Saturday, September 26th at 6:00pm:

We’ll also accept cash at the door or call 215.429.9939 to reserve your tickets now.

All Showings at the University City Arts League
4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia PA 19104.

‘Emma’s Parlour’ is an inter-disciplinary collaboration among performing artists Martina Plag, Leah Walton and visual artist Laureen Griffin. Laureen Griffin’s ‘Parlour’ instillation is up the entire month of August with a special opening reception on Friday, September 11, 2009 from 5-7pm. Plag’s miniature theater is on display with the ‘Parlour’, but performances only occur on the dates listed here.

EMMA’S PARLOUR is a place where working and middle classes come together – where gender roles are fluid – a physical place where the 19th Century Parlour is re-imagined through a 21st Century lens. Material culture is re-examined and beauty revisited. Within the Parlour, A ‘Toy Theatre’ production of EMMA by Howard Zinn will be performed.

September 2009, the Gallery at University City Arts League in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will be transformed into a parlour modeled after a middle class urban Victorian parlour. Martina Plag and Laureen Griffin collaborate to create EMMA’s Parlour - a setting for both the Gender Portraiture Project and the toy theatre (a highly popular Victorian Parlour entertainment) adaptation of EMMA.

‘EMMA’
Martina Plag and Leah Walton will perform their miniature or ‘toy’-theatre adaptation of EMMA. In EMMA, historian and playwright Howard Zinn dramatizes the life of Emma Goldman, the anarchist, feminist, and free-spirited thinker who was exiled from the United States in 1919 because of her outspoken views, including her opposition to World War I. This piece is adapted, directed and performed by Plag and Walton using a traditional miniature-theatre, a gramophone and a birdcage. EMMA has a running time of 68 minutes. This adaptation uses wit and humor to reveal the life of the remarkable Emma Goldman through innovative storytelling and theatrical devises that transform a birdcage into a prison, a working gramophone into a wedding hall and cafe, and captures turn-of-the-last century New York City and a trans-Atlantic voyage all in the space of toy theater.

The Parlour introduces the first full scale version of Laureen Griffin’s Beauty Revisited - a series of installations depicting period rooms in historic style homes as a means to make commentary on gender – specifically female identity. The Gender Portraits will be displayed along with Griffin’s textiles. The Gender Portraiture Project is an ongoing series of photographic portraits in which the participant (portraitee) and artist (Griffin) work collectively to materialize personal narrative into unique female gender personas/portraits (see Griffins‘s work samples). During the month of September, people will come to Emma’s Parlour to pose for further Gender Portraits.

‘Emma’s Parlour‘ will be constructed in a 19th Century home, which now serves as the University City Arts League. Laureen will create a reinterpretation of an urban scale middle class Victorian parlour. The Portraits will hang on walls of hand printed wallpaper. Griffin will drape windows and doorways and upholster found furniture with her printed fabrics.

‘Emma’s Parlour’ is an inter-disciplinary collaboration among performing artists Martina Plag, Leah Walton and visual artist Laureen Griffin. Special performance dates are listed below. Laureen Griffin’s ‘Parlour’ instillation is up the entire month of August with a special opening reception on Friday, September 11, 2009 from 5-7pm. Plag’s miniature theater is on display with the ‘Parlour’, but performances only occur on the dates listed here.

Fringe tickets can be purchased through the Philadelphia Fringe Box Office. Our extended performance date tickets can be purchased directly through us.

EMMA’S PARLOUR is a place where working and middle classes come together – where gender roles are fluid – a physical place where the 19th Century Parlour is re-imagined through a 21st Century lens. Material culture is re-examined and beauty revisited. Within the Parlour, A ‘Toy Theatre’ production of EMMA by Howard Zinn will be performed.

September 2009, the Gallery at University City Arts League in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will be transformed into a parlour modeled after a middle class urban Victorian parlour. Martina Plag and Laureen Griffin collaborate to create EMMA’s Parlour - a setting for both the Gender Portraiture Project and the toy theatre (a highly popular Victorian Parlour entertainment) adaptation of EMMA.

