Goatsong: A Meditation at XPT in Atlanta

This spring, I made a short shadow puppet film using overhead projectors and traditional shadow puppets. It’s called Goatsong: A Meditation. The film explores the dynamics of social status and exclusion, and it touches on Ancient Greece and the cruelty of school kids. It’s about goats. It’s a personal story, and it was deeply meaningful to me to make. It’s at XPT (Xperimental Puppet Theatre) at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA. Sadly, I can’t make it to Atlanta this time, which is a shame because there are so many amazing-sounding puppet projects at XPT that I would love to see. The festival runs May 2nd-5th.

The last time I made a film for XPT, I had more help - a sound designer, for instance. This time, I did most of it, and in the process I verified something I’ve long suspected - I want to do more sound design. The sound in the film is flawed, but I’m excited to revisit it and spend more time exploring sound.

Puppet Design Workshop at HSAD

Join me August 5-9 in beautiful Haliburton, Ontario at the Haliburton School of Art & Design for a week of puppet design and building. We’ll explore a variety of puppet-building techniques and create short puppetry pieces that will be shared in a group performance on the final afternoon. Skills developed in this course include design, story creation, sculpting, mold making, casting, painting, sewing and performance.  

Course cost $451.41 + $50 material fee

Go to the HSAD Summer 2024 catalogue for info on registration, accommodations, bursaries and awards. https://flemingcollege.ca/PDF/HSAD/HSAD-2024.pdf

Of the Night at the Lennox & Addington Museum

I love museums. I love displays and dioramas, I love reading interpretations of history and descriptions of the natural world. It thrills me that I have had the opportunity to work with the Museum of Lennox & Addington as much as I have. JoAnne Himmelman, the museum’s wonderful Curator, asked me this winter to create displays for the cases in the museum’s foyer. The displays come down soon, so please check them out, if you can.

Workshop: Worbla Mask Making at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre

The Studio is a series at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston where artists give a talk about their work and then lead a workshop. On November 12, 2023, I’ll talk about my practice and show people how to design and make masks out of Worbla. the cost is $25, including materials. There are some bursaries available. Details here: https://agnes.queensu.ca/participate/classes-workshops-camps/the-studio-mask-making/

Workshop: Wizard of Oz Props, Puppets & Masks in Port Hope

I’m working with the wonderful people of Critical Mass Art and the Vintage Film Festival to create a spectacular parade to celebrate the film festival’s showing of The Wizard of Oz.

How does one create props for hundreds? Lots of studio work, the help of the artist Andrea Malus, the help of my mom and daughter, and community workshops. There are two workshops coming up on October 6 & 7.

The October 6 workshop is a Worbla mask-making workshop that runs from 6-9pm. This workshop is for those who want to design and make their own mask.

The October 7 workshop runs from 10am-4pm. Participants can drop in and help make lanterns, crowns, masks, puppets and more! (So much more!) register for the workshops at https://criticalmassart.com/workshop-registration/

Just breathe.

This past week, I installed a window display at Novel Idea, Kingston’s wonderful independent bookstore. The display is for Kingston WritersFest, which runs September 27-October 1. The theme of this year’s festival is ‘unbound’, and as turned that word over in my head, this is the image that came to me.

Life Cast

A woman asked me to make a life cast of her chest before she has surgery because of breast cancer. It ended up being one of the most beautiful and connected days. There were four of us there. She brought a friend, and my friend Ginger worked with me. The four of us listened to East Coast music, drank coffee, and told stories about joys and stories about griefs. I am grateful to have been part of the experience. Photo posted with permission.

Ginger and #lifecast #breastcancer #breadtcancerawareness #checkyourboobs

The Highwayman

On February 16, I was at The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts performing a shadow puppet play I created to accompany Dean Burry’s gorgeous, haunting composition, The Highwayman. The Highwayman featured the incomparable mezzo-soprano Kristina Szabó. It was a wonderful evening. Students Zoe Sulisz and Sarah Wolstenholme performed with me, and they had worked on the project in the months leading up to the performance. My daughter Simone Scala-Conley stepped in to help with overhead projections when we decided to add text and therefore needed another person.