FableVision Summer Open House

Do you know about FableVision? You should! Their home page states, "FableVision is a company dedicated to helping all learners discover their true potential." They live up to that mission. In addition to FableVision, which produces mobile applications, web sites, software, and books (among other things), FableVision Learning provides resources that help teach 21st century kids. The company also owns an idependent bookstore in Dedham, MA.

The company hosts seasonal open houses in the Boston studio, right above the Children's Museum. These are fantastic opportunities to meet the people behind the magic. Whether you're interested in having a book signed by Peter Reynolds, trying out their Animation-ish software, or networking, the event is always lively and fun.

This week Dan and Jackie from my program joined me. It reminded me how much I'll miss my graduate school experience, especially now that we have really started to form our own media lab structure at Tufts! I know those two are going to do amazing things next year, and I'm excited to see who joins them!

Perhaps my favorite part of the studio is the center of the office, what seems to be an animation/illustration pit. Pit in a good way! How awesome it must be to be surrounded by so much creative energy each day! If I ever open that beautiful studio in Red Hook, BK, I will definitely have a "pit" of my own.

The parting gifts? Old-fashioned treasures that teachers would hand out to students: temporary tattoos, compasses, stickers, etc. The perfect end to a perfect evening!

Many thanks, FableVision!

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Threadless Muppet Tee!

I recommend you purchase this shirt and purchase it now. Threadless hosted a design contest with Disney for a Muppet shirt. The result? Together Again. Check. It. Out.

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iRead: 10-Minute Puppets

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Noel MacNeal earlier this summer. I had heard about his puppetry work and new book from a comedic puppeteer and was excited to see his artistry in action! Meeting him reminded me that I had to check out his book 10-Minute Puppets. The book reads like the perfect guide for a boring, summer day or stuffy snow day. I could picture my mother using it with my sister and me on one of those occasions and helping us build a puppet theater and cast of characters for an after-dinner family performance.

I appreciate that the book opens with a section on which materials are needed. MacNeal repeats this practice for each puppet. It's always helpful for children (and adults) to have a clear idea of what will happen before starting the project. A novice cook would not make a recipe without the ingredients!

The book is organized into six chapters. Chapters 1 through 4 provide specific kinds of puppets (fingers, shadows, etc.), while 5 and 6 provide information on how to build a puppet theater and create your own puppet show. It's truly a one-stop shop! My favorite was Chapter 3: Cutouts and Shadows. Each example in this section could easily be imitated by a child. Overall, I think most of these projects require adult supervision and assistance. The shadow puppets, however, could be done by a child alone or with a friend.

Other favorite parts of the book include: the "Peekaboo Present" puppet (page 69), the large "Dinosaur" puppet (page 58), each project's "If You've Got More Time" section, and the "Puppet Parts and Templates" appendix, which will allow you to either trace, photocopy or color and cut right out of the book and onto your puppet! Brilliant! This book would be oodles of fun for kids of all ages. Under 6 may need adult assistance!

MacNeal is great fun to follow on Twitter @NoelMacNeal. You can buy the book here.

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Thank you note from a camper...

Christina,
I love you so much. I just want to see you next time when I'm five in my next class. Goodbye. See you later.

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The Voice 4 Vision Puppet Festival

The Voice 4 Vision Puppet Festival is happening in New York this December 8th through the 18th! The festival considers itself grassroots and artist-driven. It hopes to support continued innovation in the art form.

I'm most excited about their call for video submissions and hoping to prepare something for the festival. I'll definitely be there and may be volunteering. I hope you'll join me!

Find out more about the festival on their website.

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iRead "My Life as a Furry Red Monster"

Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of catching a screening of the documentary Being Elmo at the Independent Film Festival Boston. The film tells the tale of Kevin Clash, the talented Muppeteer and the man who has made Elmo famous. Fortunately, Clash, Elmo, and the team behind the film were there for a question and answer session after the film. What started as a brief few minutes with Kevin and a few minutes with Elmo, turned into over an hour of interaction between Elmo and the audience. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience! The screening inspired me to read Clash's book My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love, and Laughing Out Loud.

I found the book to be extremely similar to the film. This is refreshing, though. Clash's story and rise to fame are clear and inspiring. My favorite part of both the book and the film is his relationship with puppet-builder Kermit Love. Love mentored Clash, assisting him in refining his puppet-building techniques and his networking within the business.

Moments such as Clash's experience as a substitute puppeteer on the Sesame Street float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade are vivid and detailed. As a reader, you can feel Clash's enthusiasm and youthful awe.

The book is organized by Elmo's well-known, pro-social characteristics: Love, Joy, Creativity, Tolerance, Courage, Friendship, Cooperation, Learning, Optimism. The reader learns how important Elmo and Sesame Street have been in Clash's development and acquisition of these qualities.

The central themes of both the book and the film are to dream big and work hard. Again, the book and film are incredibly similar. If you had to pick one, I would recommend the film. In it are home videos of Clash and his family, footage of his early performances and television programs as well as an exclusive look at an early encounter with Kermit Love.

You can find the book here.

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Where have all the puppets gone?

I'm a huge advocate of quality, live-action television. I love me some animation, but there's something about the human connection made between characters on-screen and young viewers at home. I briefly discussed this issue in my Master's thesis and considered a research study conducted by Longo and Bertenthal (2009). They measured children's imitations to a human hand and a non-human (computer generated) hand. They found that "the amount of mirroring is reduced-but is not eliminated-for non-human actors" (2009, p. 742). When considering imitation, it seems as if children are more likely to imitate a human on-screen rather than an animated character.

I wonder if Longo and Bertenthal would consider live puppets as "non-human" or "human?" This would be a study in and of itself, and learning how children respond to animation vs. live-action would take a great deal of research.

For now, I ask, "Where have all the puppets gone?" I could rattle off a list of programs with puppets that I watched as a child. Below is my brainstormed list of current puppetry programs broadcast for children in the US. Please feel free to add on in the comments section!

1-Sesame Street
2-

That's all I got, people. So where are the puppets? It's possible that the expense of making puppets is discouraging for producers and broadcasters. Happily, it seems like puppeteer Noel MacNeal is working on a new program for PBS. This gossip is straight from some vague details on his Twitter feed. Let's hope this new program brings more puppetry back to television.

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