Shows Feed

Immigrant Stew at the Chat n' Chew

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:02:50 -0500

IMMIGRANT STEW AT THE CHAT ‘N’ CHEW is humorous, touching, and quite timely as we welcome immigrants into the rural Midwest. Cathy Schmidt-McGillicutty, played by Monica Leo, is the proprietress of the local cafe, the Chat ‘N’ Chew. She’s upset because her daughter wants to marry a member of a Mexican immigrant family. She confronts her prejudice as flashbacks play out scenes from her own family history. The flashbacks are performed by older children or adults from your community to an accompaniment of music by Ron Hillis.

Underwater Shadow Puppets

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:08:57 -0500

Each participant makes a shadow puppet of an underwater creature. The puppeteers show participants how to make a simple tabletop shadow stage out of corrugated cardboard. The session ends with an impromptu performance. This is a great way to learn a skill that children as well as adults can adapt to ther own usage!

Time required: 1 hour

Class size: Up to 30

PARTICIPANTS MUST BE OLD ENOUGH TO DRAW AND CUT.

Freedom Star; Gertie's Journey on the Underground Railroad

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:15:05 -0500

Freedom Star: Gertie's Journey on the Underground Railroad uses near lifesize handheld puppets, rod puppets, shadow puppets, and hand-dyed scenery to tell a dramatic and moving story, based on local history, of a young girl who escapes from a farm in Missouri and makes her way through Iowa on her way to freedom. A beautiful and exciting play, it educates while entertaining. It uses specific local and regional history references, including information about John Brown during the years he spent in Iowa. It features live music with topical songs written and played by Ron Hillis, a highly regarded Iowa musician.

The Amazing Adventures of Willy the Woolly

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 22:37:43 -0500

Eulenspiegel Puppets performs a delightful tale of the lovable mammoths who roamed the Iowa prairies 10,000 years ago! Follow Willy the young woolly mammoth and his friend Bonny the Bunny as they overcome the dangers of sinkholes and saber tooth tigers. Learn about the Ice Age and the power of friendship. Performed with a cast of tabletop marionettes, rod puppets, shadow puppets, and the whimsical live music of Ron Hillis!

The Flea

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:02:55 -0500

The Flea is a melding of two Spanish-American folktales, one about a race between a donkey and a family of frogs and one about a goat herder named Pedro who enlists the help of an ant, a cockroach and a mouse to win a contest and achieve his dream of joining a band.

Eulenspiegel puppeteers will train your students or community members to manipulate the delightful rod puppets used in this production. The show can be performed in English or, if the sponsor provides a Spanish speaker, in English and Spanish. It is enhanced with live music by Ron Hillis.

Classroom Puppet Potpourri

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:08:46 -0500

Puppeteer Monica Leo demonstrates several styles of puppets with short, entertaining vignettes and gives the students ideas for puppet shows of their own. Some students are selected to try working some of the puppets or helping with sound effects while the others form the all important audience. Educational and entertaining, this workshop will leave students champing at the bit to do their own puppet shows!

Time required: 45 minutes-1 hour

Class size: Up to 50

APPROPRIATE FOR ANY AGE.

The Adventures of Great Rabbit

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:41:26 -0500

Based on an Algonquin tale about Mahtegwis, the rabbit trickster, this Eulenspiegel favorite tells how Bobcat got his stumpy tale. The puppet theatre uses witty, fast-paced dialogue and highly mobile shadow puppets in a cleverly designed, colorful stage that mimics the unending saga of cat chasing rabbit. The expressive silhouette theater is enhanced with jewel-like accent colors. This production, which has toured Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, features the live music of musician Ron Hillis.

Portraits of the Prairie

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:43:16 -0500

PORTRAITS OF THE PRAIRIE, written by Iowa Poet Laureate Mary Swander, is a series of tableaus showing the history of the land from native prairie through early settlers and small farms, through large agriculture, and back to reconstructed prairie. They’re presented through the eyes of Pierre, a wacky painter and his friend, a sassy Iowa squirrel. Pierre, a masked character, is played by Monica Leo, and all of the prairie creatures are performed by children or adults in your community in a three tier set that resembles a Grant Wood painting. Live music by Ron Hillis.

Czech Style Hand Puppets

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:09:22 -0500

Make a classic hand puppet in the Czech tradition. These puppets have round, folk art style heads with charming faces and and no-sew bodies. Learn how lifelike their movements are, too!

Time required: 1 1/2 to 2 hours

Class size: Up to 30

APPROPRIATE FOR FIRST GRADE THROUGH ADULT

Escape to Freedom: Underground Railroad History Through Shadow Puppets

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:52:59 -0500

This 5 day curriculum infused residency teaches Iowa Underground Railroad History through shadow puppetry. Each of four classes develops two scenes, making their own puppets to depict incidents that occurred in Iowa between 1856 and 1859. At the end of the week, the eight scenes are performed chronologically, giving the audience a nutshell history of the period.

