Category: News

Fresh Ideas 2024 Call for Applications!

⏰ Applications are due APRIL 2!

June 1-2 at Puppetmongers Studio, Toronto

This annual mini-conference-and-festival showcases artists taking new and ground-breaking directions in puppetry. It is an event for exciting innovations and explorations, presentations, demonstrations and discussions, culminating in an evening cabaret of short fresh new performances. A stimulating event for everyone interested in current developments in puppetry.

If you are interested in presenting a talk, a discussion, a demonstration, a show & tell, or a short performance, either live of online, please contact Puppetmongers – email ann@puppetmongers.com

Fresh Ideas in Puppetry is officially accredited by UNIMA Canada, and supported by our wonderful donors and funders the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council.

📸 Photo from the 2022 Fresh Ideas in Puppetry conference from Teatr Fraktal, Poland

PXL Applications are Now Open!

The Puppetry eXploratory Laboratory program will be in-person, starting in February and running through to late May or early June 2024.

The application deadline is February 15th, 2024.
The materials & workshop fee is $300

What is PXL? A mentorship program for individual artists and/or small groups to work on projects in puppetry or that integrate puppetry into multi-media arts projects.

Puppetry is an art form that combines literature, music, mime, dance, drama, and the visual arts to make a sum greater than its parts. It is among the last great under-explored frontier of the arts! Our Puppetry eXploratory Laboratory (PXL) is modeled on the famous XPT program at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.

For full details and to apply to the program, visit the Toronto School of Puppetry website.

Winter & Spring 2024 Courses for Adult Learners

Dive deeper into the world of puppetry with these six Winter and Spring Courses for 2024!

N.B. If there is enough interest, we will also offer a BEYOND BASIC MARIONETTE course in winter/spring 2024 – please email us at school@puppetmongers.com if you want this.

Please note, registration deadlines are one week before each class begins.

LOW TECH VIDEO & SHADOW – with Tim Gosley in association with Theatre Inconnu

Two Sessions – February 4th and 11th, from 1 to 2:30 EST.

In person in BC – Enrollment $200
Or on-line – Enrollment $100

In the first of these two sessions, Tim demonstrates numerous simple and inexpensive techniques to create engaging live video and LED shadow imagery with your cell phone and other easily accessible equipment. Over the week between the sessions, you create an exploration that you present for the other participants either live or pre-recorded in the second session. Since 1980, Tim Gosley has enjoyed a career in television including with the Muppets and worked in live theatre exploring live video, LED shadows and other techniques. He lives in Victoria, BC and is currently waiting to hear if a Toronto TV pilot is going to air.

PUPPETEERING FOR TV – with Frank Meschkuleit

In person at Puppetmonger’s Studio, on February – 18th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Enrollment $125

This one-day intensive will help the budding puppeteer or experienced manipulator elevate their craft. Viewed through the lens of the camera, puppetry takes on an exciting, personal dynamic- as well as presenting many challenges! Join 40 year veteran Frank Meschkuleit, with credits including “Fraggle Rock”, for an intensive day of Fun! For over 40 years, Frank has been one of Canada’s most sought-after puppeteers. Experienced in film, tv, stage, and commercial puppet manipulation, Frank welcomes the opportunity to share the lessons and insights learned from working with Jim Henson’s Muppets, to his live adult puppet shows which have sold out runs across Canada.

MASK MAKING – with David Powell

In person at Puppetmonger’s Studio, March 3rd, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Enrollment $125

Learn how to create light-weight, flexible, long-lasting masks from Bristol board, masking tape and acrylic paint. This unusual technique, devised by David, turns a flat surface into a three-dimensional object – a skill that can be adapted to make many other things… including puppet heads. David Powell is a founding member of Puppetmongers Theatre and the Toronto School of Puppetry. He has led workshops on many-many puppetry techniques and made masks for quite a few theatre and dance companies, and for several Puppetmonger Theatre productions.

SIMPLE WOODEN PUPPETS – with John and Kathy Nolan of Rag & Bone Theatre

On-line, April 14th, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. EST. Enrollment $60

From kid’s workshops to professional collaborations, we love to make puppets out of wood. This workshop will take participants through some of our favorite processes, including ways to find faces in random shapes that are then glued together, using appliquéd fabric and paper for features and costumes, and adding handles.

LISTEN UP- On-line with John Nolan of Rag & Bone Theatre

April 21st, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. EST. Enrollment $60

Good sound is essential but often overlooked. We’ll talk about ways to arrange your space for less echo, fewer extraneous noises, and more clarity; options for mic placement; choosing mics and recording equipment; processing and editing techniques; and places to find sound effects and music. With John Nolan of Rag & Bone Theatre.

Ottawa based John Nolan and Kathy MacLellan, of UNIMA award winning Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre, have created, produced, and toured over 20 shows and collaborated with other companies on many more. We’ve also taught many workshops for all ages on making puppets out of wood. https://ragandbone.ca

PUPPET FILM MAKING! – with Robin Pulfus of RoRo Arts

Three sessions: May 5th 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in-person at Puppetmonger’s Studio, and then May 12th online, with a.m. and p.m. sessions. Enrollment $220

Planning, Shooting and Editing; How to Make Movies with Puppets. Learn the ins and outs of making movies with puppetry, from story boarding to editing – by DOING IT! The first Sunday is in-person, there will be some homework during the week, the second Sunday will be online, and you’ll make a short puppet film!