‘EMMA’
Martina Plag and Leah Walton will perform their miniature or ‘toy’-theatre adaptation of EMMA. In EMMA, historian and playwright Howard Zinn dramatizes the life of Emma Goldman, the anarchist, feminist, and free-spirited thinker who was exiled from the United States in 1919 because of her outspoken views, including her opposition to World War I. This piece is adapted, directed and performed by Plag and Walton using a traditional miniature-theatre, a gramophone and a birdcage. EMMA has a running time of 68 minutes. This adaptation uses wit and humor to reveal the life of the remarkable Emma Goldman through innovative storytelling and theatrical devises that transform a birdcage into a prison, a working gramophone into a wedding hall and cafe, and captures turn-of-the-last century New York City and a trans-Atlantic voyage all in the space of toy theater.

The Parlour introduces the first full scale version of Laureen Griffin’s Beauty Revisited - a series of installations depicting period rooms in historic style homes as a means to make commentary on gender – specifically female identity. The Gender Portraits will be displayed along with Griffin’s textiles. The Gender Portraiture Project is an ongoing series of photographic portraits in which the participant (portraitee) and artist (Griffin) work collectively to materialize personal narrative into unique female gender personas/portraits (see Griffins‘s work samples). During the month of September, people will come to Emma’s Parlour to pose for further Gender Portraits.

‘Emma’s Parlour‘ will be constructed in a 19th Century home, which now serves as the University City Arts League. Laureen will create a reinterpretation of an urban scale middle class Victorian parlour. The Portraits will hang on walls of hand printed wallpaper. Griffin will drape windows and doorways and upholster found furniture with her printed fabrics.

All Showings at the University City Arts League
4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia PA 19104.

Tuesday, September 15 at 7:00 pm
Wednesday, September 16 at 7:00pm
Thursday, September 17 at 7:00pm
Friday, September 18th at 7:00pm

Cannot make it to the Fringe showings? We have two additional dates:

Saturday, September 26th at 6:00pm:

‘Emma’ by Howard Zinn directed by Martina Plag adapted & performed by Martina Plag & Leah Walton Tickets $18 BUY TICKETS HERE or call the box office at 212-866-1073 We are so thrilled to announce that Martina Plag’s miniature-theater adaptation of Howard Zinn’s “Emma” has been invited to perform at Untitled Theater Company #61’s (UTC61) Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas to be held May 20 through June 14, 2009 in New York City Three dates only: Thu 6/4 @7:00, Sat 6/6 @3:30 Sun 6/7 @5:00 Theater Three: 311 W. 43rd St., 3rd Floor NY,NY

… of immense interest to feminists, American historians, and people interested in the long history of resistance and protest in the United States … Plag’s adapation to show at Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas …

This adaptation uses wit and humor to illuminate history from below, as it celebrates the life of Emma Goldman, the anarchist, feminist, and free-spirited thinker who was exiled from the United States because of her outspoken views.

At this year’s Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas to be held May 20 through June 14, 2009 in New York City; Martina Plag and Leah Walton reveal the life of the remarkable Emma Goldman through innovative storytelling and theatrical devises that transform a birdcage into a prison, a working gramophone into a wedding hall and cafe, capture turn-of-the-last century New York City and two transAtlantic voyages all in the space of a brown-stone parlor.

The festival will be held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for Jewish Theatre (AJT),to be held June 6 through 10, an international conference of theater professionals in the area of producing and creating Jewish theater. Their main theater space will be Theater Three (home of the Mint Theater), a 99-seat theater located at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue.

Sign-up for class now by clicking here.

Additional workshop information:

Introduction:
When a rod puppet figure is seen from head to toe, and it must come to life, the shear number of limbs often necessitates the use of more than one puppeteer. This basic technique is what is used in Czech Black Puppetry, Bunraku, Black Light Puppetry, Green-Screen Puppetry, but for our purposes here we call this simple technique Table-top Puppetry since the figure is using the plane of the table as it’s playboard.

The use of Table-top puppets has increased over the years in television and theater. It has now become a basic requirement for any professional puppeteer.

The skills of performing a single figure with other puppeteers needs to be appreciated.

In table-top puppetry training, we will break down basic principles that apply to a wide variety of team puppetry. There are specific roles and responsibilities that emerge when three puppeteers pick up and begin to work with a full-body puppet character. An understanding of these roles can greatly increase the efficiency of the team-performance.

