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2010 Puppet Festival / Focus on Puppet Skills

Friday, August 20 --  Free Puppet Performance at 7:00 pm

Saturday, August 21 -- All day training starting at 9:00 am

New Location. New format.

We're holding our annual puppet festival and this year, it's more intensive than ever before... with a focus solely on puppet skills and puppet presentations. 

This year, we’re in a new location: the Korean Baptist Church at 972 Harpersville Road in Newport News, Virginia. The location has a huge auditorium sanctuary and large classrooms

As always, Friday night will begin at 7:00 pm with a free performance… open to all. We’ll present some of our favorite songs and skits… including “The Tortoise and the Hare.” That’s the program we recorded with attendees from last year’s festival. And it features our friend Mickey Rooney as the narrator.

At 9:00 am on Saturday, the training begins… and we’ll have a whole new format. We’re treating it as an intense… all day training camp to help improve our puppet skills. We’re bringing in Jill Harrington, Master Puppeteer and puppet maker. Most of you already know her fine work. She will teach puppet basics and then spend the day showing us the essentials of a full scale production. We’ll have special guests… including members of the Rainbow Puppet Team who will share tips and techniques to make your puppet shows extra effective.

Years ago, this total approach to puppet teaching was the norm but we have not seen such an intense focus on puppetry techniques in quite a while so we hope it’s helpful.

And here’s something else that should be helpful. This year, the festival is only $20 a person when you register in advance! That’s a whole day a training for only $20.  Enrollment the day of the event is $25.00.

We hope to see you then. Sign up right now!

Frequently Asked Questions:

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Who should attend?  Team leaders, potential puppet team members, professional or amateur entertainers, educators or anyone interested in just learning more about puppetry.  Generally, folks from the 5th grade on up will get something out of this event.

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What about lunch Saturday?  This year, we are keeping costs extra low so lunch is NOT included in reduced registration fee.  We will provide drinks and snacks.

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Will I be able to purchase supplies?  If you would like to start or add to your puppet collection, we will have a variety of big mouth and animal puppets at very low prices.

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I don't have any puppets or a stage yet.  That's okay.  We'll have enough puppets for everyone to receive hands-on training.  Plus, we'll have experienced performers to tell you low-cost options to equip you and your team.

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I don't speak Korean.  Classes will be taught in in English.  The Korean Baptist Church is working to build their own puppet team and graciously opened their doors for this event.  The church is not far from State Route 17, Interstate 64 and Hampton Roads Center Parkway.

 

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Video highlights of earlier festivals (requires Windows Media Player)

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Press coverage from earlier festivals

 

 Call us at 757 851-3266 or email us at info@rainbowpuppets.com for more details.

 

You can still enjoy all of the original festival music with our new cd... "Use These Hands."

rainbowpuppets6_small (8488 bytes)CDBABYlink3.gif (3507 bytes)The cd includes fun songs and skits for use in your Sunday School classes or just for listening.  You can hear selections right now!  We'll get it to you in about four or five days!  Click on the cd and you'll be transported through cyberspace where you can enjoy "Use These Hands."

Scripts and instructions on getting puppets to incorporate with "Use These Hands" will be available right now.  Once you've gotten the cd, send us an email at scripts@rainbowpuppets.com and we'll email you a copy of the scripts right away!

Send mail to info@rainbowpuppets.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2010 Rainbow Puppet Productions 
Last modified: July 19, 2010