Below, in absolutely no order, are pictures from shows and workshops from the past..
The Amazing Adventures of Chessie the Manatee
Currently on break, this is our most performed show ever. Chessie tells the tale of a Florida Manatee who made his way all the way to Virginia and beyond. The show has taken us all over the country and allowed us to meet many amazing folks along the way!
Jonah
One of our most ambitious shows, you'll actually join Jonah inside the belly of the whale! The whale puppet is over seven feet tall and once Jonah is swallowed, the entire audience is inside the whale through the use of ingenious blacklight puppetry.
The Wright Brothers
The Wright Brothers was created to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Orville and Wilbur's first powered flight in North Carolina. The show toured from 2002 through 2006.
We got to see Cathy after a performance of Peter Pan. The show was filled with terrific flying scenes, great orchestrations and wonderful special effects. It certainly was an influence on our Wright Brothers play. If you pay attention to the last song in the show, we specifically mention Peter Pan.
The Really Big Dinosaur Show
This really was a huge show. The T-Rex stands over 9 feet tall and the Diplodocus is over 12 feet long. The song, "The Dinosaur Hop" is still one of our most popular download and the CD is still very popular.
To the right is paleontologist and author, Dr. Jack Horner is perhaps best known to the public as the technical advisor for "Jurassic Park.'' He was part of the many dinosaur events planned for the Virginia Marine Science Museum. We got to meet with him in the weeks before our dinosaur show opened. Based on that meeting, we had to make changes in our dinosaur show to make it more scientifically accurate.
Wide-Eyed
Wanda's Wondrous Wetland Review
Seemore D. Bay is back again and this time he's visiting all of the wondrous creatures found in the Chesapeake Bay. His tour guide, Wide-Eyed Wanda the Barred Owl opens Seemore's eyes to the importance of having a clean and healthy bay.
Wanda was created in association with the Virginia Aquarium and features over 40 puppet versions of animals found in the bay including Fiddler Crabw, a Blue Heron, a Great White Egret, and Big Moe the Toad.
The Mother Goose Traveling Rock and Roll Show
B.B. Wulf sings the "Mother Goose Twist," The Three Pigs perform an opera, and Humpty Dumpty falls down and puts himself back together again and again and again in "The Mother Goose Travelling Rock and Roll Show."
That's Ann B. Davis from The Brady Bunch with the "Messick Bunch" right after a performance of the "Mother Goose" show.
Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel was a lot of fun as a live show. We
toured once in 1981 and again in 1984. It became a popular puppet production in
1995. To the left is the cast of the live show. They later provided voices for
the puppets!
Recycled Bottle Workshops
Following the video instructions and guidance of master puppeteer Bob Brown, we have helped students create puppets and puppet shows out of recycled materials. Thanks Bob!
Helen and Jack Spaetzel
What
husbands will do for their wives. That's Jack Spaetzel modeling Helen's Easter
Bunny costume. Helen is over to right teaching a workshop. What a
great teacher, what a great artist, what a great friend!
Workshops
Dad demonstrates the Parasaurolophus. Josh demonstrates his "fishie."
Recording workshop in Roanoke, Virginia:
We produced an entire show... from writing, recording, puppet building, rehearsal and performance. What a great time. Everything went great until we tried to get back home. We still don't know what happened... it wouldn't drive once we got outside of Roanoke but was fine after we were towed to Richmond. As you can see, Laura Huff looks awfully happy for someone needing a tow!
Jim Henson
During the New Orleans World's Fair, Jim Henson used his influence to facilitate the presentation of rare Italian puppets. Somehow, these rare puppets, never before let out of Italy, were lost. David was a Production Co-ordinator during the fair and was charged with the task of finding the puppets before the performance began.
"I wasn't about to tell Mr. Henson that the puppets were lost. We had teams looking through all the rooms where the performers were staying, people checking warehouses on the fair grounds, and we raced to airport customs armed with the manifest for the puppets. We finally found them, hidden in the back of the warehouse just yards from the performance area."
Steve Whitmire and Kermit the Frog
Here's Rainbow Puppet Maker with Steve Whitmire and Kermit the Frog. Steve now does the voice and operates Kermit. Chris specializes in the flying puppets and crab puppets in all of our shows.
Adam West
T.V.'s Batman with Laura Huff and David backstage with Adam West after a benefit program for the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters held at Norfolk's Scope area.
John Wayne*
(*Okay, we didn't really get to meet John Wayne, but Jason did include a giant talking cut
out of the Duke in a recent show.)