The festival will be held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for Jewish Theatre (AJT), to be held June 6 through 10, an international conference of theater professionals in the area of producing and creating Jewish theater. Their main theater space will be Theater Three (home of the Mint Theater), a 99-seat theater located at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue.

Philadelphia Puppetry Slam 2009 - Part I !!!

To sign up or learn more about The Philly Puppet Slam 2009 , just contact us.

Where: Curio Theatre - at The Calvary Center, 4740 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia,PA, 19143 at 48th and Baltimore Aves.

When: Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 -

7:00PM spaghetti dinners starts being served.
1:00 PM for entry line-ups that require tech.
Shows start at 8:00PM.

What: Puppets galore with strings attached - spaghetti strings that is… You say ” what is a puppetry slam?” The puppet slam is a new movement which has been spreading across the country in night clubs, cafes, and fringe festivals. In recent years, puppet slams have been included as late night offerings in Puppeteers of America Festivals. Slams are an opportunity to feature short experimental pieces and to encourage artists not generally involved with puppetry to explore this exciting medium. Like an open mic night of puppeteers. With a CASH PRIZE by applause-o-meter.

What are these strings attached? We’ll feed you a spaghetti dinner and you’ll stay for the show.

Cost - Cash only (we’ll give you a receipt upon request) - at the door only.
suggested $15 for dinner,show and entry
suggested $10 for dinner and show
- or - pay as you can per act at the show - we’ll pass the hat after each act.

Do you have a two minute gem of puppetry? Come and present it at the slam.How about something raw, bawdy, and experimental? Bring that too! Innocent and elegant performances are welcomed as well. As long as it involves puppets, masks, and/or performing objects we want to see it and share it with everyone else. We’ll have three headliners guaranteed and the rest of the night will be filled with what you bring.
Need tech.? Not a problem. Just start lining up at noon, and we’ll give you basic lights up, lights down and some sound to be sure to bring a tested CD of your sound. For more information or to sign up now contact Martina Plag or call 214.429.9939.

Produced by: studium - praxis (Martina Plag will be your Puppet Diva host-Minka Kirchhainer )
Presented by: Curio Theatre

Martina Plag demonstrates how puppets’ eyes are carved deeply into their skulls so as to convey emotion.

Mum Puppettheatre’s production of The Master and Margarita opened last week (our review is forthcoming), but before it opened, I was invited to Mum’s basement to see how the dozens of puppets needed for the production would take shape.

It’s key to remember that, despite the title of this article, Mum is a puppettheatre: one that presents legitimate works of theatre with puppets. No kindergarten-like puppet shows here: even the “family” shows have a certain degree of artistry and craft that you wouldn’t find at a kid’s birthday party.

And it’s not like watching an episode of Sesame Street, either. In fact, says Mum’s puppet designer Martina Plag, “talking puppets are about the only kind of puppets we don’t make here.” The only talking puppet to appear on Mum’s stage, to her knowledge at least, was a found one: a giant bird that appeared in The Fantoccini Brothers Return during the 2007 PLAF. But the hand puppets, the trick puppets, the Chinese rod puppets, even the marionettes you see onstage during a Mum production are all made on site.

For some productions, like last season’s The Fantasticks, this is an easier feat, with only about a dozen characters in the play. But The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov’s 1967 (it was published posthumously after a thirty-seven year ban) novel, has hundreds of characters, making Plag’s work a little harder. Although director Adrienne Mackey cut many characters from her adaptation, The Master and Margarita was still an overwhelming task for Mum Puppettheatre.

So, how does one go about making dozens of puppets by hand?

Above: The original designs for the Master and Margarita puppets, drawn to scale. The photo of Robert DaPonte is pasted over the Master’s head because the puppet’s face would later be crafted to resemble him. Below, right: The design for Azazello, one of the “grotesque toys” accompanying Woland.

Plag, educated not as a puppetmaker but as an architect, approaches the design and construction of her puppets as you’d expect someone with her background would. The designs are all drawn to scale (in exact size, if possible, and typically, at least in the case of the human puppets, in normal human proportions) before initial construction can begin. Drawings must be approved by the director of the play, and often, the actors are consulted to be sure that they will be comfortable with both the mechanisms being used and the weight of the materials employed in the construction.

