2017 World of Puppetry Exhibit ArtServe Puppet Guild of South Florida Puppet Network Simply Puppets
Welcome to the World of Puppetry Exhibit! Every year in March the international puppet community dedicates a day to celebrate itself. Exhibits, shows, workshops, and parades explode all around the world to educate the public and display the exuberance of this ancient and modern art. The Puppet Guild of South Florida is pleased to present its annual World of Puppetry Exhibit. We hope you enjoy this display of custom, hand made, performance tested puppets.
Please return this copy of our walking tour to the container where you picked it up. If you take it home, you’ll only throw it away later. By allowing it to be reused by other visitors, you are supporting the reuse initiative! If you would like to have your own copy, please send an email (contact information on the last page) and a PDF copy will be sent to you promptly.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 2
Puppetry begins not with a puppet, but with a story.
Puppetry is an ancient art practiced in many places simultaneously. Where was the first puppet made? When? Why? It’s impossible to tell. One can imagine an evening in a tented community, with the firelight inside the tent casting shadows on the walls. A passerby sees the shadows and reads the story of what is going on inside. Maybe a child’s toy is held up and made to speak. Perhaps a shaman uses some puppet-like object to make a point, or predict the future, or explain something that recently happened. We don’t know. Now puppets are everywhere! In the theaters, in films, on television, in schools, museums, libraries, and our homes. But what is a puppet? Bil Baird, a famous American puppeteer wrote in his book ‘The Art of the Puppet’ (pg.13), that: “A puppet is an inanimate figure that is made to move by human effort before an audience.” George Latshaw, another influential puppeteer (who lived in Florida), author of ‘The Complete Book of Puppetry’ (pg.43) writes: “A puppet can be any object that is animated by human control.” Helen Binyon, an English puppeteer and educator writes in ‘Puppetry Today’ (pg.7) that: “A puppet is a man-made actor - an inanimate object to which human beings have found a means of giving an appearance of life.”
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 3
When we talk puppets during Guild meetings and events, we use three working definitions of “What is a puppet?”: 1. A puppet is an inanimate object. It is not alive. It can be anything; a very lifelike carved and jointed sculpture, a broomstick with eyes, a piece of driftwood on strings, or anything else, just as long as it is not alive. 2. A puppet is an inanimate object that is manipulated to have the appearance of being alive. The manipulator of the object is defined as the puppeteer. Today this includes not only puppets where the puppeteer’s hand is directly on, in, or attached to the puppet, but also those objects that can be manipulated electronically, remotely, programatically or even moved minutely and recorded frame by frame (stop motion film). 3. A puppet is used in some way to communicate an idea, story, or message. It is the third rule that differentiates an inanimate moving object such as a factory robot, a child’s doll, or a drone aircraft from the puppets that are on display here in our exhibit. This exhibit features puppets, puppet stages, books and ephemera that have been used by or collected by local puppeteers. You are viewing objects as both artistic objects and as tools used by puppeteers and storytellers. Within the definition of what is a puppet, there are subsets of different types of puppets. See if you can find an example of all of these different types within the Exhibit. (hint - we do not have them all!) Animatronic Body Suits/Walkabouts Cable-controlled puppet Computer-generated Puppet Finger Puppet Hand and Glove Puppet Hand and Rod Puppet Hand Puppet Humanette Hydraulic puppet Jumping Jack Junk Puppet (Found Object)
Marionette (String Puppet) Motion Capture Puppet / Digital-Monkey Paddle Puppet Pneumatic (air-controlled) puppet Pop-up Puppet Radio-controlled puppet Rod Puppet and Bunraku Shadow Puppet Stop-action Puppet Ventriloquist Figure Waldo-input Computer Puppet
(Source - http://www.puppetstudio.com/What.html ) A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 4
1. As you enter, directly in front of you, are 3 hand puppets made by Jero Magon. Magon was an American artist, puppeteer, author, teacher, and a founding member of The Puppet Guild of Greater Miami (which later became The Puppet Guild of South Florida - PGSF). One of his students, Paul Winchell, was also a very successful puppeteer. Winchell is known for his ventriloquist puppets, the most famous being Jerry Mahoney, named after his teacher, Jero Magon. [ Estate of Virginia A. Johnston ] 1960’s a. The puppets on display are from his production of “King Solomon’s Secret”. b. The portrait on the left is by another of Magon’s students, representing Magon at work. c. The print on the right is also by Magon.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 5
2. Turn around and look to the right of the doorway to see the original charter from The Puppeteers of America​, creating the Puppet Guild of Greater Miami. Jero Magon’s name is there, along with the other founding members. [ Puppet Guild of South Florida ] 1964
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 6
3. The framed poster is from the ​1980 Smithsonian puppet festival​. Look on the back to see some of the puppeteers who were presenters at this historic fest. [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1980
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 7
4. To the left of the doorway, mounted on the wall are 6 humanette puppets. These puppets were built by Nat Norbert. [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1960’s a. On the right, Man and Woman.
