All posts by Margaret Moody

News & Events

Goldilocks opens the Arlington series. . . and the bears’ house

The porridge is too hot, so the bears go for a walk. Plucky Goldilocks walks right into their house, forgetting her manners altogether.

Please join Maggie Whalen of Magpie Puppets as she opens a lovely and lively new version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” She’ll perform it as a “tabletop” show, so that she is on-stage with her hand-made puppets. Maggie’s website tells more: http://magpiepuppets.com/
The show will be on Saturday, December 10th at 2 pm, the first in the Arlington Center for the Arts series this winter. Tickets are $5, and I can hold a limited number if you e-mail [email protected] before Friday, December 9th. Please come for the show and stay for coffee and puppet-play afterwards. Parking onsite. Directions: http://acarts.org/directions.php
News & Events

Almost spring!

Soon we’ll be able to dig in the warm earth and see beautiful flowers. (I believe it, really!) My puppets are starting early. Please join us for “Badger Meets the Fairies” on Saturday, March 12th at 2 pm at:

Arlington Center for the Arts theater
41 Foster Street
Arlington 02474
And please stay afterwards to make simple puppets from paper and cardboard, play with puppets, and enjoy some coffee or tea.
Tickets are $5, available at the door beginning at 1:30. We’ll also hold up to twenty tickets (total) if you e-mail me at [email protected] by Friday, March 11th.
News & Events


Please come welcome the Year of the Rabbit at Arlington Center for the Arts on Saturday, February 12th. I will perform “Monkey Wreaks Havoc in Heaven”, an episode of the Chinese epic Journey to the West. The magical monkey flies to the Heavens and takes a job in the Jade Emperor’s peach garden. But when the monkey is snubbed by other gods and goddesses, he sneaks into a banquet hall and eats the preparation for the New Year’s celebration. And that’s just the beginning of the trouble.

The show starts at 2 pm at the ACA theater, 41 Foster Street, in Arlington. (directions:http://acarts.org/directions.php). Tickets are $5. Please come for the show and stay for coffee and puppet play afterwards.
We can save up to 20 tickets in advance. If you would like to have tickets saved for you, please e-mail [email protected] before Friday, February 11th. We’ll save the tickets until 2:45 on the day of the show.
News & Events

trolls on puppet TV


I worked on “The Trolls and the Tree” in the hottest part of this summer. The show opened August 13th at the West End Branch Library in Boston. For three weeks before that, I kept the stage up in my living room because my upstairs studio was too hot. I got more work done, too, because the stage was always right there, begging for attention.

In “The Trolls and the Tree”, trolls Skimpa and Blompa garden-sit for woodland fairies for a week. They move their TV in and watch a shopping show. Will Adams-Keane, a college student of many talents, filmed a nice little shopping episode, edited it, and added music. See the result on this page. Audiences and the trolls see the video through a digital photo frame, mounted on the stage. For the first show, Will and I pieced together bird and car sound effects and terrific fairy music from Alison Plante. Then, in September, Alison and I had time to work on a more complete sound track. Now the show has original, evocative music from Alison, a video segment, and a toaster that makes troll toast.
Puppetry events in Boston this fall include the “Incubator” at the Puppet Showplace in Brookline. Every other Tuesday puppeteers meet to advise and inspire each other. Schedule: puppetshowplace.org.
Also, renowned puppet artist Basil Twist will present “Petruschka” Nov. 11 to 21 through Arts Emerson and Celebrity Series. see artsemerson.org
News & Events

going green, slowly

From Margaret:
After a busy fall and winter, I have studio time again. It seems like every puppet needs fixing! This cat is getting improved eyes and whiskers.

And slowly, I am working on a show called “The Trolls and the Tree.” In it, Swedish trolls Blompa and Skimpa agree to take care of the fairies’ garden while the fairies are away. But they don’t take care of it. They bring in their satellite dish, and pull up a tree that they think takes up too much space. Without the tree, there are no birds, and it’s really hot in the garden. Can the trolls bring the tree back? What will the fairies do? Can trolls go green?
April 24th was the National Day of Puppetry. With 12 other members of the Boston Area Guild of Puppetry, I went on a puppet parade through downtown Boston. We took our puppets on the T from Brookline to the Children’s Museum, and then back on the T to the Common and the Public Garden. Our puppets met a lot of people! If you love puppets, please check out the Guild: www.bagop.org
Madeleine, who represents Galapagos Puppets in New Jersey, has just performed “Esther’s Story”, made from diaries her aunt kept in Germany during the Holocaust. And now she is in the middle of finals in graduate school.
News & Events

Spring Show at Arlington Center for the Arts


Welcome spring with a trip to the fairies’ blooming garden. Margaret will perform “Badger Meets the Fairies” on March 21st at 2 pm, Arlington Center for the Arts, 41 Foster Street, Arlington MA. Tickets are $5. Please stay for puppet-play and coffee after the show.

