MARCH 15, 2010 - END OF APRIL

WINDOW INSTALLATION
OF MARIONETTES
BY LUDEK BOGNER

Ludek Bogner is a cinetographer, photographer, painter and marionette maker. Besides having a wonderful collection of marionettes from the 1850's Ludek carves and paints his own creations. Come and see!

Kelly Kirkham: Papier Mâché Workshop
MAY 30TH, 2010

REGISTER NOW TO ENSURE A PLACE
Sunday, May 30th, 2010
at Open Door Designs.
To Download the Workshop Description
Click Here
or the Workshop Registration Form
Click Here

for more info click here to go to the workshop page or
call (416) 531-1290
Please email us to get on the list.

March 25 – 28, 2010
more info

Dovercourt Boy's & Girl's Club
REGISTRATION FOR MARCH BREAK, MARCH 16-19, 2010
OPTIONS: 9:00AM - 4:00 PM Daily: $35 per child per week
OR
8:00AM - 5:00PM Daily: $55 per child per week

OPEN DOOR DESIGNSAT THE
ONTARIO LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SUPERCONFERENCE

Open Door Designs participated in this year's OLA Super Conference. It was a great opportunity to hear feedback and feature new products. Thanks to everyone who dropped by.

IPANA TOOTHPASTE MARIONETTE

24" advertising marionette from Bristol-Meyers, the Ipana Toothpaste character. Circa 1930's. Painted composition body with movable Ipana letters, wood arms and legs, and rubber hands.

After showing this puppet in last month's newsletter I got an excited email from Steve Golden at the International Puppetry Museum in Pasadena: " Wonderful news! The IPANA marionette that you have featured in the newsletter , is now part of the collection at I.P.M. in Pasadena, thanks to the efforts of Mary Decker of Redwood City."

These links & things are odds and ends I have either tripped over during online journeys or people have sent me.
If you have your own favourite puppet links please send them along!

THE EROTIC ANGUISH OF DON JUAN
The Ghost of Don Juan is summoned from Hell to repent for his sins,
and to tell us the tale of his nefarious life so that we may avoid his fate.
But does he truly repent? Is he a monster or a saint? He will attempt to
save us from our amorous errors, and deliver a sermon of universal love.
In the end, we are liberated from our fears, and what we thought would be
a simple evening at the theatre becomes a transcendental orgy
that will change us forever. Check here for western tour dates.

I just watched Feist's "Honey Honey" video with puppetry by the Old Trouts on Youtube. Magic.
Here is the link: Honey, Honey

Alexander Mergold told me about Igor Fokin last year...The Story of Fenist is authorized but another film that was made is not. The family has severed ties with the filmakers.

The Story of Fenist
"This award-winning documentary tells the story of the great Russian puppeteer Igor Fokin who entranced children and adults, alike, with his memorable performances in Harvard Square from 1994 until his untimely death in 1996.
The Story of Fenist introduces viewers to Fokin and his magical marionettes, who play a main role in his saga. Rich performance footage and insightful interviews with his wife, children, extended family and friends are used to retrace Fokin’s life from his time as Russian university theater student and at his St. Petersburg studio to his life in New England. All the proceeds from sale of the film go to help support Igor Fokin's widow and children."Click here for more info.

Taken from a tourist website:

"Puppetry had a long and much-loved history in Central Asia that had all but disappeared by the 1950s. Here again is another craft tradition that was supressed bythe Soviets (puppets all over the world have a long history of being very subversive!) Today, Bukhara's puppet-master, Iskandar Khakimov, is just one of a group of dedicated puppet makers who have revived interest in the art form throughout Uzbekistan. Even if you don't have time to see a performance, do pay a visit to his workshop/gallery. His puppets are fantastic, each one a real character. The name of traditional Uzbek puppet theater chodir hayol is translated as a tent of dreams, fantasies. It received such name because these performances contained mythological plots or scenes from national eposes. Puppets moved by means of threads or appeared from under a scene on poles. Shows were organized mostly in the evening and were accompanied by simple light and noise effects. All it charmed spectators and created an illusion that dolls moved by themselves. Chodir hayol performances were much more difficult and rather diverse than a theater with glove dolls. Along with the invented and symbolic heroes, a puppet theater had existing historical characters. Distinctive feature and tradition of chodir hayol was that puppets were of different sizes. Over forty puppets could be used during one performance that lasted three or four hours, long and difficult performance with such quantity of characters was executed by three actors only. One of them sat not far from the scene and led a dialog with heroes; he also sang or played in national musical instruments: doira, surnay, and others. Over the whole performance actors could simultaneously run with 8-10 puppets, demonstrating unprecedented virtuosity and the high proficiency in art of the puppet theater."

Rick Jacobson's rich paintings are now on view at The Liberty Bistro and Bar, 25 Liberty Street in Toronto until the end of March.

Drywall Tapers, Light Fixtures, Paint & Painters, cash donations and more please contact
Tony Palermo: paldover21@kwik.net
(416) 530-4233

Since the beginning of January Central Tech students have been getting hands-on experience with the skilled trades they love by renovating a vacant warehouse at 45 Ernest Ave. into a new home for the Dovercourt Boys' and Girls' club. The students hope to have their renovations finished in time so the club can begin regular operations this May. If you can donate any time or materials please contact Tony Palermo: paldover21@kwik.net (416) 530-4233

RED WAGON COLLECTIVE: DONATIONS NEEDED:
fabric, wool, embroidery floss, needles, crochet hooks, old sweaters

RED WAGON COLLECTIVE was formed in 2006 in response to our desire to deepen our artistic, collaborative, and community-engaged practices through residency projects that would enable us to develop both intensive and extensive relationships in the Junction - a rapidly changing neighbourhood in Toronto's west end. We share a desire to work collaboratively with artists and non-artists to create work that inspires new conversations; softens boundaries between groups separated by age, culture, ability, and economic status; promotes the presence of art in everyday life and contributes to increasing public engagement in community development. The work we create with communities is used in producing exhibitions, public installations, and celebratory performance events.We are currently working within the walls of the Evangeline Shelter.