Puppets & Pajamas

Friday, December 30

New Year’s Eve Eve Performance

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”

Calliope Puppets’ version of this classic tale from the Brothers Grimm features a strong and quick-witted girl whose ability to read is her greatest asset in overcoming a greedy sorcerer. This magical presentation features a striking array of puppetry techniques, including introductory puppets that appear from within a cape worn by the puppeteer, near life-size girl and sorcerer, traditional hand puppets, as well as rod puppet flying birds and shadow puppet fish in the exciting chase scene. The audience participates in reciting simple poems as they assist in the working of magic spells. And the girl remains true throughout to her mother’s advice to do something that puts good into the world.

Calliope Puppets have performed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice for the International Children’s Festival at Wolftrap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia, at Puppetfest Midwest in Trenton, MO, in libraries and schools across Louisiana and beyond, as well as in Spanish at international puppetry festivals in Perú, Argentina, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Wear your pajamas and lounge on rugs to watch the show! $5 over age 2

Reservations recommended at karen@calliopepuppets.com or 504 913-8486

Performance Location: Calliope Puppet Center, 623 Vallette Street, Algiers Point neighborhood, New Orleans, LA

Vacation Puppet Workshop

Make a Scarf Marionette

For ages 6 – 12

Thursday, December 29^th 10:00 – 11:30a.m.

$15 AND bring a sibling or a friend for an extra $10!

Learn how to make a simple string puppet of easily available materials. Then bring it to life in a Puppet Parade!

Advance registration required. Full payment in advance holds your space. Space is limited, so please reserve early at karen@calliopepuppets.com or 504 913-8486

Focused performers, focused audience through puppetry!

Art and Puppetry Integrated into Reading and Culture Study at St. Mary’s Elementary School

An arts residency supported in part by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and administered through the Arts Council of New Orleans was applied for and coordinated by St. Mary’s Elementary School librarian Mrs. Norma Bemiss.

The grant funded pre-kindergarten through third grade students to work with Karen Konnerth, of Calliope Puppets, for a ten week  residency integrating the arts in a literature curriculum.

The pre-kindergarten residency theme was based on reading comprehension strategies, and all students discussed and were involved in art and puppetry activities focusing on specific tools, such as making connections, visualizing, determining importance, inferring, and questioning, used to help understand what they read. Students created visual art as well as made and operated several simple puppets related to stories they read in class.

The kindergarten through third grade students watched a brief introductory DVD about habitat and way of life in the southern Louisiana wetlands. They then responded to folktales through collaborative illustration of a story as well as through creative dramatics, improvising movement and sound effects to bring another tale to life. For the culminating experience, each student made a puppet for a third folk tale and worked together with class members to prepare a performance, using a vairiety of puppetry techniques including hand puppets, shadow puppets, and toy theater. Each grade level presented a different folktale, such as “Why Alligator Hates Dog”, “Compere Lapin”, “Monsieur Tortie”, “Moon’s Cloud Blanket”, by Rose Anne St. Romaine, and the West African rooted “Zomo the Rabbit” (highlighting the cultural roots of the trickster rabbit in Louisiana).

The performances coincided with National Children’s Book Week and all stories were performed to an audience of other classes, including pre-k as well as fourth and fifth grade classes.

It’s not too late for a gift certificate for an upcoming performance or workshop – or even a Puppet Party -  at Calliope Puppet Center!

OR, don’t forget Calliope Puppets hand made glove puppets. Sturdy neoprene heads, and cozy fleece bodies, in a variety of animals including mouse, bear, pig, cat, wolf, one-eyed alien, rabbit, puppy, and the ever popular Saint-A-gator – alligator in our favorite team’s colors! Also called Car-pets, these are not just for kids – keep one in your car glove box to amuse your neighbors in pesky roadwork traffic. Great stocking stuffers! $20 each. Contact karen@calliopepuppets.com or 504 913-8486

Four classes from the International School of Louisiana visited Calliope Puppet Center on the last two Mondays to experience a performance of Louisiana folk tales, which they were studying at school, as well as an introduction to the world wide art form of puppetry through demonstrations of puppets in the Puppet Museum!

Leaving happy!

Several tales from the Brothers Grimm help celebrate the rich German Heritage of New Orleans. Deutsches Haus celebrates this year in spacious Rivertown, in Kenner, LA, with the puppets performing in “Ludwig’s Castle”.

Sat. 15^th 2pm                        The Frog Prince and Little Red Riding Hood

Sat. 15^th 4pm                        The Fisherman and His Wife

Sun. 16^th 3pm                        Rumpelstiltzkin

Sat. 22^nd 2pm                        The Frog Prince and Little Red Riding Hood

Sat. 22^nd 4pm                        The Bremen Town Musicians

Sun. 23rd 3pm                        Rapunzel

Calliope Puppets present “Puppets Scared Silly”, a pair of silly/scary tales to celebrate Halloween! From deep in the crypt, “Mr. Grump” returns: a favorite original tale – actually featuring one of the very first Calliope Puppets! When this creepy, life-size miming puppet receives a surprise gift, the audience has to convince him to try it out and see what happens.  And a friendly witch brews “Moonlight Soup”, with the reluctant help of a cluster of creepy characters.

Special treat if you wear a costume! Please email or call to reserve seat, as space is limited.

karen@calliopepuppets.com

504 913-8486

Shows Friday, October 28 and Saturday, October 29 at 6:30p.m., and Sunday, October 30 at 3:00p.m.

Karen Konnerth was honored to recieve the MARJORIE BATCHELDER McPHARLIN AWARD for puppetry-related contributions in the field of education and therapy at the National Puppeteers of America Festival this past July 2011. No picture of the award yet – she was unable to attend the conference due to touring schedule, but will pick it up during a Texas tour in September from Jean Kuecher, of Marionette Playhouse, in Houston, who accepted on her behalf.

Karen is working very hard getting a Graphic Design Professional Certificate, with a concentration in illustration. Look for exciting new projects in the future!

Teachers of grades kindergarten through 8th grade learned about arts integration in a  workshop sponsored by KidsmArt of New Orleans for the Lighthouse Academy teachers in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The cast of “The Talking Eggs”, recently rebuilt to be more portable than the version done a decade ago of this beloved Louisiana tale.