instructions I downloaded from your website.

Shadow Theatre Video

The Oregon Shadow Theatre are a wonderful group out west that produce and perform traditional and modern shadow theatre.

Check out their streaming video to see a wonderful sample of behind-the-scenes work...

A Peek into a Private Toy Theatre Exhibition

Last week I heard from Louis Heard, Pollock's Toyshop, about an exhibition they participated in...

Just thought I'd send you some photographs of our recent show in London. We were asked by Maynard Leigh, a business that uses theatre ideas in people development to show in their exhibition space over the Christmas period.

As the business was based in Leonard Street in the East End of London which is very close to where the original Pollocks toy theatre shop was and itself the address at which A.Park, a generation of toy theatre publishers were based in the mid 19th century.

This led me to do a pictorial history of the toy theatre publishers. I had to use a certain amount of artistic licence but it shows what a Londoncentric trade it was.

The exhibition was not open to the general public but we have been asked to do another forthcoming display at the Decorative Arts Fair in Battersea.

Shadow/Silouette Influences Oscar Nominee

There are so many incredibly talented people in the arts today. Some of them work in areas that touch toy theatre and puppetry in abstract ways, but still owe a solid debt to those that came before them.

Such is the work of Anthony Lucas, the man behind Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello.

Life Imitates Art

We all know the history of toy theatre being rooted in the real stage.

But did you know there is a play based on toy theatre?

Superbowl ad: Stop Motion Paper Puppets

I love this ad that premiered during a recent sports event; it's got imagination, wonder, and a lot of talent behind it. It incorporates puppetry, specifically paper/stop motion. It has a bit of shadow play in one part with a dragon. Just marvelous...

Professor Will

I really must say that I've been deeply impressed* by Professor Will, and his willingess to share his knowledge and experience with those of us that - I fully admit it - deeply need the help! I have yet to make any complete toy theatre setup, but dabble here and there. In the meantime, I have earmarked his blog as another great resource, and I encourage fellow toy enthusiasts to check him out...

* Who knew that a tabletop toy theatre was lurking in all those empty copier paper boxes at my office...?!

Royal Suitcase Theatre

The Royal Suitcase Theatre are actually two very talented people, Gérard Schiphorst and Marije van der Sande. The wordless performances, absurd and silly, are done using objects that most people don't ordinarily think of as props, let alone performers, but that make perfect sense when you fall under their spell...



The suitcase theatre, as you can see from this photo, is on a scale quite similar to the toy theatre.

Canadian Puppeteer Does Good

Drew MacDonald-Smith contacted me today about a contest he's in, soliciting my support in his efforts to win a chance to perform for a group he greatly admires. After viewing the three finalists' videos, of which Drew is one, I told him sure, they were a lot of fun. I encourage you to take a look, and vote for the person you like...I have to admit though, there is something about Drew's presentation I do like. It's got a sweetness to it, and made me really smile.

PuppetFest MidWest 2006

I just found out that PuppetFest MidWest has it's own blog now. It has up-to-date information they post periodically, leading up to the festival, all in this one convenient location.

The blog mentions the festival's Open Space, where anyone can demonstrate to provide exposure for their work in particular, or a genre in general - "Last year, we were treated to Ann and George Neff's toy theatre performance of The Cure - A Gothic Melodrama by Robert Poulter." Now THAT sounds fun!

Legacy

Gigi Sandberg has been sharing for some time about an ongoing project of hers to preserve her toy theatre collection for posterity.

After Hurricane Katrina, it reminded her how easily the material world can be gone at a moment's notice. Thus, Gigi has been working even more quickly to ensure the theatres a good and permanent (and safe) home. She has found it with the Puppetry Arts Institute.

Gigi says...

"...today we sent most of my collection to the Puppetry Arts Institute in Independence, Missouri where it will be on permanent exhibit after Feb.12 when we go there to help set it up (And celebrate my 80th birthday on the 13th!!!) I will miss my theatres.....but will rest easier knowing that they won't get wet in our next hurricane."

Toy Theatre on DVD

Recently on the toy theatre email group, it has been a matter of spirited and exciting discussion on how to get a good video record of toy theatre performances. Many ideas have been discussed and there's been much brainstorming. Now, the question is, can the momentum be built on towards an actual finished product?

Today I received an email from Gigi Sandberg touching on this subject...

I just received a letter from the Board of Trustees of Puppeteers of America thanking me for contributing 4 DVDs of Toy Theatre Performances to the Audio-visual Library...which had NOTHING on the subject to date and interest in it is growing so fast.

Here is what is on them: George Speight in probably his final performance of The Miller and His Men...Peter Baldwin doing Black Eye'd Susan at the International Toy Theatre Fest in Preez Germany in 2004...and Dirk Reimers at the same fest performs The Fairies's Island. On the second DVD, Barry Clarke does Blackbeard the Pirate...Joe Gladwin does Beauty and the Beast, Robert Poulter does 8 1/2 - History of Opera in 8 1/2 minutes - and Konjecture - a study of progress / Development / conflict...and Merry Margate. On the 3rd DVD Ted Hawkins in Blackpool England includes performance by Peter Baldwin, Pauline Venables, Peter and Sylvia Peasgood....and then a wonderful section of Ted's award-winning model theatre of the Boston Opera House...including a performance of Children in the Wood AND Brian Rogers does his incredible version of Around the World in Eighty Days...followed by a review of some of the tricks and how they are done.

Now, the catch to seeing these is that you have to be a PoA member; I think I shall have to seriously consider becoming a member now...!!

The New Automata Makers

Peter Meder is an amazing man. His website is one of my favorite stops on the Information Highway.

He's a descendent (figuratively speaking) of a long line of persons who for the rest of us might as well be magicians, because of the magic they seem to produce through the use of mechanics and technology. In Peter's instance, the emphasis is definitely on the latter - not that the former is not still a vital piece of the puzzle.

Peter is using modern technology to take the creation of automata one step further. The fellow in the picture is the product of this new process...

Toy Theatre 'Movie'

Harry Oudekerk has kindly shared a movie he made awhile back, which is a performance of Sleeping Beauty. Harry says that toy theater doesn't translate very well to the medium of film which likes closeups, not to mention capturing the lighting.

Another toy theatre enthusiast I had not heard from before, Eric Laws from New Orleans, shared with me today that he is in the process of "...working on film versions of toy theater performances that will eventually be available on DVD when complete." How exciting! Eric says he'll be posting a link to them on his website, the Seven Devils Parlor (which is an online storefront for a real world store he runs in New Orleans...) I can't wait to see the DVD, Eric.

Slipping Gently into the Night...

The survival of English toy theatre into the present age owes much to the enthusiasm and passion of George Speaight, who has died aged 91.

George Speaight left us on December 22, 2005. I encourage all enthusiasts to read this well-written obituary, a tribute to George by two other toy theatre enthusiasts...

Early Visual Media

An amazing website called Early Visual Media has come to my attention.

While it does not cover toy theatre per se, it does cover associated arts, and will likely be of interest to many toy theatre enthusiasts. I recommend it highly...

Homage to the Small Theatre

"J.B. Priestly wrote a play for the Toy Theatre and George Bernard Shaw wrote one for marionettes, while theatrical genius Gordon Craig wrote copiously in praise of the puppet..."

I discovered a website about a very special puppet theatre in the UK tonight. The shots of one performer manipulating a large marionette that in turn manipulates a smaller marionette is quite amazing to me!