b. To the left 4 humanettes representing the Beatles. These were revealed at the end of Nat’s show with audience members wearing the puppets and strumming the toy guitars while recorded Beatles music played from backstage.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 8
5. Between the humanettes, on the stand, is a hand puppet of a dainty, charming mouse. This puppet was built by Pepe Carril, a well known Cuban puppeteer who arrived in Florida on the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1980’s
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 9
6. Next is a puppet booth and a collection of Punch and Judy puppets. Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular, and usually very violent puppet show featuring Pulcinella (Mr. Punch) and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character (who usually falls victim to Mr. Punch's club). It is often associated with traditional British seaside culture. The various episodes of Punch and Judy are performed in the spirit of outrageous comedy — often provoking shocked laughter — and are dominated by the clowning of Mr. Punch. (Wikipedia) [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1980’s
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 10
7. On the stand to the left of the booth is a Punch made by Das Puppenspiel, from Upstate NY. [Collection of Jim Hammond] 1970’s
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 11
8. The next group of puppets are marionettes by Danny Baker. Baker and his wife Margie Asbury performed in Chicago in the 1960’s. They are represented here by 2 of their marionettes. [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1960’s a. Elephant b. Elephant Trainer
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 12
9. Mounted on the wall is Pablo Cube, a hand puppet TV personality created by Jim Hammond. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 2015
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 13
10. The shadow puppet Rat, is designed by Julie Taymor and is from ‘The Haggadah, a Passover Cantata’. Joseph Papp Theater, NY. [ Collection of Shana Zingman ] 1981
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 14
11. The next marionette vignette features puppets created by Das Puppenspiel. The Old Man, Blanket (as backdrop), and Fairy Toadstool Ring, were part of an educational program called “Bones to Bunraku”. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 1970’s
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 15
12. The three marionetes shown next are all created by Florida puppeteer Charles Joss. [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1970’s a. Blonde Belly Dancer b. Artist c. Singer
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 16
13. In the next booth is the cast from a Bil Baird puppet show called “The Magic Onion”. Baird wrote this show for an article in a 1961 Woman’s Day magazine article. He included suggested designs for the puppets, stage and props. In this display are some duplicate puppets of The Magician and The Croakers, showing that there is considerable latitude for puppeteers creating and recreating the characters and puppet types (hand and rod) in their shows. [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1980’s
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 17
14. Around the sides and top of this puppet booth are 7 masks. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] a. The masks on either side were used in Puppet Network’s production of ‘Snow White’ for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. 2008
b. The mask at the top of the stage is an authentic leather commedia dell'arte mask representing Punchinella. 1990
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 18
15. In the corner is a ​parade puppet​ representing Dr. Sistrunk and some of the babies he delivered. These puppets are the result of a collaboration between Jim Hammond, Emily Holtzheuser and Sonia Matthews. They are featured in the annual parade in Fort Lauderdale honoring Dr. Sistrunk. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 2016
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 19
16. On the table to the left of Dr. Sistrunk are 8 Asian puppets. The are from from Indonesia (Wayang Golek), China, and Burma (Yoke thé). [ Collection of David Goboff ] 1970 - 1990
17. The print on wall represents a Chinese Shadow Puppet, by Jero Magon. [ Estate of Virginia A. Johnston ] 1970’s
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 20
18. Next are 2 puppets that are made from non-traditional and found objects. The objects, sand pails and swimming goggles, relate to the production as things you’d find on a beach. They are live hand puppets. You hold the puppet in front of your body with one hand, and slip you other hand into the arm & glove. With this method the puppet can grasp and pick up objects. The second hand is moved in opposition to the first through a length of fishing line that runs between both hands and through a pulley or loop attached under the puppet’s chin. These puppets are from Simply Puppet’s original production called “More Precious Than Gold”. [ Collection of David Goboff ] 2003
