CALLING ALL ARTISTS! CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

A call for participants and proposals for projects

that include puppetry

for family or adult audiences.

Visual artists, theatre artists, pupeteers, performance artists,

musicians, designers, writers, film makers,

directors, composers, choreographers,

technicians, and others interested in learning about and

integrating puppetry into their artistic practice.

Details below - Apply Now!

Application deadline Jan 20, 2012

Fee $200 includes registration free for workshops.

• Monday January 30th – 7 to 9 pm – Introduction to world puppetry
• Monday February 6th – 7 to 9 pm – Visual Scripting with story boards
• Monday February 13th – 7 to 9 pm – Design and staging for puppetry in theatre
• Monday February 20th – 7 to 9 pm – Exploring materials, mechanics and mechanisms.

 The Explanation

Puppetry is an art form that combines literature, music, mime, dance and drama and the visual arts to make a sum greater than its parts. It is the last great under-explored frontier of the arts! 

Modeled on the famous XPT program at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, the Puppetry eXploratory Laboratory is a forum that offers the opportunity for artists to explore their creative passion within the puppet art form.   As a participant in PXL, you have the opportunity to be involved in a unique experience that allows you to interact and collaborate with artists of all kinds.  PXL membership entails many benefits for a rare learning opportunity: It is a chance to fine tune skills you already have, to develop and try new ones, or simply learn a greater appreciation for the art of puppetry and its many facets. PXL is a forum for the development of creative ideas, not merely a showcase for future productions: Emphasis is on the development of new material and unique adaptations of existing material. We are looking to push the envelope; we invite you to join us!

Participants will work in groups, made up of a Project Director and Individual Members, on the Project Director’s project. Over the following months Puppetmongers will assist the projects to move forward, with meeting-planning sessions, shop time at our studio, direction and technical and general advice. All the groups will present their productions as part of the Fresh Ideas in Puppetry Day, on either June 9 or June 10 (TBA)

 The Details

• You may participate as an Individual PXL Member or as a PXL Project Director.
• If you wish to be an Individual Member (participating in someone else’s project) please download and complete an Individual Membership application form from this link here.  (Please ignore the page for the Project Director)
• If you choose to apply as a Project Director (with a project in mind) please download and complete a Project Director application form from this link here.  (Please ignore the page for the Individual Member)
• Proposed pieces must be under 10 minutes long, and can be in any of the myriad styles of puppetry: shadow, mask, automata, object theatre, sock puppets, body puppets, stop-motion and live puppet film, Bunraku style, marionettes or something never thought of before.
• Remounts of pre-existing pieces will not be considered. All projects selected will be considered as works-in-progress.
• Return all applications by January 20th, 2012, to school@puppetmongers.com or PXI c/o Puppetmongers, 401 Logan Ave, Unit 219, Toronto, ON, M4M 2P2
• As part of the selection process, Project Directors will be asked to an interview with the Puppetmongers.
• Applicants will be notified of project application status by January 27th, 2012. Then the Project directors with the Individual members build and rehearse the pieces with Puppetmongers mentorship.
• The performance date, at the Fresh Ideas in Puppetry Day,in June
• The Finances: All participants pay a fee of $200, which includes workshop fees and materials costs. Each selected project will be allocated a portion of these funds for their production costs.