From: "Alan Cook" <alangregorycook-AT-msn.com>
To: puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 05:31:13 GMT
Subject: [Puptcrit] Seeing 2 puppet shows the same day


Philip Huber performed Fri-Sat & Sun in Santa Monica in the intimate seating type theatre at 2d & Arizona Sts, and I was in the front row about 6 feet from the puppets. Watching this master puppeteer that close was still magical, just like it was watching Frank Paris from the stage wings. Thanks to Steve Meltzer, this event was possible in his theater. I'd seen most of the acts many times before, and Philip maintains their freshness every time. That is puppet magic!

Earlier in Los Angeles (3 pm) at Son of Semele, 3301 Beverly Blvd, East of Vermont Ave. I finally caught a performance by The Rogue Artists Ensemble, a group that began at University of California at Irvine in Orange County (2001), and then found a home in Santa Ana. They used about 50 masks, a variety of puppet types including shadows, and used some neat original animation projections. Around 10 people making it all happen. The program had many sections, directed by Sean Cawelti and others. I was pleased to learn that L.A. Guild of Puppetry member Mauri Bernstein was a cast member. This was the first appearance by the company in Los Angeles, so if you live in the Los Angeles area there is still time to catch a performance. See www.rogueartists.org/epiphany for details. This is a lively group which lived up to four years of favorable reports---Tix are $15 and you can understand what is going on, which is not always clear in some "experimental" shows I have seen recently.---ALAN COOK Shows thru Sept 3

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