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 21
19. The puppets in the next group are hand with moving mouth puppets from the Tiki Show produced by Puppet Network. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 2010
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 22
20. The colorful collection of Fish and Squid are from Michelee Puppets’ show “Rescue of Ruby Reef”. They are hand puppets, some with moving mouths. They are build out of thin foam cut to a pattern and glued together. [ Michelee Puppets http://micheleepuppets.org/ ] 2007 a. The large Grouper fish has a moving mouth that is operated through a cable system, similar to the handbrake on a bicycle.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 23
21. The next 2 puppets, Dog and Cat, are ​live hand / bunraku puppets​. They are different in that they require 2 people to manipulate each of them. One operator controls the head and arm, while the 2nd controls the other arm. These puppets were constructed for a pilot television show in Boston. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 2002
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 24
22. The collection of 4 Muppet style hand puppets belongs to Michelee Puppets. Originally used at Disney World, they were donated to Michelee Puppets where they were stripped down to their foam bones, re-costumed, and made into the stars of “The Extreme Health Challenge”, a gameshow format production that has toured to literally thousands of Florida elementary school students. [ Michelee Puppets http://micheleepuppets.org/ ] 2003
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 25
23. The 2 large puppets on the right side of the screen are Indian giant shadow puppets. These authentic puppets are made from animal skin (probably oxen). [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 1960’s 24. The shadow puppets on the left side of the screen, and under the display were made by Jero Magon. [ Estate of Virginia A. Johnston ] 1960’s
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 26
25. The tabletop puppet shown next is from Puppet Network’s show “Light as Water” . It was produced in collaboration with Teatro Prometeo for the 2014 Miami Book Fair International. Sponsored by the Knight Foundation. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 2014
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 27
26. The two chairs, Chuck and Bebe, were designed by Jim Hammond and constructed by Ronni Gerstel for a ​television commercial for Boca Bargoons, a national chain of stores selling high end decorative fabrics. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 2012
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 28
27. Inside the reading nook you can browse through puppetry books and magazines. 28. The two hand puppets outside the reading nook are made by a Venetian puppet maker. [ Collection of Puppet Network ] 1998
29. Under the case is a sample of some of the many puppetry books in and out of print. [ Judith Schwab and Carol Cheyne - PGSF members ]
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 29
30. 3 Rajasthani style dance costume heads. They were used in a show about the origins of Flamenco. They represented the migrations of the the gypsies out of India and west into Europe. [ Collection of Damaris Ferrer ] 1996
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 30
31. Photographs - These photographs were taken and printed by Karl Schwartz. The subject is The Bread and Puppet Theater. The Bread and Puppet Theater was founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side. Besides rod-puppet and hand puppet shows for children, the concerns of the first productions were rents, rats, police, and other problems of the neighborhood. More complex theater pieces followed, in which sculpture, music, dance and language were equal partners. The puppets grew bigger and bigger. Annual presentations for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day often included children and adults from the community as participants. Many performances were done in the street. During the Vietnam War, Bread and puppet staged block-long processions and pageants involving hundreds of people. In 1974 Bread and Puppet moved to a farm in Glover in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Please turn to Appendix A on age 36 to see some of the more than 20 photographs that were featured in the exhibit.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 31
32. On the wall are 2 rod puppets from Simply Puppets’ production of ‘The Dutchess and the Demon of Dance’. In the show, Duster disguises himself with glasses and a moustache to become the Demon of Dance. [ Simply Puppets ] 2002
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 32
33. Our final puppet is called “The Tube Guy”, and he was built as a PGSF project. He’s a giant display marionette, is the Guild’s mascot, and has appeared in many events and exhibits in South Florida. [ PGSF ] 2003
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 33
Guest Puppets: On Sunday March 26th the exhibit was visited by 2 guest artists who brought 5 wonderful vent figures with them. Dan Christopher brought his figure Ernie and performed for a delighted audience.
