Join Whitney Grace as she speaks with artist Hamid Rahmanian, who is the director, writer, and creator of Feathers of Fire. Rahmanian’s Feathers of Fire is a brilliant, animated shadow puppet stage show adapted from the Persian epic The Shahnameh.
Archives for : Puppetry
Hello and welcome to twenty-eighth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews. Every year Whitney heads to Atlanta, GA to mingle with other geeks and practice her puppetry skills at DragonCon. DragonCon is the biggest fan run convention in the United States and in 2016 there will be over 75000 attendees and over 3500 hours of programming. Even though he is working 24/7 until the convention ends, Dan Carroll, DragonCon’s head honcho, had an hour to chat with Whitney about the new happenings for 2016, including animation and puppetry guests.
- DragonCon is a totally volunteer run convention located in Atlanta, GA.
- Whitney and Dan both love the diversity of programming available to attendees. The program topics range from the classic sci-fi shows like Star Wars and Star Trek to science, puppetry, podcasting, animation, anime/manga, and, this year, boy bands!
- DragonCon is also a huge music festival within a convention featuring singers and musicians from all genres.
- One of the new things for 2016 are the Dragon Awards! The Dragon Awards honor individuals in literary, TV, film, and other mediums who have made extraordinary contributions to science fiction and fantasy anniversary.
- The Dragon Awards also celebrate DragonCon’s 30th. anniversary.
- DragonCon is four days log with over 3500 hours of programming. These hours include performances, lectures, presentations, and dances. DragonCon is alive 24/7 during Labor Day weekend!
- Whitney and Dan both encourage DragonCon attendees to take care of themselves by showering, eat two meals, and get at least five hours of sleep. Also don’t forget to wear deodorant in the Georgia heat to avoid the con-funk.
- The best way to ensure attendees have the best DragonCon experience is to download and use the DragonCon app to make a schedule, view programming, and rate programs.
- Brian Henson and several other famous puppeteers are going to be there, much to Whitney’s excitement. The cast of iZombie, William Shatner, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon cast members, Mystery Science Theater folks, and Adult Swim guests will be in attendance.
- As for voice actors, Jason Marsden, Will Freidle,Christy Carlson Romano Dino Andrade, Bob Bergen, Trevor Devall, Rikki Simmons, Richard Horvitz, and Monica Rial.
- Whitney is a huge Labyrinth fan and this year is its 30th anniversary as well. The Center for Puppetry Arts is holding a masquerade ball with original props and puppets from the 1986 film. Unfortunately, that has sold out. However, there will be more Labyrinth based programming at DragonCon.
- DragonCon does host two sports: professional wrestling and robot battles. In Whitney’s defense, some people do attempt to play Quidditch sans broom.
- DragonCon could officially become a five-day event in the future.
- One day Whitney hopes to be a guest at DragonCon with her book on Lotte Reiniger.
- The DragonCon Masquerade Parade is the most popular event and this year it will be broadcast on network television.
- DragonCon limits the amount of time reporters spend with guests, so they too, can enjoy the convention.
- The shopping has expanded as has the art show, comic creators area, and gaming.
- Dragon expects to have 75,000 attendees this year, when in past years they only had 28,000.
- DragonCon has a huge programming track for animation fans. There is Kaleidoscope, a tween-based animation track, and then the animation track itself that covers a variety of topics related to the medium.
- Dan Carroll has fun at DragonCon by practicing his stand-up comedy at Project Cosplay.
- DragonCon has a staunch anti-harassment policy for all attendees so they fell safe and can have fun.
- Whitney and Dan hope Toon-In Talk listeners visit DragonCon this year.
Links
- Toon-In Talk Podcast
- Toon-In Talk Facebook
- DragonCon Website
- DragonCon Animation Track
- DragonCon Anime/Manga Track
- DragonCon Puppetry Track
- Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts
- Labyrinth at Muppet Wiki
- Scrivener for Macs
- Scrivener for Windows computers
Hello and welcome to twenty-second episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews. It’s also time for the second round of interviews for the Ladies of Animation Month, Whitney Grace’s yearly tribute to women who work in the animation industry and mission to inspire girls to pursue their animated ambitions. Puppetry has many things in common with animation, including principles that make inanimate characters come to life. Cheryl Henson is a proud promoter of the puppetry arts and preserving her father’s legacy for future generations. If you couldn’t tell by the last name, Cheryl Henson is Jim Henson’s daughter. Jim Henson not only revolutionized the world of modern puppetry with the Muppets, but he also was a singular entertainer and creative genius. Cheryl Henson chats with Whitney about the renovation at the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts with brand new exhibits dedicated to Jim Henson and puppetry from around the world.
- Whitney recognized Cheryl Henson at DragonCon by her fabulous fashion sense. She wore an original outfit made for her by the designers of the Dark Crystal fashion line.
- Cheryl is the president of the Jim Henson Foundation.
- Cheryl was at DragonCon, because she was promoting the new expansion to the Atlanta Center for the Puppetry Arts. The Puppetry Center will house a new collection featuring puppets from the Henson Family’s personal archives.
- Jane and Jim Henson were at the Center of Puppetry Arts’s opening back in 1978 and it was founded by Vince Anthony.
- The Puppetry Center advocates the art of puppetry with educational programs, a museum, and encouraging anyone, anywhere to make their own puppets.
- The new Jim Henson collection will include over 450 new Muppet puppets, but only 75 will be on display at any one time.
- The puppets were housed in a storage facility in New Jersey and these were original, screen used Muppets!