Puppeteer Monica Leo developed this residency through the Creative Classrooms program, developed by the Gallagher-Bluedorn at the University of Northern Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council, in association with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Sal Fink, Catfish Wrangler

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:41:31 -0500

Eulenspiegel celebrates our rivers and prairies with tall tales starring Iowa folk heroine, Sal Fink, legendary daughter of Mike Fink, the mighty keel boatman. Sal tames a bear, wrestles a vicious snake, vanquishes a tornado, and plays with her pet pig, Suey. The production features live music, written and performed by Iowa musician Ron Hillis. With lots of sound effects and harmony singing, this performance will leave you humming! (photo by Michael Kreiser)

Making and Using Hand Puppets

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:08:32 -0500

The Eulenspiegel Puppeteers will take you through the process of making a traditional hand puppet with a hard head and fabric body. You will make a head of newspaper and plaster bandages, using a process the puppeteers have used in numerous classrooms for over 25 years. You'll paint the face and make a mobile, no-sew body. You'll learn to work the puppet and leave ready to put together your own show.

Time required: 3-4 hours (all at once, or 1 hour per day)

Class size: Up to 30

APPROPRIATE FOR FIRST GRADE THROUGH ADULT

Giant Parade Puppets

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:08:19 -0500

Giant puppets can make a big splash in your local parade or festival. Creating them is a fun, community-building activity for all ages. If your community has a parade, a festival, or a special event, get your hands messy with papier maché! Wow the spectators! Hire the Eulenspiegel Puppeteers to help a local group build giant puppets around the theme of your event.

The dragons in the photograph were created by a group of Upward Bound students during a three day residency.

The Education of a Donkey

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:41:34 -0500

Written for Eulenspiegel by playwright Rebecca Gilman, this story is adapted from a tale first published in 1500. It features the company’s namesake, Till Eulenspiegel, a stuffy University Rector, and a lovable donkey. Full of wordplay, it follows Till as he tricks the Rector by teaching a donkey to read. It's performed with a cast of beautifully crafted hand puppets and rod puppets, a block-printed, Medieval looking set, and the original live music of Ron Hillis.

Making Rod Puppets

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:08:01 -0500

Make a humorous, silly or serious rod puppet character. Rod puppets have heads mounted on dowel rods and arms manipulated with rods. You'll make the head with a process similar to papier mache, paint it, and make a body out of cloth. You'll leave with a rod puppet of your own creation and lots of ideas!

Time required: 4-5 hours (all at once, or 1 hour per day)

Class size: Up to 30

APPROPRIATE FOR FOURTH GRADE THROUGH ADULT

Stories and Cuentos

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:41:17 -0500

Developed and performed by Monica Leo and Mexican puppeteer Eli Portugal, co-founder of Mojiganga Arte Escenico, this performance includes two classic Mexican animal tales. The Rabbit in the Moon, a well-known myth, gives a whimsical explanation for the shadows we see in the moon, while delighting audiences with the age old battle of wits between rabbit and coyote. The Musical Ant, a lesser known tale, follows Hormiguita (liitle ant) as he learns to play the piano and brings peace to his ant colony through music. The production uses hand puppets, rod puppets, masked characters, and music and incorporates both Spanish and English.

Developing and Performing a Story With Shadow Puppets

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:41:15 -0500

Participate in the ancient, magical art of shadow puppetry! You'll learn how to make beautiful, mobile, well-articulated puppets out of cardboard, colored acetate, and other things that cast interesting shadows, such as lace and feathers. You'll make characters for a specific story, usually a folk tale, with your classmates, rehearse it and perform it for an audience.

Time required: 3-4 hours (all at once, or 1 hour per day)

Class size: Up to 30

APPROPRIATE FOR THIRD GRADE THROUGH ADULT

Design Your Own Residency

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:54:02 -0500

Typical residencies last from 2 to 5 days and can include 1 or 2 puppeteers and/or a musician! You can choose from the following activities to design the perfect residency for your school or organization:

Performances
Puppet making workshops
Performance workshops
Music workshops
Script writing workshops
Workshops for teachers, librarians, and other interested adults
Hand puppets, rod puppets, shadow puppets, marionettes!

Each residency is individually designed to meet your needs.

