As promised, here are a number of photos (all taken by Max Barraclough) from the training that we did with the cast of “Bull” in Crete.  The main cast are Duane (Bull), Rob (Pig), Rebecca (Ewe), and Hannah (Rooster).  We also worked with Becky on each of the puppets since she will be the swing member, filling in when other cast members are absent.  None of them had really worked with puppets before, but all of them are extremely talented performers and are quickly getting the hang of puppeteering.  Everyone seemed to have a good time, and I think that the time spent one on one will prove to be valuable as they continue the season.

It’s been a great week in Crete. We worked with the cast a bit on some direction and puppeteering before seeing the show for the first time Tuesday night. It went really well. The best part of the evening was when the cast greeted the guests in the lobby with the puppets. The kids loved every minute of it…and so did we. Below are some images of the set that they are using here in Crete, as well as the script and a photo of Alex and I with the cast after the show. In the coming days, I’ll post some photos from the training sessions.

The complete set.

The stand for Bull’s journal.

The fence.  I love the design.

The Massive Burger truck.

A copy of the script that is being used here at Sensatori.

Duane (Bull), Alex, Rebecca (Ewe), Rob (Pig), myself, and Hannah (Rooster).

 The puppets are now complete for the first international run of Bull: A Puppet Musical.  They head off to the UK in the morning, and then they will be heading to Crete sometime later.  I took the opportunity to tweak the designs a bit internally and made them much more performer-friendly.  I’m very pleased with them and excited to see them in action!

Work is well under way for the second batch of Bull puppets. These will be used in the performance of Bull: A Puppet Musical at Sensatori in Crete.

This weekend, we met with Max Barraclough, Creative Director and Nigel Hudston, Managing Director of TED UK (The Entertainment Department UK LTD), to finalize plans for the production of Bull: A Puppet Musical at the Sensatori Crete resort this year. It was a great time together and I’m looking forward to working with them to bring our show to a larger audience. Auditions for performers will begin this Friday in the UK.

I am very pleased to announce that Thistledown Puppets has received a wonderful Christmas present. We will be licensing Bull: A Puppet Musical to TED UK to be performed May through October of 2009 at the Sensatori resort on the island of Crete. TED UK “prides itself on being more than just an Agency; our area of expertise is providing you with the entire package of well-balanced Entertainment that most suits your audience and venue needs. Our core business is the supply of live Artistes for UK Holiday Parks, worldwide hotels, cruising and corporate events“. Sensatori, managed by Thomson Holiday,  is a five star resort that offers, among many other things, nighttime entertainment for families.  Bull will be performed bi-weekly during the 2009 season.

We are very excited to be working  with Max Barraclough and the production team at TED UK. The show, written and directed by the talented Alex Lucas, will be getting a full musical score by a musical director from London’s West End.  We were excited at how well the show was received locally at the Roanoke Arts Festival and we can’t wait to see how international audiences respond to this funny and heart-warming puppet musical.