On Sunday, November 5th, 2006, I curated and hosted Puppets from the Edge at Mad Cow Theatre in Orlando
with Heather Henson. Puppets from the Edge was an evening of short-form puppetry for adults at the 2nd annual Orlando Puppet Festival that ran from November 1st through November 5th. The lineup included Harmony McChesney and Gary Alexander with Medea, Mark Baratelli with Improv-Cabaret, Wavy Davy with Rant, Shitty Bedford and Kevin Huey with The Dawning of Melted Telephone, Tom Blasco with Fleece in Space, James Donmoyer and Scotty Shoemaker with Stupid SciFi, Elaine Corbitt with Zombie Vacation, and Omnipresent Toychest with Akshun Fogyerz
The Orlando Puppet Festival, sponsored in part by Ibex and Mad Cow Theatre brought puppetry to the forefront in Orlando and the Central Florida area, exposing local, regional and national talent to the art of puppetry.
From the 2006 Puppets from the Edge program:
Medea – Harmony McChesney + Gary Alexander
with Beth DeCarlo, Markisha Corbourne, Christina Woodman
More than two thousand years ago, Euripides told the story of a jilted woman who exacts a terrible revenge. Enjoy our abridged version of his story and think with us what relation it has with events in our time.Improv-Cabaret – Mark Baratelli
with Guest puppet performer, James Donmoyer
Unlike a traditional cabaret act, Mark Baratelli makes up the entire thing off the top of his head. The lyrics, stories and songs are all made up seconds before they spill out of his mouth, and to hilarious effect. He is accompanied on the piano by improv pianist Jim Rhinehart. Yes, they are both making it all up. The duo are thrilled to be partnering up with the amazing puppeteer James Donmoyer to present a never before seen version of Improv Cabaret made up this afternoon. Puppets, cabaret, and improv! Whee!Rant – Wavy Davy
The Dawning of Melted Telephone – Shitty Bedford + Kevin Huey
Fleece in Space – Tom Blasco
The National Enquirer claims to have had a close encounter with alien life forms which he says, contrary to popular belief, are of low intellect and quite primitive and seem to be in possession of a one track mind.Stupid SciFi – James Donmoyer + Scotty Shoemaker
Bubs and Hal present their latest episode, a throwback to the Halloween specials of the 60’sZombie Vacation – Elaine Corbitt
Written and designed by Elaine Corbitt
Performed by Amy Strickland, Chris May, Jonathan West and John Corbitt
Life’s hard for a zombie! What with food hard to find and always going bad. And we’re always falling apart. What’s a zombie to do? Go on vacation of course!
Elaine Corbitt is a contemporary artist currently residing in the St. Petersburg, FL area. She designs and makes puppet costumes for Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater in Winter Park, FL. Elaine also loves the challenge of experimental mixed media projects.Akshun Fogyerz – Omnipresent Toychest
Created and directed by Bradley Bailey, with special contributions from Heather Brinkman and Brian Cabell Harris, Performed by Bradley Bailey, Heather Brinkman, Shorty Bedford and Sirius Bee, Constructed by Bradley Bailey, with special contributions from Sirius Bee, Shorty Bedford, Heather Brinkman, Natalia Vuley, Celeste Chapman, Steven Hawn, Katie Still, Andre Paraguassu, Jeffrey Lerner, Albino Mattioli, and Alexandra Addleton. Music by Bradley Bailey, Nathan Brown, Ryan Gregory, Shorty Bedford, Sirius B. and Steven Hawn, featuring an excerpt from David Kirby’s “Maximalism” Music produced by Nathan Brown.
Ibex inc, was a very small entertainment company that produced and presented visual splendors. Primarily nurturing new works in the fields of puppetry and animation, Ibex developed work for the field of independent film, television development and stage. The company was founded by Heather Henson in 2000.
Mad Cow Theatre is a non-profit arts organization funded by the State of Florida, Division of Cultural Affairs, United Arts of Central Florida, The Downtown Development Board, The Downtown Arts District, The Florida Theatrical Association and members of the Central Florida community just like you. Mad Cow Theatre is a proud member of the Central Florida Performing Arts Alliance and The Downtown Orlando Partnership.