Eulenspiegel's Circus

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 14:03:48 -0400

In EULENSPIEGEL’S CIRCUS, a joyous fantasy featuring tabletop puppets, a kazoo band, and lots of silly business, Till Eulenspiegel, the troupe’s namesake, is celebrating his 10th birthday. His mother, Millie, gives him a mysterious box. He must unlock the secret of the box and find his path in life. In this humorous, fast-paced story, Till meets the Poly Brothers, Marco, Beanie, and Roly; Madame Babuschka and her performing pups, Boris and Natasha; and the clowns, Tinkle and Ding-A-Dong-Doo. He discovers his circus heritage and decides he must have a circus, too! Written and created by Monica Leo and Teri Jean Breitbach and performed by Justin Cornett-Olsson and Angela Polowy.

Puppetry in the Classroom or Library

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:25:45 -0400

Puppetry in the Classroom or Library

Drawing on 35-plus years of experience working in schools, Eulenspiegel Puppeteer Monica Leo will teach tried and proven classroom projects, using hand puppets and shadow puppets. She'll demonstrate simple construction and movement techniques for both styles and discuss the process of creating a show with students. Each participant will make a shadow puppet, and the workshop will end with the participants doing an impromptu show. An expanded version of this workshop can include participants writing, building, and performing a complete show.

Time required: Basic workshop: 60-90 minutes

Can be expanded into a week-long class or any length of time in between

Little Red Riding Hood

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:43:12 -0500

Eulenspiegel's adaptation of this beloved Grimms fairy tale uses delightfully crafted miniature Bohemian marionettes created by puppeteer Monica Leo. The set is an extra-large pop-up storybook also designed and created by Leo. The script, laced with wit and whimsy, was written by puppeteer Teri Jean Breitbach. The production was directed by well-known director Michael Sokoloff. In addition to seven puppets, the cast includes a wacky, flamboyant storyteller who relates to the audience as well as the puppets.

The Snow Queen

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:52:11 -0400

Eulenspiegel's adaptation of this beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale uses delightfully crafted miniature Bohemian marionettes that interact on the pages of two extra-large pop-up storybooks. The story follows Gerda as she travels to the ends of the earth to save her best friend, Kai, from the Snow Queen. Along her way she meets a host of eccentric characters from a naughty little robber girl to a magical flower lady to a talking crow. The cast also includes a flamboyant storyteller who relates to the audience as well as the puppets. A feast for the eyes and the heart!

This show was developed with the support of a grant from the Puppeteers of America Endowment Fund.

In the Mirror: Three Tales From Asia

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:48:39 -0500

A set of three tales from Japan and Turkey, these stories all feature atypical heroes. A favorite is the little old lady outsmarting two Oni (Japanese trolls) who imprison her in order to sample her delicious cooking. The show uses a clever stage that rises and folds out of a decorated box. It features rod puppets, paper puppets, masks, and a combination rod puppet/rod marionette.

Girls On The Roof

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 14:09:08 -0500

Iowa Poet Laureate Mary Swander's new book of poetry is one long narrative poem about a mother and daughter stuck on top of the roof of a cafe on the banks of the Mississippi River for three days during the 1993 flood. While they are there, the women discover that they have both had an affair with the same man.

In this one-hour adult production, Swander reads poems from her new book while puppeteer Monica Leo brings the scenes alive through the use of hand, rod, and shadow puppets. This show, filled with old time music, romance, intrigue, humor, folklore, and the flora and fauna of the Mississippi River basin, will dazzle the ear with its poetic rhythms, and delight the eye its likenesses of an unforgettable cast of characters.

Finding Home

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:57:36 -0500

Finding Home is a trilogy of pieces, poignant, joyful, and humorous, about puppeteer Monica Leo’s parents and their immigration experiences. The first piece, My Father’s Imaginary Friend, uses candlelight and shadows to interpret the story of her father’s hope and survival during his incarceration in a concentration camp.

The second piece, German Eggheads in Rural Texas, traces the family’s life in a Lutheran parsonage in rural Texas. Monica uses her mother’s illustrations to create puppets and scenery that tell droll stories of language and cultural mix-ups and misunderstandings.

The third piece, Mutti’s Muscles, uses dolls and other objects to follow her mother’s rebirth as a metal sculptor and political activist in the United States after her father’s death.

Play to Play (or Hold Your Puppet Up!)

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:08:15 -0400

Play to Play (or Hold your Puppet Up!) is a touching and humorous glimpse into the private lives of the puppets and puppeteers created and performed by Monica Leo. Using the traditional art of paper theater as a starting point, Monica has created a performance featuring incidents experienced during thirty five years as a touring puppeteer. The show uses hand painted paper puppets and paper engineered staging to tell droll and touching stories about the interactions between the puppets, the puppeteers, and their friends and audiences. The play was developed with the encouragement and advice of the Black Doggers Playwriting Group and the support of the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.