Ernie is the one on the left. He was built by Dan Christopher in 1995. He is constructed of fiberglass and has moving mouth and (weighted) moving eyes. Ernie is one of Dan’s favorite figures. You can contact Dan about performances through his website [ www.DanChristopher.com ] A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 34
Our second guest was Tonya Traylor. Tonya has a wonderful collection of contemporary and antique ventriloquist figures. She packed four of them into a hard shell suitcase and arrived, while simultaneously broadcasting on Facebook Live. [ http://www.tonyatraylor.com/the-collection ]
(clockwise from upper left) ● Len Insull Sr. Mini figure restored by Tonya Traylor. ● "Cindy Twiggins" created by Finis Robinson for Paul Stadlemans's wife Trudy Stadleman. In original condition. ● Created by Walter "Wally" Botley Part of the Botley Collection. More information is available Www.waltbotley.com . ● Peter Pullon figure restored by Chance Wolf of Wolf Vents Www.Wolfvents.Com . A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 35
Appendix A. Bread and Puppet photographs by Karl Schwartz
Photographs These photographs were taken and printed by Karl Schwartz. The subject is The Bread and Puppet Theater. The Bread and Puppet Theater was founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side. Besides rod-puppet and hand puppet shows for children, the concerns of the first productions were rents, rats, police, and other problems of the neighborhood. More complex theater pieces followed, in which sculpture, music, dance and language were equal partners. The puppets grew bigger and bigger. Annual presentations for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day often included children and adults from the community as participants. Many performances were done in the street. During the Vietnam War, Bread and puppet staged block-long processions and pageants involving hundreds of people. In 1974 Bread and Puppet moved to a farm in Glover in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Photo captions by Karl Schwartz. These photographs and others that are available from Karl, are for sale. Any of them can be custom printed for size and cropping. Please contact Karl Schwartz (schwrtzkrl@yahoo.com) for purchasing details. A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 36
G-d head mask This is the head of a tall puppet used to start a pageant. There is a run-in of the cast who form a circle around it and sing “The Captain Kidd Song�.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 37
This is The Friend. He is part of an ensemble ensemble that includes the King, Queen, a Young King, and the Devil.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 38
Queen of Spain She and the Duke of Naples are part of an ensemble of puppets used in a show about Masaniello the fisherman. A group of Italians came to take the show on tour. The Duke of Naples raised taxes so much that there was a rebellion. The Queen of Spain was appalled by his actions. Masaniello led a rebellion and the rest is history. A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 39
The Poor and In Love They’ve been positioned by this window for many years, maybe since the museum was first dressed in the mid 1970’s.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 40
Ave Maris Stella with music by Josquin des Prez. She is in her paradise garden while the world around her is in tumult.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 41
Thin Gray People I've imagined their tribulation, perhaps a famine, economic downturn, or being left with nothing while the rich take too much for themselves.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 42
Appendix B:
Rack Card - Front and Back.
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 43
Questions and Comments? Please contact: David Goboff - President@PuppetGuildOfSouthFlorida.com President - Puppet Guild of South Florida (PGSF) (954) 667-3283 http://www.puppetguildofsouthflorida.com/ http://www.facebook.com/PuppetGuild Exhibit Dates: 3/9/2017 - 3/31/2017 Day of Puppetry Event: Sunday March 26, 2017 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Puppet Show-10:30 Make/Take a Puppet-12:00 - 2:00 Puppet Talks and Demos: 2:00 - 4:00 Hand Made Puppet Dreams Family Reel - Auditorium, Showings 12 - 4
Exhibit Location: ArtServe 1350 E Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 This exhibit and its events are brought to you through the work and cooperation of the following; The Puppet Guild of South Florida, ArtServe, the Broward Cultural Council, Handmade Puppet Dreams, Puppet Network, Simply Puppets, and many individual puppeteers, puppet aficionados, and collectors.
This exhibit is made possible in part, by a grant from the BROWARD CULTURAL DIVISION
A walk through the 2017 Celebration of World Puppetry Exhibit. Page - 44