HappyFt Travels

At the Friday assembly last week, the florescent lights in the multipurpose room made Emily Butterfly (dressed in black and operating Granny) magically disappear into the black fabric behind her. Granny is the first puppet to go on stage, much to the amazement of the children watching the show. Seeing that the human was invisible, I told the cast. We decided to snap pics after our second run. We only had cellphone cameras, but managed to snap some nice photos of the 2012 cast for the Big Tadoo Puppet Crew’s Safe Routes to School show. This is the puppet show I run sound and do pre-production for.

The 2012 Big Tadoo Puppet Crew Safe Routes cast.

(from L to R: Jonathan Youtt as The Dancing Grandpa, Aima the Dreamer as DJ, Gina Rawgirl as Freeda, Emily Butterfly as Granny, Chatterbox as Jun)

Someone just asked me what the story of our show was about. I took a moment to write a synopsis of this assembly. It still makes me laugh sometimes!

Once upon a time…

… in a neighborhood, not too far from your elementary school, it is Walk and Roll to School Day. That’s the day when children walk, bike, scooter, or skate to school. Outside, in front of a porch, young June Rollalot gets ready for his ride to school.

(more…)

Tags: Puppets
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I’ll be stage managing (and possibly DJ’ing) this gem of a weekend at CELLspace in November. Long-time collaborators from the Funky Puppet Supper and CELLspace will be on stage, thrilling the audience with top-notch entertainment.

Hope you all can make it!

Red Curtain Variety Show
One Weekend Only!

For one short weekend this November comes an astounding array of talent, housed in one of San Francisco’s most beloved community theatre spaces. A collaboration between some of SF’s finest aerialists, dancers, clowns, and other artists. An evening of the wittiest of wit, the silliest of silly, and a guy who can stack up 7 chairs and do a handstand on them. Don’t miss the Red Curtain Variety Show!

Featuring: Westley Fredenburg as MC, Aerial performances by Eve Diamond, Soprano Diva Dian Meechai, poplocking manipulation from Devinio, the crazy clown antics of Judy & Punchy, Paradizo dance, puppetry by Alison Daniels, and more!

November 10th-13th.
Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm.
CELLspace at 2050 Bryant St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
$15-$20 sliding scale, at the door (more…)

Tags: carny, cellspace, Puppets, Sound
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FURY Factory 2011 Presents: 11th Hour Ensemble and Christine Marie

The Jewish Theatre
San Francisco, CA
Buy Tickets
Here is a video excerpt of the show from last year’s REDCAT Festival in LA (extra credit if you can find me in there).

FURY FACTORY PRESENTS A WORK-IN-PROGRESS DOUBLE-FEATURE!
(all works-in-progress feature a talk-back after the show)

CHRISTINE MARIE & ENSEMBLE: GROUND TO CLOUD

Seamlessly integrating projected shadows, live actors and an innovative sound score, Christine Marie and her  collaborators draw on the history of electric light to manifest a flickering world of natural phenomena and human intervention. Large-scale imagery from simple hand-held lights and props takes on mythological proportions as scientific discovery, religious folklore and magical trickery blend into an incandescent work of expressionist theater. Audience members will be given 3D viewers for one scene in which live action and 3D blend to create a beautiful and unique visual experience.

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The Tower of Transformation is an Installation/Interactive portable art piece for the Burning Man 2011 theme-Rites of Passage. Based on a Balinese cremation tower in form and intent, it will be modified for presentation in Black Rock City

In place of traditional Balinese gold leaf designs, the tower will be covered in stencils by contemporary street artists from Bali, Java, the U.S. and Europe. It will also contain a contemporary shadow puppet theater

Participants will be invited to join the Tower in procession around Burning Man, adding their sentiments about the Rites of Passage in their own experience to the piece through writing on or artistic modification to the tower.

Tags: Burning Man 2011, Creations, Puppets, stencils, Tower of Transformation
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Back in 2000, Dave X, Charles Gadeken, Skot Kuiper, Jonathan Youtt, and a pile of other artists and volunteers cooked up an idea of video-taping CELLspace events and putting it on a Public Cable channel every week. CELLtv ran for a few years before the project lost steam (these people worked real hard on cranking out the episodes). Skot posted the episodes on his YouTube channel last month.

Here is the episode that aired Jonathan’s Funky Puppet Supper video edit.

I was pulled into this project as a producer, so with no budget and only a few weeks time, I helped an amazing group of artists pull together a show that included circus, puppets, Commedia dell‘arte, and food! There was little rehearsal, but ringer acts came in and filled the void. Foam master sculptor Ian Greeb showed up and helped craft the huge head and did pre-show walk around. Dan Chumley and Temple Brady educated the commedia actors and fleshed out a sketch of a story line with the other players. Stephen Bass and All Star Stilts added a bit of buffoon to the whole mix. About two dozen people in all made this thing happen, and Jonathan Youtt gets props for even thinking up the idea (based upon a Clown Cafe that happened at CELL some years earlier).

The FPS segment is towards the end of this episode of CELLtv. Here’s the link for FPS via this site (the only archive of the shows).