- All of the Muppets in the Jim Henson collection were refurbished to make them museum ready. All of the foam rubber had to be removed, clean the fleece, stuff with cotton filling, and add a plastic skeleton.
- The Puppetry Center hired two fulltime staff members to refurbish the puppets.
- The collection will include the Seven Deadly Sins from The Muppets Sex and Violence When they opened the box containing the Muppet Gluttony it actually had real candy on it! They were removed, so it wouldn’t attract bugs.
- Cheryl shares her special Robin the Frog story!
- The new Puppetry Center will feature an exhibit modeled after the real Muppet workshop.
- Jim Henson revolutionized puppet design by making puppets specifically for TV and film.
- Cheryl explains that the Puppetry Center will feature all types of puppetry. Nearly all cultures around the world have some form of puppetry.
- Whitney and Cheryl discuss how puppetry is a very viable art and how Jim Henson used story in his work.
- The Jim Henson Company is very dedicated to exploring the entire world of the Dark Crystal. Whitney shares that she hangs out in the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth worlds when she has writer’s block.
- In her own personal opinion, Cheryl believes that her father put character before story.
- Cheryl explains the difference between the Jim Henson Company, the Jim Henson Foundation, Jim Henson’s Legacy, Disney’s The Muppets, Sesame Street, and Sesame Workshop.
- Whitney and Cheryl think its funny when they talk about the semantics involved with stop motion animation, live puppetry, and how they two intersect.
- To make someone laugh, Jim would blow a puppet up, have a puppet eaten, or throw penguins in the air.
- Cheryl declares that people need to care about each other.
Links
- Toon-In Talk Podcast
- Toon-In Talk Facebook
- Women in Animation
- Women in Animation Board
- Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts
- Jim Henson Foundation
- The Henson Company
- Disney’s The Muppets
Hello and welcome to eighteenth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews. Every year Whitney attends several of the biggest conventions in the US and one of her favorites is Dragon-Con held in Atlanta, GA. Dragon-Con is a big convention with an intimate feeling, because it allows you to have up and close interactions with the guests and it never feels too over crowded. The Dragon-Con staff are super organized and they are dedicated to ensuring fans have the best experience. Whitney also loves Dragon-Con for its diverse programming, especially the puppetry and anime/manga tracks. She was privileged to chat with puppetry track coordinator Beau Brown and anime/manga track coordinator Jake Trabox about the special events for Dragon-Con 2015.
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- Jake Trabox heads the anime and manga track at Dragon-Con.
- He missed the entire anime and manga boom in the US, because he was in Japan.
- Jake has worked in the Japanese comics industry
- Dragon-Con is a huge convention, but it hasn’t gotten outrageously huge as San Diego Comic-Con.
- Voice actors Samantha Inoue-Harte, Josh Greel, and Melissa Fahn, and many more awesome people will be at Dragon-Con
- There won’t be any Japanese guests this year, it is difficult to get guests from the land of the rising sun to visit the east coast.
- There will be two rooms playing anime 24/7.
- Funimation is making a special appearance and showcasing their newest shows and other great anime
- Dragon-Con isn’t unique amongst anime/manga conventions, but you’re going to have a great time, meet great people, and be in the center of the action.
- Anime and manga fans have encouraged other fans to cosplay and wear more elaborate and intricate costumes.
- Darius Washington will hold a panel about how anime has shaped the animated heroine.
- Jake and his staff are going to be working very hard during the convention. Jake keeps going by drawing on his inner chi.
- Jake explains to Whitney how the convention scene works in Japan and it is practically nonexistent. There is one huge convention, Comiket, and then companies host smaller events featuring celebrities.
- He also tells her how the European and Dubai convention scene is growing.
- Beau Brown heads the puppetry track at the 2015 Dragon-Con.
- There are thirty-eight hours of puppetry-related panels this year.
- There are going to be many special guests from Sesame Street, including Carroll Spinney, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrera-Rudolph, and Pam Arciero.
- The Sesame Street performers will be featured guests at panels as well as holding workshops on puppetry.
- DJ Guyer and Steve True have their own LA puppetry studio and they make a lot of commercial puppetry. They’ll be handling workshops on construction and design.
- Jim Henson’s daughter Cheryl Henson will be a guest along with Henson archivist Karen Falk.
- They will be discussing Jim Henson’s unfinished holiday special Turkey Hollow.
- Steve Whitmire who performs Kermit the Frog and Debbie McClellan vice-president of the Muppets at Disney will be appearing to speak about the new Muppets show.
- Beau explains how Dragon-Con has worked with Henson guests in the past, including Fraggle Rock related guests from 2013.
- Dragon-Con has the special focus of helping amateur puppets improve their skills and interacting with professional puppeteers.
- Dragon-Con’s puppetry track has the biggest selection of puppetry material for at a comic convention.
- Puppet professionals Matt Laird, Mike Horner. Madison Cripps will be featured in panels. There will also be a panel discussing the Center for Puppetry Arts expansion.
- In the art show, there will be a special pop art exhibit featuring items from the Center for Puppetry Arts.
- If you are a puppeteer and want to learn more about perfecting your craft, there will be workshops for adults only to learn more about improving technique.
- If you want to attend an entertaining and mature show, check out the Dragon-Con Puppetry Slam, one of the most attended events at the convention.
Links
- Toon-In Talk Podcast
- Toon-In Talk Facebook
- Dragon-Con’s Facebook Page
- Dragon-Con’s Puppetry Track
- Dragon-Con’s Puppetry Track Facebook Page
- Dragon-Con’s Anime/Manga Track Facebook Page
- Dragon-Con’s Anime/Manga Track