Shows

Badger Meets the Fairies

Mr. Badger is thrilled to meet Blossom, a flower fairy, in the garden. He flies away with her to help the fairies build a playground. But then it’s complicated: the fairies won’t use cement; and Mr. Badger wants to learn to fly. This gentle tale is based on European fairy lore.“Badger Meets the Fairies” is best for ages 4 to 10, and lasts 40 minutes.

Puppets, sets and music work together in the show to evoke a woodland garden. Fairy puppets and sets for their garden were built by visual artist Sandra Pastrana and Margaret Moody. Alison Plante of Berklee School of Music composed original music for the piece based on Celtic melodies. If you see Margaret perform as a solo artist, you will hear Alison’s melodies.

Recently, Arlington artists Peter Lehman and Ann Wynne have accompanied “Badger Meets the Fairies” on mandolin and percussion. Peter, founder of the musical groups C#minor7 and Foggy Mountain Consort, plays a lively variety of New England fiddle tunes for the fairies and Mr. Badger. Here’s a clip of “Badger Meets the Fairies” accompanied by Ann and Peter at Old Schwamb Mill in Arlington:

Shows

Monkey Makes Mischief in Heaven

The Chinese Monkey King soars into the heavens and delights in his new job in the Heavenly Peach Garden. But when he discovers he has been left out of the Jade Emperor’s Peach Blossom Banquet, Monkey flies off to make mischief in the Heavens. This lively episode of the Chinese epic Journey to the West features traditional hand puppets and choreography which I studied with the I Wan Jan Traditional Hand Puppet Troupe in Taiwan (亦宛然掌中劇團）. The show is best for ages five and up.

More about Bu Dai Xi puppetry and Monkey King:

An article I wrote for the Fall 2020 edition of “Puppetry International”:  PI-48-TaiwanPuppets

And a video interview by Mark Dannenhauer:

Monkey Makes Mischief in Heaven
The Nectarine Queen will be making an appearance in Monkey Makes Mischief.

About, Home, News & Events, Shows

The Trolls and the Tree

The trolls want to take good care of the fairies’ garden, but they also want a LOT of stuff. When there’s not enough space for their breakfast nook, what should they keep — their deluxe toaster or the fairies’ cherished tree?

Nature-based educator Ann Wynne, stringed instrument virtuoso Peter Lehman and I have enjoyed building this interactive show together, rehearsal by rehearsal. Children are invited to talk to the trolls, fairies and animals that live in the garden, and they’ve given the trolls good advice about what’s most important in a garden.

Because this show is performed by two puppeteers and a musician, our fee is $600 instead of the usual $250 for solo shows. Best for ages 4 through 10.

“The Trolls and the Tree” opened in June 2022 and has been performed in libraries, preschools and outdoor centers in Arlington, Fall River and Lexington.

THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS AND SPONSORS! The Trolls and the Tree has been produced with the generous support of the Arlington Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Our show in Fall River has been generously supported by a grant from the Fall River Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

!

 

 

 

 

News & Events

Come in From the Cold!

Please join Margaret Moody for puppet shows in Arlington. The shows last around 40 minutes and we hope you’ll stay for coffee and puppet-play afterwards.

“Cow and Mouse’s Picnic” and “Mathilda’s Bath,” two lighthearted shows for children 4 to 7, and their families. Saturday, January 16th, 2 p.m. at Arlington Center for the Arts, 41 Foster Street, Arlington, 02474.
Tickets are $5.

Two more dates in the series:
Sunday, February 7th, 2 p.m. “Trolls in the Kitchen”
Sloppy, raucous trolls move into Trinka’s kitchen. Best for ages 4 to 10.

Sunday, March 21st, 2 p.m. “Badger Meets the Fairies”
Gentle Mr. Badger flies away to help the fairies. Best for ages 4 to adult.

Other public shows coming up:
February 3 and 4, “Badger Meets the Fairies”, 10:30 a.m.
Puppet Showplace Theater, Brookline, MA

February 10, 5 p.m., “Monkey Wreaks Havoc in Heaven”, 5 p.m.
Robbins Library, Arlington MA