After designs are approved, the actors begin rehearsing with dummy puppets—that is to say, puppets that can be maneuvered more or less like the final puppets with which they will be working—and Plag and her volunteers and interns can get down to work. They try to get the puppets into the actors’ hands as quickly as possible, however, because each handcrafted puppet moves differently. For instance, she tells me, during one production, they had a puppet “whose wrist just flopped, all on its own. The actor figured out how to make it work for emphasis, and the audience loved it. But any other puppet? It couldn’t do that.”

On the left, each shaded region represents a “layer” of the puppet’s face. Each layer is created individually, like a slice of the head, and then the three layers are put together. Finishing touches, including the covering of any lines indicating where the layers start and stop, are done by hand. The face (seen completed on the right), like most other faces crafted at Mum, is asymmetrical so that each side can convey a different emotion and catch and reflect light differently.

For The Master and Margarita, the completion of some puppets was easier than others: the Satanic Woland’s retinue was mostly composed of modified toys, and the puppets in the toy theater are mounted one-dimensional drawings – but the human-like puppets had to be carefully and uniquely created by hand. The rod puppets in the “Pilate” scenes of the play were carved in wood and covered in leather, then carefully jointed so as to lend a degree of elegance to their movement. But the most complex puppets to create for the show, it seems, are the “tabletop” puppets that appear in the “now” of the play, which is to say 1930s Russia.

Although their foam bodies are essentially made in a one-size-fits-all kind of way, with adjustments made for body type and puppet size, each neoprene head is sculpted by hand in three layers. The layers are designed in profile: first one cheek, jaw, and eye socket, then the nose and chin, then the other cheek, jaw, and eye. (See image immediately above.) After the layers are completed, they are fit together and their seams smoothed over until the head seems to be one cohesive piece, and shaping is done to the face overall. Although psychology tells us that a perfectly symmetrical face is a sign of beauty, “that doesn’t work onstage with puppets,” says Plag. From the audience it’s often hard to tell that the sides of the face don’t match one another, but the effect works. “I make one side with angles and one side with curves. That way, if I turn him this way, the feeling is different than if I turn him that,” she explained, demonstrating how the curved side of the face gave a gentler, more feminine feel to the puppet, and the angular side appeared more masculine and harsh. “People say all the time that they think they see their faces moving, maybe that they see the puppets wink.” This, she continues, is probably because Mum rarely gives eyes to their puppets, opting instead for deep-set eyes under a heavy brow (see top image in this piece) that simultaneously dissipate the puppet’s gaze and make it seem as if the puppet can actually focus on the people or puppets with whom he is speaking. “We suspend reality, but we also infuse a lot of reality into these puppets.”

On the left, a demonstration of how a rubber mold for a puppet’s hand is created. On the right, two neoprene puppet heads are mounted onto their foam bodies.Details are then added to the puppets: if they are meant to resemble wood, for instance, as they are in The Master and Margarita, Plag applies a carving tool to the neoprene that makes the rubber look grained and rough, as if it had been carved by hand. “People would have been making these by hand in Russia back then, with wood and a sharp knife,” she said, explaining Mum’s aesthetic choice for this production. Hands are made from polyurethane poured into rubber casts (traditionally, they’re made from leather, clay, or wood—”Things that have been alive”—but this process saves a great deal of time and effort and “is easy for the volunteers to help with”), and then both hands and head are affixed to their foam bodies.

After the puppet construction is completed, there’s nothing left to do but dress the puppets. Because, says Plag, “you can’t really change a puppet’s clothes,” several variations of any character requiring costume changes are created, and the actors change puppets accordingly, rather than having to redress them in the dark. All costumes are sewn on-site, specifically for the production.

Before the puppets are officially completed, they’re given back to the actors for rehearsal. Both they and their directors take note of what works and doesn’t work, often sending the puppets back downstairs for tweaks. “Sometimes, we’re still building and changing through previews,” Plag said. It’s the price to pay for perfection.

All photos by author, with thanks to Martina Plag and Judy Walker.

By Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey