HELLO!

HELLO!

Hello from the small rock in the South Pacific

Thank you so much Na. I will do that and see where it takes me as I am very keen.

You are welcome. Theres really not much by the way of australian resources out there unfortunately, so your best bet is with either of those or government funding - i am willing to bet a lot of the aus puppeteers would be happy to come out to you if there was some coverage for travel expenses. A lot of them tour so maybe there is a way to get someone to stop off along the way or make a special trip.

Also if you can try to find a copy of australian puppeteer - UNIMA AUS' magazine - which i know is kept in the state lib. of vic. Not sure how easy it is to obtain copies but a membership with the org may be worth your money just for future copies.

Books by far will be the best and easiest thing to locate - festivals being few and far between, classes for adults rare - and amazon is good place to get them.

Even here in melbourne there are not a lot of resources so i know you'll have a tough time finding them in your area. One reason i recommended UNIMA HQ is because there may be a chance to involve numerous international centres, since you are somewhat 'out there' in terms of regions. Maybe the NZ centre can offer some resources too.

Thank you Na once again for your reply.

I have sent an email to a contact at UNIMA HQ and waiting for a reply.

The hardest thing that I am finding is finding a supplier for 12mm (1/2 inch)foam, which was once easily obtained here on Norfolk Island. The Stockist does not stock it anymore as the freight costs are too high. However I certain I can get it reasonably cheap online somewhere in Australia or New Zealand.

Little frustrating but I will stick with it as I am keen as Mustard to be the first to make a puppet here and then get others onboard as well.

"Kia Ora!" from your New Zealand neighbour.

Regards,
Dorian

Maybe the NZ centre can offer some resources too.

It looks as if UNIMA Aotearoa is no longer. The blog/web site has been deleted, "by its owner and the content is no longer available". I have been attempting for some time now to contact the Secretary/Web master to find out what the story is and I am still awaiting a reply.

Will keep you posted.

Regards,
Dorian

Hmm... Pity. My guess is that puppetry is really small there and that the organisation got merged into the oz one due to lack of people. The org is run by volunteers and as far as i can tell financing comes solely from local membership. The HQ has very little to do with day to day functioning.

Foam is another thing. I dont use it but most oz people here mention getting bulk or cut offs from clark rubber. You may have to ship from the mainland.

Hmm... Pity. My guess is that puppetry is really small there and that the organisation got merged into the oz one due to lack of people. The org is run by volunteers and as far as i can tell financing comes solely from local membership. The HQ has very little to do with day to day functioning.

Yes, NZ has a small population (4.5 million which I think is even smaller than the current population of Melbourne) and yes, there are only a handful of active practitioners working in the South Island (Christchurch, in particular), as well as Wellington.

Not telling tales out of school, but I suspect it's more an issue of politics rather than anything else ... there has not been an AGM for 2 years, the Secretary spends half his time commuting between Germany and NZ, whilst I've been awaiting a nomination to join for close onto 14 months now.

I really hope we do not have to join with Oz (and that's not parochialism speaking, either) but ... maybe the writing is on the wall. Bummer.

Regards,
Dorian

Yeah after seeing how UNIMA AUS runs i can imagine politics getting in the way. I seem to recall hearing that NZ got subsumed into Oz, but i seem to be mistaken.

It is a pity. Compared to the US orgs, our local ones seem to be somewhat.... Inept and unactive. Really wish there was more industry support locally.