Robin is a whimsical storyteller, puppet builder and performer at festivals and events. She makes short films, organizes online and in-person Puppet Slams, and teaches puppet building & performing workshops. RoRo Art is her toy-making business, and Puppet What What is the irrepressible sock puppet who bosses her around. www.youtube.com@sockpuppety

Tickets now on sale for Foolish Tales!

Puppetmongers proudly presents Foolish Tales in Foolish Times at their studio at Dundas and Carlaw this December for the whole family!

Four classic tales of misadventure are combined to take the audience on a journey of venerable folk wisdom, in a celebration of our shared humanity.

Join us this December 26-30 at 2pm, and December 28 at 7pm for a show that is guaranteed to please the young and young-at-heart alike, aged 4 to 104!

Watch the Trailer!

Fall 2023 Courses for Adult Learners

Take a course with Puppetmongers this fall to begin your puppetry journey, or to hone your skills as a puppeteer.

Please note, registration deadlines are one week before each class begins.

Marionette Basics with Ann Powell & David Powell of Puppetmongers Theatre

November 5^thfrom 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $125 registration

Marionettes, or String Puppets, move and work quite differently from other types of puppet. Their unique relationship to gravity, and the balance of tension and weight created in their construction gives them a very special character. In this introductory workshop, each participant will create a simple cloth marionette, with just a few well placed strings, and with an emphasis on experimentation, discover how to animate it. N.B. If there is enough interest, we will also offer a Beyond Basics Marionette course in winter/spring 2024.

Shadow Puppetry with David Powell of Puppetmongers Theatre

November 12^th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $125 registration.

There is something mesmerizing about shadows. With the animator hidden, the audience’s eyes are drawn into the action on the screen, much as we are now seduced by computer and movie screens. Creating a shadow puppet play is like making a “live movie” for a live audience. This workshop will immerse the participants in contemporary shadow puppetry methods and technology, and visit the living traditions of shadow puppetry around the world. Participants will design and build their own shadow puppets, explore animation techniques and light sources, and then work together to develop short shadow skits.

Toy Theatre with Ann Powell Puppetmongers Theatre

November 19^th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $125 registration

\At first glance looking like a set and costume designer’s scale model, a Toy Theatre is a complete theatre in miniature, with little puppet actors manipulated by rods from above or beside the stage, with scenery that rolls, folds or flies, and all kinds of wonderful theatrical surprises. In this workshop, participants will each transform an ordinary cardboard box into magnificent miniature theatre, complete with little puppet actors, and discover the possibilities of scenic effects – perspective and scale, pop-up scenery and scenic vistas, trap doors and moving dioramas to name a few.

Teach Your Puppet to Act with Ann Powell & David Powell of Puppetmongers Theatre

November 26^thfrom 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $125 registration

Puppets should act believably, just as actors do. What is the character feeling? What do they want? Why are they doing that? Bringing acting to your puppetry means creating a discernable inner life for your character. The audience should be able to see its feelings, understand its thoughts, and relate to the goals that it has from one moment to the next within a scene. Teach Your Puppets to Act will give puppeteers the basics of acting – from breath to movement to script analysis – so that your puppets can engage the attention of your audience and keep them with you all the way from “lights up” to “curtain”.

The Rain Bride

A Ritual Puppet Workshop led by Afsaneh Zamani

A workshop performance for adults and youth 14 +

Date: October 22nd, at 3:00 p.m.
Location: Puppetmongers Studio (Carlaw and Dundas East)
Duration: 30-40 Minutes
Tickets: $15
Reservations only please – no walk-ups

Description:

“The Rain Bride” is a rain ritual from west Iran, traditionally performed with puppets, based on latent themes of femininity and fertility. During drought, young women build a wooden cross and adorn it with colourful fabrics to make it look like a young woman whom they call “The Rain Bride.” Afterwards, they walk her through the town, singing and encouraging onlookers to give money and food to the bride as an offering for her holy marriage to Heaven.

This workshop performance is the first development phase of an immersive project in which participants will take part in a journey to create their own” Rain Bride” and share food. Please bring some food, such as fruits and snacks, as the offering.

Afsaneh Zamani is an award-winning theatre director, puppeteer and performer. She has created and performed numerous interactive theatre and puppetry works focusing on rituals and folk stories. She has performed in international festivals across Asia, Europe and North America and received acclaimed international awards. She has experience being a board member of Mubarak UNIMA (the Iranian branch of UNIMA). “The Rain Bride” is her new project, exploring puppetry and recreating rituals.

