happenings
‘Tickets for Emma’s Parlour’ still available !!!
The Fringe may be over but we’re still going strong. Tickets can be purchased for our extended performance dates on September 25th, 2009 and September 26th, 2009 at 6:00 pm right here:
Saturday, September 26th at 6:00pm:
Cash at the door is also acceptable or call 215.429.9939 to reserve your tickets.
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. 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.
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.
studium - praxis finds a bricks and mortar home !
at 155 Cecil B. Moore Ave. Philadelphia -
@ The Masher Co-op.
Workshops available starting March 2009 in puppet manipulation [praxis] and puppet making [studium].:
14 January 2009 - noon till midnight !!!!!!!!!!!!
Philadelphia Puppetry Slam 2009 - Part I !!!
To sign up or learn more about The Philly Puppet Slam 2009 - Part I, 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. Noon 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.
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 garaunteed 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
4-7 December 2008 - 8:00 PM
“The Man Who Walked Between the Towers”
At Rowan University - In the Tohill Theatre Glassboro, NJ
Conceived, Choreographed, & Directed by Paule Turner
studium-praxis will be designing the puppets for this production and consulting with Mr. Turner on all the production’s use of puppetry.
Synopsis: Turner’s original theatrical creation for young audiences is inspired by the daring feat of French high-wire artist and juggler Philippe Petit who walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Thisdance-based performance, drawn from news accounts of Petit’s unauthorized act, will thrill audiences of all ages.
Production Credits:
Set Design by Bart Healy
Puppet Design by Martina Plag
Costume Design by Heidi Barr
Lighting Design by Robert Thorpe
Sound Design by David Cimetta
19 November 2008 - noon till midnight !!!!!!!!!!!!
Philadelphia Puppetry Slam 2009 - Part I !!!
To sign up or learn more about The Philly Puppet Slam 2008 , just contact us. 
Where: Curio Theatre - at The Calvary Center, 4740 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia,PA, 19143 at 48th and Baltimore Aves.
When: Wednesday, November 19th, 2009 - 7:00PM spaghetti dinners
starts being served. Noon 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.
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 garaunteed 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
31 October 2008 & 01 November 2008 - 9:00 PM
“The Ixiondae”
At the Painted Bride
230 Vine St., Philadelphia (215) 925-9914
On 10/31/2008 and 11/01/2009 studium-praxis’ creative director,Martina Plag, will be performing along with Bradley K. Wrenn, Gregg Almquist and Sally Mercer as part of The Bride’s
Greg Giovanni Big Messy Retro-Fest, Part 1
Performance in the Present Tense - 9:00 PM Performance
After twenty years of leading underground performance art in Philadelphia, Greg Giovanni will be recognized with a two–week retrospective at the Bride. Giovanni and his Big Mess Theatre defined Philadelphia’s underground theatrical movement with influences from punk rock, anarchists’ flop houses, and underage runaways. In this retrospective, Philly’s best companies and dramatists reinterpret four exceptionally varied works in a festival of voices that stands testament to one versatile artist.
For complete Big Messy Retro-Fest listings, please click here.
The Ixiondæ with Robert Smythe is a Jacobean Masque incorporating classical themes, verse, metaphysical conjecture, and a love story between a man and a half–beast. Set in the Enchanted Woodland of Titania and at the Mouth of Hell, it transcends the stage and reaches a realm of the magical, the musical, and the sexy. (1990) It’s a ‘masque’ so wear a mask for the 9pm show after-part
12 October 2008 - 3:00 PM
sketches from Martina Plag’s “crane’s promise”
(a full production playing at the CEC’s Meeting House Theater 8-10 May 2009)
At CEC - Community Education Center - 3500 Lancaster Ave., Philadelphia 215.387-1911
The CEC’s 6th Annual Open House and Outdoor Arts Festival; The best little arts festival anywhere!
The Community Education Center/CEC presents it’s 6th Annual Open House and Outdoor Arts Festival on Sunday, October 12, 12-5pm. This free family friendly multicultural extravaganza will showcase the work of over 20 artists/performing groups on two stages and includes performances in HipHop, Salsa, Flamenco, and African dance, as well as theatre, puppetry and poetry. It’s the best little arts festival anywhere!
Don’t miss the CEC’s annual presentation of new artists in our New Edge Resident Program, “Meet the Artists,” at 3:00 PM inside on the stage of the Meeting House Theatre with resident artists dancer/choreographer Megan Mazarick, Shavon Norris, and Meredith Rainey, theatre artist Sarah McCarron, and puppeteer/director Martina Plag and studium-praxis.
What makes it so exceptional is not only the mix of great performances from established local professionals like Group Motions Dance Company, and up and coming groups like hiphop sensation Continuous Movement, as well as the always crowd pleasing pre-professionals like Gwen Bye’s Dancefusion 2, but
it happens altogether in a friendly comfortable community setting. Executive Director Terri Shockley says, “What I love about our open house is that the arts are center stage, it’s all about enjoying the performances of artists who love to perform!”
Most performances take place outside on the City Rec Department’s Showmobile from noon to 5pm. Some of the artists scheduled to perform include: Kelly Adorno and Dancers(Temple University), Charles Tyson’s Underground DanceWorks, Full Circle Multigenerational Theatre, and olive Dance Theatre, to name a few. The open house will also feature class demonstrations from CEC and Kumquat instructors Ron Wood (Capoeira) and Maggie Newman (Tia Chi). Neighborhood fitness expert and Capoeira student Nathon McIntyre of Bodyrock Bootcamp will be hosting a pushup and pullup competition. For a schedule of performances and other activities please refer the CEC website - www.cecarts.org.