I’m trying out some ideas for a Youth Arts Arise class at Arts in the Armory in Somerville. We’ll make heads with small styrofoam balls, then style hair, clothes and jewelry for the outfit that makes the puppet. The schedule will be posted soon at artsatthearmory.org/
We created characters, tied green fabric into a beanstalk, and got the story going at Arts Discovery Week in August. At some point the beanstalk became horizontal — oops!
Mr. Badger flies off to help the fairies build a playground. Then it gets complicated: the fairies won’t use cement, and Mr. Badger wants to learn to fly. Best for ages 3 to 10.
I perform this fairy story with multicultural fairy puppets because I’ve found fairy stories from every continent. Arlington artist Sandra Pastrana helped make the fairies and sets; Alison Plante of Berklee School of Music created lilting music based on Celtic melodies.
Come for the show; stay for puppet-play and coffee!
Tickets $7; 3 for $20 at the door.
February 4, 2017 at 2pm, Arlington Center for the Arts, 41 Foster Street
Join Dream Tale Puppets for a joyous romp through the classic tale of poor Jack, the cow and the magic beans. Dream Tale Puppets director Jacek Zuzanski creates the story with physical comedy, hand puppets, masks and a marionette. Margaret Moody provides narration and voices for the production.
Stay after the show to create your own hat or mask with paper strips. (This mini-workshop is included with admission.) Tickets are $7, available at jack-and-the-beanstalk-tickets.eventbrite.com
Dream Tale Puppets was founded in 2003 at the Cape Cod Children’s Museum and now includes actors, puppeteers and visual artists who enjoy working with both traditional and innovative styles of puppetry. Troupe director Jacek Zuzanski is a theatre artist and acting teacher with over 30 years experience in Poland and the US. He earned his MFA from the Ludwik Solski State Theatre School.
Puppeteer and voice actress Margaret Moody loves old stories and the characters that inhabit them. She studied traditional Taiwanese puppetry with the I Wan Jan Puppet Troupe in Taiwan, and often uses its choreography and small puppets in her work with Galapagos Puppets and as a solo artist.
I’ll perform “Cow and Mouse’s Picnic” at Arlington Center for the Arts today at 2 as planned. Please join me if the weather doesn’t get in your way. Safety first, always. Stay to play with puppets and have some coffee or tea! Tickets $7 at the door.
Arlington Center for the Arts is at 41 Foster Street in Arlington and has ample parking.
At “Making Puppets Together” on December 3 I had the fun of watching parents make puppets along with their children. Lots of look-alike puppets, a family dog, and some robots, too. When I asked to take photos of puppets only for privacy reasons, the kids, moms and dads immediately dropped to the floor and held their puppets up high. They’ve drilled a “best practice” for photo privacy.
Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 2 pm
Make your own puppet character and start expressing its personality in this 1 1/2 hour workshop at Arlington Center for the Arts. We’ll use prepared felt puppets and then add paper and cloth features to make lively, sweet, snarky, amazing characters. Children 5 and under should be accompanied by a parent, who is welcome to make a puppet too. Best for ages 4 and up.
Tickets are $5.
This workshop is limited to 25 people. Please reserve your spot through Eventbrite.
Directions: http://www.acarts.org/hours-directions
Mama Leopard gets what she wants by frightening smaller animals — until Rabbit turns the tables on her with the help of her son and the jungle’s two largest beasts, Elephant and Rhinoceros. Leopard learns that cooperating with friends works better than bullying. Maggie Whalen performs this story with stunning puppets she built of fabric and paper mache. “Leopard Learns a Lesson” is based on a Malawi folktale and features original music by Alison Plante. Come for the show, stay to make your own animal puppet and enjoy puppet-play. Best for ages 4 and up.
Maggie Whalen is the creator of Magpie Puppets, a one-woman puppet theater based in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She has been creating and performing puppet shows for children since 1969. In addition to performing, Maggie builds customized puppets for theater and film and has taught puppet-making workshops at schools, community centers, and at Club Med Mini-Clubs in the Caribbean. She is featured on the PBS Curious George show in the Sock Monkey Opera episode.
Saturday, February 6 at 11am & 2pm
Arlington Center for the Arts, 41 Foster Street
Tickets $7, 3 for $20, cash or check at the door
Welcome the Year of the Monkey with a story about the Monkey King himself. In this episode of the epic Journey to the West Monkey is thrilled to have a job in the heavens. But when he is left out of the Jade Emperor’s banquet, he flies off to make mischief in the banquet hall and in Lao-tse’s studio. Margaret Moody performs the story with acrobatic Taiwanese puppets. Stay after the show to dance with a lucky lion and try out traditional hand puppets! Best for ages 4 and up.
If you’d like to reserve tickets, email Margaret at [email protected] or call (781)643-1228.
