October 2020 Nick Barone Workshop: Pop-Up Stages on Zoom!


Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 4-5:30 pm PST | Zoom Workshop

SFBAPG invites you to join us for the 4th Annual Nick Barone Workshop in celebration of the life and work of Nick Barone. Nick was a Bay Area puppeteer, puppet builder, mentor, teacher and beloved member of the San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild. This workshop will be presented free of charge and is open to all guild members and guests. 

Pop-up books can make wonderful stages for puppets. When the puppeteer turns each page of their book to tell the story, the puppets move from one act to another, as new scenery pops up to set the stage and delight the audience. Some of the advantages of a pop up book stage are that they do not take up a lot of space. They are also lightweight and are easily stored and shipped. They can also be set up and taken down quickly. 

Monica Leo of Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre is a master of pop-up book stages. In this workshop you will learn the art of paper engineering.  She will share tips on materials and ways to make surprising pop-ups with the larger pop-up pages. Also included are demonstrations of her stages, discussion of how the stages can be used and the techniques that she has found most useful in creating them. If you wish to make a pop-up stage during the workshop, be prepared with cardstock, pencil, ruler, scissors and a glue stick or rubber cement. You can also  listen and take notes during the workshop and work on your pop up book later. the link to the workshop will remain available for a week so that you can refer back to it as you work. 

Monica Leo is a first generation American, born to German refugees in the waning days of World War II. After the war, her parents ordered a set of Kasperle hand puppets from a German craftswoman, and Monica was hooked. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Monica studied for two years at the State Art Academy in Dusseldorf, Germany. Since 1975 she has been creating and performing as founder and principal puppeteer of Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre, West Liberty, Iowa. Eulenspiegel has performed at numerous regional, national and international festivals and has toured in 31 states and four other countries. Monica writes the “Scene Between” column for the Puppetry Journal. She lives in a log cabin in the woods built by her late husband. 

If you’d like to attend, please register online ASAP. Registration closes at noon on Saturday October 10. Registrations will receive a Zoom invitation on Saturday 10/10. This event is also open to non-Guild members. However, if you’d like to become a Guild member (which gives you great benefits, including a monthly newsletter), join today!