Puppets & Puppetry

Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves

Easy to make...easy to love!

Sock and Glove presents thirteen delightful softy projects that are quick to make-and certain to amuse and delight. Full of individuality and mischief, these stuffed creations are all pieced together from ordinary socks, gloves, and mittens. Step-by-step illustrations and instructions make it easy to craft and dress a whole menagerie, including monkeys, elephants, piglets, bunnies, and even an insouciant fish.

Endearing to adults and children alike, these whimsical creatures make perfect gifts and inspiring companions.

The Art of Hand Shadows

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN: AND OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER

In the tradition of The World According to Mister Rogers, a timeless collection of wisdom on life, friendship, individuality, creativity, collaboration, and morefrom Jim Henson and Friends There are few things that evoke such a universal feeling of warmth and humor as the work of Jim Henson. In his own words, as well as those of some of his best-known characters like Kermit the Frog and Ernie, well get a glimpse of the philosophy and humor that was so essential to Jims creations. Well also get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the collaborative spirit of this gentle artistic genius from the people Jim knew, loved, and inspired. This uplifting collection of quotes, stories, anecdotes, songs, and insights gives new life to Jims magical world. With chapters titled Dynamite Determination; Listen to Your Heart; Together We Can Do It; It Starts When Were Kids; and A Part of Everything and Everyone, Its Not Easy Being Green is by turns entertaining, inspiring, and laugh-out-loud funny, reminding us that every day counts. Readers young and old will cherish this collection. Culled from The Jim Henson Company archives, program transcripts, personal letters, and interviews, along with some of Jims never-before-published writings, Its Not Easy Being Green is a testament to the legacy of a man who changed the way we see the world.

Shadow Puppets & Shadow Play

Puppets and Puppet Theatre

Jim Henson: The Works - The Art, the Magic, the Imagination

The ultimate gift for Muppet lovers everywhere, this extraordinary tribute celebrates 40 years of Henson's creative genius--from his best-known inventions to his lesser known but equally fascinating notions for everything from designs for futuristic nightclubs and homes to experimental films. 500 color illus.

Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation, Second Edition

To make great animation, you need to know how to control a whole world: how to make a character, how to make that character live and be happy or sad. You need to create four walls around them, a landscape, the sun and moon - a whole life for them. You have to get inside that puppet and first make it live, then make it perform.

Susannah Shaw provides the first truly practical introduction to the craft skills of model animation. This is a vital book in the development of model animation which, following the success of Aardman's first full-length film, Chicken Run, is now at the forefront of modern animation.

Illustrated in full colour throughout you are shown step by step how to create successful model animation. Starting with some basic exercises, you will learn about developing a story, making models, creating set and props, the mechanics of movement, filming, postproduction and how to set about finding that elusive first job in a modern studio.

Susannah Shaw is Programme Development Manager for the Animated Exeter festival. She was head of the Bristol Animation Course from 1996 to 2000 at the University of the West of England and former camera assistant at Aardman (working on 'A Close Shave' among other films).

* The best-selling full-color practical introduction to the craft skills of model animation
* Benefit from the advice of top international animators such as Nick Park and Tim Hittle
* Discover everything you need to know to be a model animator in a modern studio!

Puppet Planet

From the author of the immensely popular Puppet Mania comes a new book with even more innovative projects and puppeteering secrets. John Kennedy's Puppet Planet:

-Shares twelve new puppet projects, each using a variety of techniques, many of which have never been presented in a book before

-Features "action panels" so readers can see how each puppet comes to life

-Includes staging ideas to play up each project's uniqueness

-Builds on the author's experience working for the Jim Henson Company and as a professional puppeteer

With this fun book, readers will find everything they need to become rulers of their own puppet planets.

Puppets, Masks, and Performing Objects

Puppets and masks are central to some of the oldest worldwide forms of art making and performance, as well as some of the newest. In the twentieth century, French symbolists, Russian futurists and constructivists, Prague School semioticians, and avant-garde artists around the world have all explored the experimental, social, and political value of performing objects. In recent years, puppets, masks, and objects have been the focus of Broadway musicals, postmodernist theory, political spectacle, performance art, and new academic programs, for example, at the California Institute of the Arts.

This volume, which originally appeared as a special issue of TDR/The Drama Review, looks at puppets, masks, and other performing objects from a broad range of perspectives. The topics include Stephen Kaplin's new theory of puppet theater based on distance and ratio, a historical overview of mechanical and electrical performing objects, a Yiddish puppet theater of the 1920s and 1930s, an account of the Bread and Puppet Theater's Domestic Resurrection Circus and a manifesto by its founder, Peter Schumann, and interviews with director Julie Taymor and Peruvian mask-maker Gustavo Boada. The book also includes the first English translation of Pyotr Bogatyrev's influential 1923 essay on Czech and Russian puppet and folk theaters.

Contributors:
John Bell, Pyotr Bogatyrev, Stephen Kaplin, Edward Portnoy, Richard Schechner, Peter Schumann, Salil Singh, Theodora Skipitares, Mark Sussman, Steve Tilllis.

Puppetry: A World History

Puppets have existed in one form or another in nearly every culture throughout human history. From the intriguing shadow puppets of Java to the romantically challenged Miss Piggy, from African carved-wood actors with outsize genitalia to merry maniac Mr. Punch, puppets are incredibly diverse, reflecting the varied cultures, environments, and personalities of their creators.

In this lavishly illustrated volume, Eileen Blumenthal provides a comprehensive overview of the history and techniques of puppetry, examining the unique nature and abilities of puppets and illustrating the countless roles they (and their creators) have played in societies across the globe for thousands of years. She draws on examples from an astonishing array of puppeteers, performances, and historical artifacts, providing readers with an in-depth view of this intricate world of constructed actors and the eclectic-and often eccentric-artists who create them. With a lively and accessible text and a wealth of illustrations, this one-of-a kind volume will be treasured by lovers of both visual and theater arts. AUTHOR BIO: Eileen Blumenthal is professor of theater arts at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, and a writer on contemporary Asian and Western theater. She has written hundreds of articles and reviews. She is also the author of Joseph Chaikin: Exploring at the Boundaries of Theatre and coauthor, with Julie Taymor, of Abrams' highly acclaimed Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire.