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PUPPET & MASK ARTS

We are the only camp in Florida with a full Puppet & Mask Theatre Program. Starting with Ancient traditions of Object Theatre and Mask, campers will explore the design and movement arts of our ancestors. Then we will “leap around the planet” to build and perform Indonesian Shadows, Japanese Bunraku, and English Punch. After this experience, children will see their world differently - a place where everything can become a puppet. Puppetry is an art form that incorporates many of the multiple intelligences -- it impacts virtually all types of learners. The process of creating a puppet performance involves social skills such as teamwork, compromise and problem solving. The end result, the performance, not only educates the audience, but is also a valuable assessment tool in itself. View More >

Artistic Objectives:
    > Campers will learn and use professional puppetry vocabulary.
    > Campers will discover techniques to create a puppet and cultural background for each creation.
    > Campers will recognize the potential use of puppetry to bring a story to life.
    > Multiple intelligences targeted include: linguistic, visual/spatial,
       kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, mathematical, natural and musical.

Unique Features:
    v 6 to 1 ratio of campers to Professional Artists (4 - 1 Staff Ratio)
    > Exclusive limited enrollment allows only 12 campers per class level for more personal attention
    > Instruction from seasoned professionals with significant credentials in performing and visual arts
    > Personal & collaborative work to build your budding artist's portfolio
    > Our new unique version of “Alice in Wonderland” is a non-musical play and will feature
       “humanette” puppetry, completely new to South Florida.
    > “Alice in Wonderland” is an ensemble play where each participant is guaranteed a role in the
       show.
    > The Professional Instructors will provide a Report Care to parents with a talent assessment
       showing the camper’s progression from the start to the end of the program

Camper Perks:
    > Each camper will receive a Professional Headshot to use for future auditions.
    > Campers will also receive a Theater Arts Camp T-Shirt & all supplies needed for the production.
    > All families will receive 2 complimentary tickets for the final performance of “Alice in Wonderland”
       on either July 24 & 25 at 2pm.
    > All families are invited to the Final Art Show & Cast Party which will follow the show on Sunday
       July 25 on the Arts Patio.
    > Parents will have the opportunity for a one-on one talent assessment interview at the Cast Party
       on July 25th.

Expert Instructors:     > NYC Regional Theatre Director with        over 30 Years Experience with Actors        & Students     > NY Puppet & Mask Master who worked        with Broadway's "The Lion King" for 6        years     > NY/Miami Professional Artist & Gallery        Owner with Artwork in International        Collections     > NYU Mime Master & Art Instructor who        studied with Marcel Marceau     > NJ Puppet Design Teacher known as        one of the Top Arts Teachers of Palm        Beach County

Puppet Arts Camp Director: Jim Hammond
After receiving his MA in Puppetry Design from The University of Connecticut and his BA in Theatre from State University of New York with an emphasis in Education, Jim created Sideshow Productions in 1996 designing sets, costumes, props and puppets for such clients as Florida Grand Opera, New World Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and regional TV Producers. Every program he has worked on has had an educational component. He has been an Artist in Residence for the Museum of Art, Cuban American National Council, Camp Live Oak, Cities of Fort Lauderdale and Hialeah, along with too many workshops to count. In 2002, Jim began working as part of the puppet department of Disney's The Lion King National Tour and taught master classes on puppetry during his 6 years on the road. Additional credits include: Executive Director, Puppet Festival of the Americas and Artistic Director for Puppet Rampage National Festival. In 2008, Sideshow Productions became Puppet Network and Jim has been focused on developing children's educational media properties as well as designing and producing for stage and screen. Back to Top of Page

Puppet Arts Asst. Director: Ronnie Gerstel
The creative spirit behind Flamingo Park Puppets, Ronni has been a puppeteer, builder & instructor for 18 years after receiving her BA in Arts & Therapy. She's toured schools throughout South Florida performing educational puppet programs for the Mental Health Association, Solid Waste Authority, ESE and Multicultural departments. She is one of the original Palm Beach County's LEAP Artists and currently is a lead teacher for the Center for Creative Education working in many classrooms. Ronni has collaborated with over 100 teachers in schools. camps and after- school programs. She's also produced original productions for the Palm Beach Zoo, Puppetry Arts Center and the Jewish National Fund, among others. Her goal is to encourage cooperation and creativity, and boost self-esteem while learning. She has found that puppetry is an effective teaching tool or all age groups, curriculum areas and special needs populations. She and Jim have developed projects together for Broward Center for the Performing Arts, New World Symphony and several other organizations with big plans for the future.  Back to Top of Page

