Schools Workshops | Puppet Lady

I finally got around to hanging Gerald Townson’s prize winning photo of Tim Austin and myself (with Rough Magic Theatre’s Mad Hatter’s Tea Party walkabout show and my “Edward Lear’s Nonsense” Shadow Puppet Suitcase Show at “Carnival Bentham by Bike” last year) on the wall above my desk. A big thank-you to him for giving us this lovely framed certificate and for taking the photo in the first place.

In case you’re wondering, Tim is in the black & white top hat and I am in the Black and Yellow one. To see the picture on the Craven Herald & Pioneer website CLICK HERE.

Carnival Bentham will be happening again this year on Saturday May 30th and the theme will be birds (and ducks in particular to compliment We Are Bentham‘s duck race event).

Rough Magic Theatre have been involved with this event every year since it started as My Last CARnival (an accompaniment to the My Last Car theatre show by 509 arts). In its 2nd year it became CARnival Bentham and last year became CARnival Bentham by bike to link in with the Yorkshire based Tour de France and to celebrate the launch of Bentham as a “Passing Place” on the “Way of the Roses” cycle route. Bentham officially “opened” a sculpture of a giant pair of bloomers (to commemorate the fact that Bentham’s silk mill created the silk for Queen Victoria’s bloomers). So bloomers were one theme for the event and fish became another as part of the carnival “story” involving a white and red queen, (lancashire and yorkshire) who tried to catch all the fish in the river wenning. If you want to hear the full story let me know. Click HERE to see my previous blog posts where we created “Fred Fettler’s “Pony 3000″ – The Transport of the Future” show for My Last CARnival and click HERE to see the video and show page.

To see a picture of our “fishy” mad hatter’s tea party in the Westmorland Gazette CLICK HERE For pictures from the Carnival Bentham by bike facebook page taken by Peter Rollinson CLICK HERE.

Tim’s Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with added fishing game to fit with theme

“Edward Lear’s Nonsense” show (with added bloomers to fit with the theme)

I have recently discovered that this year is the 150th Anniversary of “Alice in Wonderland” so this would be a perfect time to book our full length indoor “Alice in Wonderland” show, (CLICK HERE for info. and video). Alternatively we have our Mad Hatter’s Tea Party walkabout show with either 1 or 2 performers, (you get Alice & the Mad Hatter too). Another choice to fit with a Lewis Carroll theme would be our “Jabberwocky!” Shadow Suitcase walkabout show, (CLICK HERE for more info. and video) and not forgetting our giant parade puppet Jabberwocky which you can see on the banner at the top this blog’s home page.

We can also do accompanying “Alice in Wonderland” workshops/talks/question and answer sessions that look at the history of the book and Lewis Carroll.

I have also been nominated for the 5 day Puppetry Heroes challenge started by Ronnie Burkett on Facebook and I have done my first entry today. Click HERE to go to the Facebook page

About a month ago I was invited to perform both my “Jabberwocky!” and “Edward Lear’s Nonsense” suitcase shows as part of Wakefield Literature Festival for a Toddler group at Wakefield Grammar School Foundation, (Mulberry House). The shows went down very well with the adults, the babies and the toddlers as well. You can see from the photo’s that some of the children took me up on the offer of a “behind the scenes tour”, letting them get a closer look at the puppets.

Camilla Field, (Director of Marketing for Wakefield Grammar School Foundation) was good enough to take all the photographs you see on this post.

As it was European Languages Day and Camilla had asked if we had anything suitable for the Pre-prep children in the afternoon. So Leo Nolan (a long term collaborator and founder member of Midland Red Theatre Co. and Rough Magic Theatre) and myself put on a little show called “Nursery Rhymes with Monsieur le Fou” (CLICK HERE for Leo’s website). Leo plays Monsieur le Fou, a very silly French man who teaches the children Nursery Rhymes in French, and I play Miss Construed who is British and interprets between him and the children in the audience. We look at saying Hello, Incy Wincy Spider and Little Miss Muffet as well as indulging in a spot of birthday cake baking for Miss Muffet’s Birthday. This provides the opportunity to look at various animal and food names along the way.