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In this issue:
Artistic Director Report
Call for Casino Volunteers
Wendy at Red Deer summer School for the Arts
Other summer puppet festivals
Extra Puppet Fun
Thank you to our supporters
Artistic Director Report
The 2009 -10 puppet year is ending after a busy and fruitful season.
Our year began last summer when we held a series of strategic planning sessions and re- crafted our mission and vision, values, action plan and more. Our board demonstrated creativity, strength and passion and it was a great process. Special thanks to Centrepoint for facilitation as well as First Calgary Savings and the Kahanoff Foundation for funding.
Work continued on our big production “Finding My Song: By Bird”– culminating last month with a workshop performance for 30 adults and children. The invaluable feedback is being implemented for a preview performance in the early summer. Our team includes Duval Lang as director, Devon Dubnyk as the second performer with Wendy. Stu MacQuarrie is our composer extraordinaire. 
Photos and video should be on our web by September 2010 as we prepare to tour the show to theatres and festivals in North America.
Puppets on the Go – our crate based outreach program, was booked by 20 satisfied schools. Comments came back such as “It was excellent – fun, easy and every student could be successful!” We are pleased that Junior High School drama classes have also been renting the crates. We will have two new crates available for next year. One crate explores the beautiful and sophisticated Bunraku puppets of Japan, which links to a grade eight Social Studies unit. The other crate will be in both Spanish and English providing shadow puppet fun and linked to early elementary study of communities.
Wendy taught school residencies in Calgary, Okotoks and Tilley and a number of school and community workshops and Teachers conferences. She was a keynote speaker at the Alberta Family Child Care Association conference. Lots of fun!
Puppets also peeked their way in to two projects that Wendy undertook outside of WPTS’s main projects. The Famous 5 Foundation of Calgary celebrated the 80th anniversary of the ‘Person’s case’ with a tea party and an auction at the Palliser Delta Hotel. The main auction items were artist created hats. Wendy’s hat featured five young puppets, representing various current issues of our time, energy, environment etc, contemplating a chair. Who would be the next leader to sit in the chair? Look for the full article in Puppeteers of America summer edition and to our web site for photos.
The second project is an interactive art installation commission for Profiles Public Art Gallery in St Albert, Alberta. Entitled “Beyond the Frame” and premiering at the Northern Alberta Children’s Festival this exhibit is a blend of visual art and drama. A mini puppet show with Jeremy and Rabbit introduces the audience to what they can do in the hands on space.
Other upcoming things for the new year – a web site makeover, a casino and greater organization! We are pleased to welcome Tammy Roberts as our new part time administrative coordinator.
Vision
An Alberta where the power of puppetry inspires youth to have a greater understanding and acceptance for each other and the world.
Mission
W.P. Puppet Theatre Society finds innovative and explorative ways to enhance artistic, educational and life experiences of young people through the art of puppetry.
Call for Casino Volunteers:
Saturday October 16th &
Sunday 17th 2010.
First immediate need: A Casino chairperson!
Board members and staff are available to help but we believe a volunteer dedicated to this event is necessary. This volunteer would be in charge of casino worker recruitment using our data base and other resources, coordinating casino paperwork and best of all organizing our casino worker thank-you party!
Next need: Due mid August
Casino workers for any or all shifts Saturday October 16th and Sunday 17th 2010. If you can support us with your time we would be sincerely grateful. As you know casino funds help our programs – perhaps produce a Puppet Power conference, develop more Puppets on the Go crates, create a new puppet show. The tens of thousands of dollars we raise are spent carefully and gratefully.
Results
A great chance to meet old and new friends in between doing our casino duties and a fun party afterwards while we congratulate ourselves for a job well done.
If you can help in either capacity please call or email us! 403 228 3373, wppuppet@telus.net.
Series 2010 in Red Deer
Wendy is teaching this year at the Red Deer Summer School of the Arts! Check out the course:
Puppet Exploration
July 05, 2010 - July 09, 2010
Minimum registration due June 5th.Don’t delay.
Five days of serious puppet fun for $625
www.rdc.ab.ca/continuing_education
More puppet news
Check out these summer Puppeteers of America Regional puppet festivals
Southeast Region:
Port City Puppet Festival July 15-18 2010, Wilmington, North Carolina
Northwest Region:
Puppet-O-Rama July 30 - August 1, 2010, Seattle, Washington
Great Lakes Region:
Puppetry in the Land of Lincoln, July 29 - August 1, 2010, Springfield, Illinois Great Plains Region
Puppetry Conference & Festival, August 20-22, 2010, Saint Charles, MO
For more puppet news sing up for updates from: Dawn Schell & Tim Gosley at canadapuppetzone@gmail.com.
Extras
To all those who can appreciate a good Muppets parody, the video link below is really worth watching. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY\
Gary Friedman (seen at W.P. Puppet Theatre’s “Puppets at Agents of social change conference in May 2007) of Australia presents an extremely rare appearance by legendary puppet designer Hansjurgen Fettig. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXfLuBxuJpw
Thank you to our Supporters
Special thanks to our 2009-10 volunteer board members Erin, Russell, Carly, Alejandra, Teresa, Janelle, Claudia, Zoe and Dara
And to others we work with:
Iron Lava Corp for our web site and Epost development and maintenance
And Amy – our bookkeeper
And Thalia – graphic designer – Puppets on the Go
And Brittany – graphic designer – Finding My Song: By Bird
And Kate – fund development And Dynamex Couriers
And thank you to all these folks who have helped in the development of Finding My Song: By Bird in the year 2009-10.
Duval, Stu, Geoff, Devon, Rachel, Jon Jon, Bill, Westcorp Development, Tammy, Hans – Eureka Tech, Adele, Kira, Andrew, Jed, Demetrio, Paul, David, Tam, Susan, Canadian Music Centre, Terry, St Giles Church, Nikki, Anne. Quest Theatre, Joan,
We welcome new volunteers - please contact wppuppet@telus.net for current opportunities.
Thank you to Alberta Foundation for the Arts for their continuing financial support.
Thank you also to Calgary Arts Development.