Alex Benitez, Visual Arts Camp Director
Alex holds a B.A. with a double major in Fine Arts and Marketing. He best describes his style as a mix of neo-cubism and figurative abstraction, whose intense brush strokes and vivid colors give shape to whimsical faces and figures. He gives life to his paintings at his newly opened studio in Fort Lauderdale.   His work is sold in galleries in Miami, New York, San Juan, Key West and he has participated in over 30 solo and group shows in the US and the Caribbean, including Art Expo in New York and Art Basel in Miami. Alex has also worked several corporate projects like the prestigious Bristol Condominium in San Juan, the trendy Avenue Lofts in Fort Lauderdale and Massimo Bizzocchi boutique in NYC.   Back to Top of Page

Robert D. Nation
Robert is a native New Yorker and an Educational Theatre professional, with over 30 years of experience training actors and directing live theatrical productions. He has guided the careers of children, teens, college students and adults, who have worked on Broadway and in Hollywood and produced touring companies comprised of young people who have traveled with their shows to London, Los Angeles, Florida, Hawaii and the Bahamas. His broad range of talents include directing musicals, designing, building costumes, coaching interscholastic debate and mock trial, and is himself, a performer. Mr. Nation created and nurtured one of the most respected and successful high school theatre programs in the northeast for many years and was recently honored by the Paper Mill Playhouse as the Best Director of Musicals in NJ schools. Mr. Nation and his wife recently decided to return to Florida where they purchased his parents former vacation home in Fort Lauderdale. Welcome home, Bob! Back to Top of Page

David J. Funkhouser, Theatre Arts Camp Technical Director
David is our resident designer and TD. David recently moved to Florida to join ANDREWS LIVING ARTS STUDIO. David is himself a performer having played such roles as Matt in “The Fantasticks”, Riff in “West Side Story” and Horace Vandergelder in “Hello Dolly” for regional theatre in New Jersey. He has constructed scenery for professional and amateur groups as well as schools in the South Jersey area and designed lights and sound for RDN Theatrical Enterprises. Back to Top of Page

Randy Lee Hendler, Visual Arts Camp Assistant Director
Randy is our resident Mime Theatre Artist. Since 1980 she has worked nationally with numerous theatre companies; arts, education and commercial organizations. Her favorite productions include The Fantasticks, The Glass Menagerie, Man of La Mancha, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and The Tempest. Notable roles include those from original plays as Charlie Chaplin, young Eleanor Roosevelt, and astronaut Christa McCauliffe. She enjoys story adaptations such as Thurber’s Many Moons, Puppet Network’s Snow White: The Musical, and other’s, performing for schools, libraries and festivals. Her training began in the 1970s in New York at HB Studio, The Moni Yakim Pantomime Center, and The Polish Mime School; and later with The Goldstone & Johnson School for Mimes, The Marcel Marceau Foundation for the Art of Mime, and others. Skills include various styles, techniques, management and positions in the worlds of mime and theatre. Academically, she holds a Masters Degree in Educational Theatre from New York University, a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts from The University of Minnesota, and New York and Florida Teacher Certificates in Art, and Theatre/Drama. She also enjoys teaching and coaching, and can be found at the Andrews Living Arts Studio, The Puppet Network studio, and at Wingate Oaks Center in the Broward County School District. As a founding member of Connections Theatre Company, she creates works that shares about women, the arts, and the Holocaust; as a guest artist with World and Eye Productions, she’s developing Jean Minuchin’s Odyssey in the Land of Shadows; and as a member of The Puppet Guild of South Florida, she’s preparing South Florida Puppets: Created and Collected, an exhibit for Broward’s Southwest Regional Library. Back to Top of Page

Special Guest Instructors

Riley Roam
Riley is a writer, producer, professional speaker and performer with a degree in Theater from the University of Buffalo. For 7 years Riley was a FOX Kids Club Host at the #1 FOX affiliate in the country. She's a SUNCOAST Regional Emmy winner and the co-creator of "This is Only a TEST!" a video series that airs on many PBS stations nationwide. When she's not working on children's TV, Riley loves to travel on adventures, producing videos for Travel Channel GO! Back to Top of Page

Kenny Mikey
Kenny has been a FOX TV Kid's Club host, an independent video producer, a Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus clown and professional speaker. He's a SUNCOAST Regional Emmy winner, the co-creator of "This is Only a TEST!", cameraman, Final Cut Pro Editor. He is currently a Producer for Travel Channel and dozens of regional content developers and broadcasters. Back to Top of Page