Stevens Puppets accepted into Arkansas Arts Council!!!!!!!!!!

More very exciting news!!!!!!!!

Stevens Puppets is excited to let you know they have been accepted into The Arkansas Arts Council. Dan applied to the Arts Council in August and sent off all the application materials. Stevens Puppets was given the opportunity to audition in front of several state representatives.

Dan (and The Sleeping Beauty Marionettes) drove to Little Rock, AR, in November 2008, to appear in front of the audition committee. The state representatives asked alot of very good questions, and asked me to perform a 10 minute version of the puppets for them. The marionette demonstration was very well accepted. When I finished, the panel asked me several more questions, and then I left. The president of The Arts Council explaned that this would be a very prestigious honor to be accepted, and that I would hear from them within the next few weeks. Well, I heard 2 days later, and the answer was, "Congratulations, you have been accepted."

Was I nervous? You bet your bippy I was nervous. I NEVER get nervous in front of an audience, but for some reason I was shaking like a leaf. But I got through it. I survived.

Take care, and have a happy holiday season.
-Dan

The Nutcracker Ballet

Hello again.
Very exciting news. Stevens Puppets has been asked to create and perfom puppets for The Nutcracker Ballet. The puppets are beautiful, and very lifelike. They were created by master puppet maker Maggie Streib. The Nutcracker perfoms in Dec. 2008, in Bentonville, Arkansas. Mac Raynor will make his professional puppetery debut along side his father Dan Raynor during this production. Mac is also playing the part of Fritz (Clara's brother), and The Nutcracker Prince. The Production is being wonderfully staged by Catherine Kyle, owner of Classical Ballet Academy. Dan is also building a few of the large props/sets used in the ballet.

Meet Bob Walls (Puppetmaster)

Hello bloggers!!!!

I would like to sing the praises of one of our incredible puppet masters, Bob Walls (aka Mr. Bob Puppet Dude!)

Bob joined Stevens Puppets 4 years ago, and has wowed audiences all over the Midwest and Mid Atlantic states ever since. Bob has a wonderful sense of humor, and a fantastic presence with the audience.

I had the pleasure of seeing Bob in action last week. I attended a school show where Bob was performing our very popular story, The Wizard of Oz. From beginning to end, the show was delightful. His introduction of the story transitioned flawlessly into the first scene. From there, we (the audience) sat breathless as we watched the story unfold. At the end of the show, Bob came out and took a bow to thunderous applause. The students, the teachers, the principal and several parents cheered as loud as they could, as Bob took his bows. It was at that time that Bob introduced the marionettes, and demonstrated how the marionettes work. He did it in a very funny way with lots of jokes and fun, and the students ate it all up. It was a great time had by all.

On a personal note, I have watched Bob for several years now, and am very impressed with what he brings to Stevens Puppets. He brings creative ideas, patience, marketing ideas, but most importanly, he brings fun. At the end of every day, Bob can rest his head on his pillow and know that he brought joy/fun/laughter to hundreds of children in our country. Keep up the great work Bob.

-Dan

Coming soon . . .Meet the Puppeteers!!!!!!

In the coming days and weeks, we will be featuring stories from our puppeteers. You will be able to learn about them, and ask them questions. We will also try to include photos whenever possible. If you have a photo you would like to share, please email it to dan@stevenspuppets.com. Please check back often as our site will be going through a lot of changes in the coming weeks.
Thanks for stopping by . . .
-Dan

Ichabod Crane's a little sleepy this morning.

Hello everyone. Ichabod and the Sleepy Hollow gang are sleeping in this morning because of a long night at Headless Horseman. Everyone had fun, and the crowds were huge! Fritz decided he wanted to be extra funny last night. So in addition to saying, "Big Booty" several times, he decided to start whispering in Ichabod's ear. I look forward to having another fun evening tonight. See you then.
-Dan

Let's Start Blogging!

Hello and welcome to the Stevens Puppets Blog. This is a wonderful place for you to interact with Stevens Puppets. So, enjoy reading about the happenings of our traveling marionette theatre, and feel free to leave a comment.

The Stevens Puppets Blog started while I was catching up with a friend of mine, and she asked me why I wasn't blogging. "WHATING?" I asked.

10 minutes later, here I am! Welcome to the BRAND NEW Steven's Puppets blog! This is going to be our new tool to keep all of our friends up to date on our AWESOME PUPPET SHOWS, and our awesome audiences (ahem - that's YOU!).

Stay tuned... I'll be back often, with pictures of where we've been, cool info on our puppet characters, and most importantly.... details on where you catch the next Steven's Puppets show.

http://www.stevenspuppets.com/
1-877-326-3261
dan@stevenspuppets.com