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Tysoe Marionette Group

“JUST HOW” were we able to donate £800 to Tysoe CE Primary School PTA from five sold-out performances in February and March 2009?  It is of course thanks to generous audiences and to our hard-working core group of 6 puppeteers, supported by sound & light men (rather, man and boy), who freely give up their Thursday evenings to rehearse.  Thanks also to Live Vultures, Story-Teller and Stage Manager who come in nearer the show date.  Neither must we forget to thank the ‘Voices’ who pre-record the script, nor the Musical Director nor the Scenery Artist.  By the time you read this, hopefully we will have raised a further £200 for Shenington CE Primary School PTA.  Tysoe School is reportedly going to form an orchestra and pay for a teacher and Shenington will fund the extras needed for drama classes.  Due to the credit squeeze the performing arts have had their share of funds severely cut.

We are now gaining a reputation nationally and played to a full house of professional puppeteers on 1st March.  Comments from the Chairman of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild include “..the Tysoe Marionette Group are to be congratulated in recreating Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So” stories for the puppet stage, just one step perhaps towards some parents buying the book and reading them to their children at bedtime.  The selected stories of the Whale’s Throat, the Camel’s Hump and the Elephant’s Nose, are all delightfully played with narrator (Margot McCleary) some excellent marionettes and a couple of hand puppet vultures … The stories are told brightly and with lots of fun.”  Peter Charlton goes on to comment particularly on the first class sound quality achieved this time by sound engineer Paul Reeves, both for voices and sound effects.  He finishes with “Well done Tysoe, another well accomplished and enjoyable afternoon.”  This is praise indeed!

If you missed the show watch this space, we may repeat it.  If you would like to join the Group (children should be at least 10 yrs old, or they will not be tall enough to operate the marionettes)

Contact:  Jon and Ann Beeny on Tel:  01295 680 431

Email: JonandAnn@annbeeny.f9.co.uk

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Last modified: April 29, 2009