Puppetry Classes

[goshposh]

Dos anyone know of any colleges that have puppetry classes besides the University of Connecticut?

 

[Scrid]

Fresno State in California had one, last I saw...and BYU.

 

[monkeymuppet]

I know that CalArts has a couple of classes about puppetry. There is also a place in Washington, Evergreen State College, and Toronto School of Puppetry. Here is a website with more of them : http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/schools/ .
Adios,
~Megan~

 

[matleo]

Also, Univ. of W. Virginia and U of hawaii have Puppetry majors but I don't know anything about them. Happy to answer any UCONN questions though (class of '00 )


--Matt

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Our shop is actually offering a two week course in TV puppet construction this summer, July 8 - 19th at our studio near Toronto, Canada. The cost is $500 Cdn or $350 US. I've been swamped with work so I haven't got the website for it up but if anyone is interested you can email me for more details at omlemedia@omlemedia.com

 

[matleo]

And John Bell does a summer puppetry program at NYU. As does Eric bass at Marlboro college in VT

--Matt

 

[goshposh]

thank you all for responding

 

[PopoverFroggy]

Puppetry Classes in LA

Michael Earl teaches an intensive video puppetry (Muppet-style) class down in LA.

It may be the only one of its kind -- he trains you like a dance instructor would, breaking everything down and starting off with drills and then getting more advanced.
He was Drew Massey's mentor, and worked on Sesame Street back in the late 70's.

-PopoverFroggy

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Hey goshposh,

I've been looking for colleges that offer puppetry also. I wrote Karen Prell once about this topic and out of the goodness of her heart she sent me an incredibly detailed message of instruction from which the following quote is taken:

"...Well, I keep hearing good things about the Univeristy
of Connecticut's Puppetry program. I think it's the
only place where you can get a degree in puppetery.

I keep hearing rumors that California Institute of the
Arts (Cal Arts) in Valencia (Near LA) is thinking
about starting a puppetry program. They've
traditionally trained animators, primarily for Disney.
Cal Arts may have film and theater programs as well,
I'm not sure.

As far as general advice about getting to be a
Muppeteer, here are some things I tell other people:

Have you previously tried puppeteering or any kind of
acting, voice, dance or musical instrument performing
or would you be learning puppeteering from scratch?
Any of that experience would be helpful, though I had
none of that before I learned puppeteering. I was just
a very shy artist who rabidly studied and copied
Muppets. It took me a few years to get the confidence
and skill to perform Red Fraggle. If I'd already had
some kind of performing experience I'd have probably
gotten to that stage a bit faster.

If you do have some puppeteer skills, keep developing
them. Remember that it’s not all about the talking.
Being able to act out a character’s
thoughts and realizations with clear, focused, simple
actions is an important part of good puppetry. Good
eye focus is important, even if a character doesn’t
have actual eyes! The character should always be
focused clearly on something, even if they’re just
thinking. They’re right when they say the eyes are the
window to the soul.

When I’ve advised puppeteers about acting without
words, I’ve suggested watching good animation, good
puppetry or good actors on video with the sound turned
off. See how much they communicate with body language,
head attitudes and the pacing of their movements. See
how much range and contrast they use so the
performance just doesn’t stay on one level. It’s
helpful to think in terms of going from one focused
pose to another, just like animation. I believe this
is something Frank Oz followed with his puppeteering.
You certainly don’t want a puppet doing random,
wandering body movements or eye focus (well, not
unless the character’s been klonked on the head!).

I feel that once you’ve got the visual language
working, THEN you should start thinking about the
talking. Remember that it’s not just about lip-synch.
Head and body movements can be used to emphasize the
words and will read better than just lip movements
alone."


Also, out of my own research I found that Central Washington University offers a few classes, but I think they're more for people wishing to become teachers using puppets for elementry levels. I think it would be wise to practice in your own time and get a degree in theater or film.

E-mail me sometime! I'm going through the same thing you are.

--"Scary" Larry Wolf

P.S.
Thank you again, Mrs. Prell, for your letter! It still encourages me every time I look at it.

 

[Michael Earl]

TV Puppetry Workshops

www.teachingtour.com