OAC Recommender Grants 2023

Puppetmongers is accredited as a Recommending Company for the

Ontario Arts Council’s Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators 2023-24

We have a total of $5,000 to divide between all worthy projects

All applications are now online! Deadline is October 26, 2023 at 1 pm ET

CLICK HERE for the full guidelines and application form

Puppetmongers is seeking applications from artists who wish to develop puppetry projects. Our priorities and areas of interest are:

The development of theatrical work with puppetry
The integration of puppetry into theatre productions
The creation of new forms of puppetry and new theatrical uses of puppetry
The nurturing of professional, mid-career, new-generation, and culturally diverse artists

Projects may be at any stage of development prior to production or workshop production. These small grants are particularly suited to helping artists with the earliest phases of creation, the development of ideas, the building of a creative team etc.

We have a total of $5,000 to assign between all successful applications, thus the grants we can recommend range from a minimum of $1,000 to the unlikely maximum of $3,000. In previous years, our recommendations have tended to be on the lower end, in order to spread the support over a few projects. We are curious and excited to see what the artistic community has percolating, and extremely grateful to the Ontario Arts Council for their increased support of puppetry.

Deadline for applications is 1 p.m. ET on October 26, 2023. We strongly recommend that you submit your application at least by the day before this deadline, to avoid technical glitches.

Application Info:

Before you apply, note that we request that submissions include a budget and a short bio for all participants in their support material. NOTE: We do not wish to receive script samples but do want ideas in the form of sketches, influences, photos… which can be included as stills or video in the Audio/Visual link.

These small Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators are to provide time in which to explore, experiment, and develop an idea in its infancy, and the why, what and how of the puppetry of it. This is not a grant to write or finish a script; it is not a grant to build already-designed puppets; or to complete a show for performance bookings.

With puppetry being such a visual artform, we don’t find script samples useful in helping us get a feel for your proposed project: so please attach in your application any images, inspirations and influences; sketches and storyboards; any mock-ups of puppetry and performance ideas – anything that would give us insight into how puppetry is to be incorporated into your plans. We do not want scripts!

All applicants must meet the criteria requirements of the Ontario Arts Council.

For more information on Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators, and to access the full guidelines and the application form:

OAC’s List of Recommenders

Puppetmongers are shortlisted for Toronto Arts Foundation Award

Puppetmongers shortlisted for the Margo Bindhard and Rita Davies Award

The Margo Bindhard and Rita Davies Award celebrates an individual artist, creator, volunteer or administrator who has demonstrated creative cultural leadership in the development of arts and culture in Toronto.

Ann and David Powell have been shortlisted for the award, along with D. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor and Naomi Johnson. The Puppetmongers are grateful to be among this incredible group of finalists.

The recipient of the Margo Bindhardt and Rita Davies Award will be announced on April 17, 2023.

Toronto School of Puppetry is featured in Artist Weekly!

Toronto School of Puppetry is Fostering Puppetry Culture and Creativity Across the Globe

Puppetry is a long-respected art form that has captivated audiences for centuries.

From shadow puppets and hand puppets to marionettes and rod puppets to the much more modern iteration seen on iconic television shows, the art of puppetry has a rich history and has evolved into a modern art form that is practiced and admired all over the world.

Indeed, in the heart of Toronto, the art of puppetry is still a much-celebrated mix of tradition and entertainment. Ann Powell and David Powell have entertained audiences for years with their spectacular shows. Patrons flock from all over the world to watch the company’s productions, as well as their unique educational courses.

As the co-artistic directors of Puppetmongers and founders of the Toronto School of Puppetry, they are dedicated to building and strengthening puppetry culture in both Canada and the United States through sharing skills and techniques.

For over two and a half decades, the pair has been delighting crowds with their puppetry performances at the Puppetmongers Theatre since 1995. However, what may come as a surprise to many is that after their shows conclude, the duo shifts gears to become educators at the Toronto School of Puppetry.

Read the full article on Artist Weekly.

New Classes Announced for Families & Adults!

New This Season! 3 Workshops for Families

Puppetmongers announce that they are offering 3 new workshops for families. Two during March Break and one in May, all workshops are certain to be fun for the whole family!

Paper Theatre Making with Ann Powell & David Powell
Shadow Puppetry with David Powell & Ann Powell
FREE YOUR INNER MONSTER! with Jamie Shannon

Check out our SEASON page for more information and to sign up.

10 Workshops for Adults!

The Toronto School of Puppetry has just announced 10 new puppetry workshops for adults, that cover a variety of puppetry topics.

The workshops run from mid-February to the end of May. Check out the School of Puppetry website for more info and to register.

February 12 & 19 – Beyond Basics Marionettes – Ann Powell & David Powell
February 25 – Low-tech Shadow & Video Performance – Tim Gosley
February 26 – Signs of Life – Shawna Reiter
March 25 – Puppet Playwriting – Kathy MacLellan & John Nolan
March 26 – Puppets Beyond Words – Mike Petersen
April 2 – Object Puppetry – Alexandra Montagnese
April 23 – Actor Training Through Puppetry – Brendan McMurtry-Howlett
April 30 – Make a Halogen Lamp for Shadow Work – David Powell
May 14 – The Art of the Solo Puppet Show – Mike Harding
May 26, 27 & 28 – Advanced Papier-mâché for Puppets – David Lane

Don’t miss this opportunity to study with some of the greatest puppeteers from the city, and beyond!