Tags: Creations, Puppets, video
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In a rare public appearance, the Big Tadoo Puppet Crew will perform its “Safe Routes to School” show for children of all ages. Spend the morning with the Patchwork Series and see how Jun Rollalot and Freeda Walkaton get to school during “Walk and Roll to School Day”. Oh, the adventures they have and the songs they sing!

Patchwork Series

at the Freight and Salvage

featuring Charity & the Jam Band, Rudy Trubitt, Big Tadoo Puppet Crew

Saturday, March 05, 10:30 am (doors open at 10:00 am)
afternoon kids show
$8.00 advance / $9.00 at door
Purchase tickets online

Tags: Puppets
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This will be the third or fourth time the Big Tadoo Puppet Crew has opened up for Michael Franti and Spearhead’s Harvest Ball (I have a Fillmore poster from 2005’s Ball hanging in my room) and the second time they have flown the show to Colorado. BUT…. this is the first time they have flown out the WHOLE show, which includes the two pedal-powered crankies and the whole six-member cast! The family show is already sold out, so this should be a great adventure indeed (which I will probably blog about). Fly there, perform, fly back…. the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.

MICHAEL FRANTI TO HOST 7TH ANNUAL HARVEST BALL IN DENVER, CO ON NOVEMBER 27TH

The harvest season is approaching and, in true tradition, Michael Franti, KBCO and AEG are set to present the 7th Annual Michael Franti & Spearhead Harvest Ball at 1st Bank Center in Broomfield (Denver), CO on Saturday, November 27th, 2010. Combining music, art and action, Michael Franti & Spearhead will perform two live shows in the spirit of sharing abundance and inspiring sustainable and eco-conscious lifestyles. Tickets go on sale Saturday, October 2nd at 10am and can be purchased by visting www.tickethorse.com. KBCO will hold a presale for interactive members on Friday, October 1st from 10am to 10pm. Please visit www.kbco.com for details.

The early afternoon show will be a Family Matinee (SOLD OUT) with kids activities including local kids bands, puppet shows, organic food samples, a kids recycled costume show, contest and parade, eco-friendly painting and much more. The fun and games will be followed by a Michael Franti & Spearhead kids concert with Special Guests The Big Tadoo Puppet Crew, Jaden, and Conscious Carnival Games. The doors for the matinee show will open at 1:00 P.M. and the show will begin at 2:00 P.M. The evening show will be a harvest celebration like no other with Michael and the band performing songs from their new album The Sound of Sunshine and some surprises for the big kids, too! The doors for the evening show will open at 7:00 P.M. and the show will begin at 8:00P.M. The Harvest Ball will also include a food drive and all attendees are encouraged to bring canned goods to the shows.

Tags: Puppets, Sound
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Director/Creator Christine Marie has put together a clip of scenes from her work “Ground to Cloud”. I was fortunate enough to join in on this production as “lead puppeteer” this past August and September and was part of the cast for all three different runs (SF, LA, and NYC). REDCAT’s NOWfest had a pro videographer shoot the last two performances in LA, of which Christine Marie used for this great clip.

Ground To Cloud from christine marie on Vimeo.

Tags: LA, Puppets, shadow
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Tags: Creations, NYC, Puppets, shadow, tour
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The REDCAT NOW Festival made the Sunday, Aug. 8 “Scene & Heard” column. Christine Marie had a great quote pulled stating “she began experimenting with the technique long before ‘Avatar.’ ‘I’m way ahead of James Cameron,’ she said with a laugh.”

Read the whole column here.

Here are some photos from our last night at REDCAT, taken by Steve Gunther.

Tags: LA, photos, shadow, tour
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FringeNYC finally worked out all of their show schedules last week. Ground to Cloud is officially show # 3928 and will have five performances at The New School for Drama Theatre. The first show starts August 19.

The closest link on the Fringe site is for all the shows starting with the letter G. Please go there and scroll down to read about the show. And please buy tickets!

Ground To Cloud
45 min
N/A until 8/17
Aug. 18/Aug. 31

• THUR 8/19 @ 7:30-8:15
• FRI 8/20 @ 6-6:45
• SUN 8/22 @ 3:45-4:30
• MON 8/23 @ 5:45-6:30
• THUR 8/26 @ 8:30-9:15

Tags: Ground to Cloud, Puppets, shadow, tour
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Ground to Cloud
A Special Bay Area Preview

Christine Marie & Ensemble present “Ground To Cloud,” a full-length theater spectacle of giant shadows, live action, and moments of 3D effects.

With special opening guest, Tobias of the Yard Dogs Roadshow
Plus Jonathan Youtt of The Big Tadoo Puppet Crew AND Vladamir Levitansky

Thursday, July 22
8pm to 11pm
$14 via Brown Paper Tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/118172
$15 or more at the door

CELLspace
2050 Bryant St.
SF, CA 94110

This will be a preview performance and will make it’s premiere the following week in LA at the REDCAT NOW Fest and an east coast premiere in New York City in August for the New York City Fringe Festival.

(more…)

Tags: shadow, tour
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