Getting ready for the Petaluma Rivertown Revival Fest

Works in progress by Michele Wetherbee

Michele is a graphic designer. She has puppeteered with Trompin' Manikins before. Her puppets make their debut this Saturday!

Michele's son testing out the wind puppet.

Work in progress by Hillary.


I had two helpers.

Giraffe by Azalea Martin

Azalea is a former student of mine who is studying at the California College of Arts. She is both talented and prolific. I asked her to make a puppet for the event while she was on vacation. It will make it's debut this Saturday! Azalea also painted the fox, and chickens that have shown up at countless events.

Puppetry and Poster Design

Liberec Puppet Theatre, 

Czechoslovakia. 1966

I love Eastern European poster design. I stumbled across this small collection of puppetry posters form the 1960's. This is also a great resource for Italian puppets from the collection of puppeteer, Maria Signorelli.

Here's another great poster that my friend Lise found in Italy recently.

Aurelie's Oratorio

Three years ago I was inspired by a performance called, "Aurelie's Oratorio".  Aurelie is a talented acrobat/actress, who incorporates puppetry into the show. It was so amazing I saw the performance three times! Magical, mysterious, and dark, it has all the elements that I love in a performance with puppets. Aurelie used to perform with the band, the "Tiger Lillies", a band whose music I have had my students use in making puppet videos.

Aurelie's site.

Honk Fest 2015-Seattle

Hubbub & Trompin' Manikins at Gasworks Park in Seattle

Just got back from a great weekend in Seattle. We all marched in the Fremont Parade then performed in Gasworks park afterwards. It's the first time we've taken Trompin' Manikins on the road!

The puppeteers minus my mom.

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An amazing polar bear followed us in the parade.

Me and my mom.

She marched with the chicken.

Northbay Hootenanny-Railroad Square Music Festival 2015

Photo booth images by M Woolsey.

Want a great hat? Go to Portobello hats in Santa Rosa!

My sister, Doreen, was initiated into Trompin' Manikins today!

Me, my sister and a bystander were my puppeteers.

Another fun time spent dancing with the Hubbub club.

UBU and the Truth Commission

A few weeks ago I went to a production of Ubu and the Truth Commission by the Handspring Puppet Group and William Kentridge, one of my favorite contemporary artists. What an amazing production! Layers of acting, animation, and puppetry made it a rich feast for the eyes. After the production we went backstage and spoke with the puppeteers and saw the puppets up close, where I was able to shoot a lot of photos of the puppets. Unfortunately I don't have the rights to post them so I have included some images I found online to give you a sense.

Here is a link to a review with more pictures from the Guardian.

More Tips on Making Pageant Puppets

Basic architecture for 68 different kinds of parade puppets.

A link to what appears to be a large scale cardboard puppet.