Marionette Gallery 24 - The Moon

The Moon certainly has a hard time playing another role. Typecasting at its best I suppose. The main show he performed in was - Mustava and the Moon. A lovely space show with aliens and a spaceship, satellites and comets. The backdrop was painted star constellations which gave a good start to follow up work in schools. The photo does not give the size of the figure. With about 900 mm from top to bottom it is large for me. Still love it after all these years. Even though it comes over as slightly spooky to some viewers. might be good? How often have you met the Moon? :) 

GREAT news! We are part of the Te Papa collection :)

The marionettes seen above are now part of the permanent collection of TE PAPA. Regular readers of my Blog will know that this is the National Museum of New Zealand here in Wellington. Having this multicultural show, Mustava and the Kauri Giant, become part of their permanent collection is just such a great honour. Also, hopefully, a great step for the recognition of puppetry in this country. As well they decided to take my oldest figure. A fabric creation that dates back a good 40 plus years, see below. Such a great palace for it to cover my development as an artist and puppeteer over all these years. Being represented at Te Papa after over 30 years touring New Zealand and making this country my home is a great acknowledgement of my work. Am very happy :)

The current exhibition on the fourth floor of Te Papa will also be extended to January 2017. Still time for everyone interested to have a look.Don't miss it.

Yes still going

Sorry Sorry for the long non postings. Building your own house just takes so much longer than thought. 12 month later the internet is on and its great to have my small 4 walls around me :) :) :)
What is happening in the world of puppetry here in New Zealand. For me its

on the road again. After being part of the Hamilton Fringe. Yes loooook closely and you can see poster. bottom row third one in. A bit later there was a holiday programme with shows and workshop with some crazy puppet results. Look at the image of THE CAT this child made. It was lovely and a great effort. Loved it, great times in Hamilton.

And then its touring the country. Hope to see you at one of the shows. :)

update what was on and whats coming up.

The organising committee of the upcoming puppet festival decided that apart from their takings should go to the above mentioned organisation. They wrote back a very nice thank you note and added if someone might be able and interested to add a show to their upcoming event. Well I thought its a great idea and volunteered.

All a bit late here in the blog but it was an enjoyable occasion. Even though the venue was far from ideal and I had the flu. It got filmed and as soon as I have a copy I will share it with you.

Apart from the usual school shows the next big event is certainly the festival in under a month. Rose and all the other members are doing a brilliant job and hope to find some of the blog readers there.

Just received news that next year will be a big one for me in the Waikato for me. Thats the Hamilton region south of Auckland for our overseas readers. ill keep you posted.

 Greetings from the first official week of spring here in Wellington. Cheers

Build momentum for better housing for our children When Thursday 27th August     Time 5.30pm - 7.30pm  Where The Backbencher Pub 34 Molesworth St Thorndon Featuring  Master Puppeteer, Norbert Hausberg and Wellington musician Nigel Parry   Places are limited so  please RSVP to Celia admin@cpag.org.nz  by  24/08/2015 koha on the door would be appreciated  Dear Susan, This month, CPAG is campaigning to raise public and political awareness about the poor housing conditions endured by children and families living in poverty in New Zealand.   Please join us at a special Wellington CPAG event on 27 August to support this campaign. Featuring  Master Puppeteer, Norbert Hausberg and Wellington musician Nigel Parry Have Your Say, Advocate!  You can help to support this housing campaign by; Writing a letter to the editor of your community or local newspaper Writing to or meet with your local MP to discuss the issue and gain support Get talking, have conversations and discuss this serious issue with your neighbours, workplaces, clubs and other groups. Please see attachments and information below for details on the Campaign Asks and Key Messages  CPAG housing campaign background  CPAG Campaign Ask CPAG Key Messages  Housing Campaign Background Campaign Ask CPAG is calling on the Government to act urgently to make sure all rental accommodation is healthy and affordable for families. Introduce and enforce a WOF for housing Introduce subsidies to get rentals up to a healthy standard. Urgently review and update Accommodation Supplement. Key Messages  Every child deserves the best start in a warm, dry, secure home Children thrive in warm, dry, secure homes Children have a right to decent housing - under UNCROC Poor families are at the back of the queue for housing Unhealthy housing is making children and families sick. Shifting from home to home, overcrowding and sickness stop children learning. Wrap them up warm - urgent action needed to winter-proof our rental housing. State housing is vital part of the safety net for poorest families - need firm commitment from Govt to this fulfil this role As always, thank you for supporting CPAG.     We look forward to seeing you soon!       The CPAG Team

More three string Marionettes

Recently I spend a day at Boulcott school a primary school in Lower Hutt New Zealand. Apart from giving two performances and demonstrations and question session with the children, there was a learn to make a three string marionette session with the teachers. It was a fun time for all the results where great. I thought I would like to share the end result with my blog readers. And please send in photos of your own results. Love to see them :)

Puppet Festival in Wellington, October 2015

YES ITS ALL ON, did mention it before a wee while ago but its all coming together. The second ever national puppet festival will happen in October and the website is there for your information! If it does not work with your search engine try outofthesuitcase puppetfestival. One or the other will work. Cheers that's it for this blog entry. Enjoy :) It will be fabulous!



http://www.ootspuppetfestival.com

Exhibition at Te Papa / National Museum of New Zealand 2

Here are some photos of the display. No question I think it looks mighty and am super happy with it.

The large case shows three figures from my production - Mustava and the Kauri Giant. All carved and painted they still look perfect after years of touring

Beside Goethe is the first Marionette I made. Sewn out of old t-shirts and fabric I found at home. Later I turned it into a hand puppet, so nice to see it on display. 

New Zealand is a bilingual country. Maori and English are to be seen on all the display boards. Yes and for all puppeteers, Karetao means puppet. Have a look in one of my earlier blogs about a traditional Maori Karetao I have.

And this is where it is all happening, the Discovery Centre on the fourth floor of Te Papa. Don't miss out you have a year to pop in and have a look.

Here is another one of those boards. Yes, te kaha o the karetao - puppet power. Enjoy :)