THE TRAVELLING SHADOW THEATRE
NEWS
Lots going on, just no time :)
There's been lots going on and so I haven't had chance to keep this page up to date. Moving forward, if you would like to see what I have recently been up to its best to check out my social medias:
** Thank you **
New Shadow Puppet Designs in Etsy Shop
9th April 2021
I've four new shadow puppet designs in my Etsy shop - a Brontosaurus, a dragon, a hammerhead shark and a great white shark. All my shadow puppets are laser cut out of 3mm plywood and then assembled by hand. Take a look for yourself and find out more at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TravellingShadow
'My Beautiful' film created for Turning The Pages Happiness Festival
22nd March 2021
Alongside children at Step Out, Earl Marshall Youth Club and Turning The Pages Courtenay-Elle Crichton-Turley, we made a little film called 'My Beautiful.' The film has been shown as part of Turning The Pages Happiness Festival, to celebrate the beauty of your local area. You can watch the whole film at https://youtu.be/RkQsMhg-3PI
New Shadow Puppet Designs in Etsy Shop
18th February 2021
Four new shadow puppet designs are now available on my Etsy shop, some with coloured wings! They include a unicorn, sea monster, fairy and skeleton mermaid. Some more new designs are on their way too. You can have look at my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TravellingShadow
Art At The Heart / The Fir Vale Beehive - Ignite Imaginations
4th December 2020
It's lovely to now be able to share some photos of The Fir Vale Beehive. Created with children at Step Out, Earl Marshall Youth Club for Ignite Imaginations and funded by Arts Council England. The piece was created to spread some joy and positivity whilst sharing our thoughts and feelings of life during lockdown. Photos by Laura Page Photography.
Art At The Heart - Ignite Imaginations
30th November 2020
For the past couple of months I have been working on Ignite Imaginations 'Art At The Heart' project. A project of four artists and four communities. In Ignite Imaginations words...
'Ignite Imaginations artists are collecting stories and anecdotes from the community about their COVID experiences, thoughts and feelings. Their words will be transformed into four community art installations that will remain as a legacy of these unprecedented times.
The pieces will transform a small corner of each community with a chance to reflect, a place to have hope and somewhere to smile.
The artists are Kate Sully, Liz Von Graeventitz, Angie Hardwick and Lois Conlan.
And the communities are Sharrow, Fir Vale, Darnall and the over 50's community.'
I worked alongside the community of Fir Vale to create a rainbow beehive. The project has just completed and I look forward to sharing those images with you shortly.
Ignite Imaginations are a Sheffield based art charity and you can find out more about them and the great work that they do on their website https://www.igniteimaginations.org.uk
Shark Shadow Puppet Commission Complete
21st September 2020
I was asked to make a range of different types of sharks as shadow puppets, to be used in a kindergarten.... And here's the end result!
Disney Inspired Shadow Puppet Commission Complete
5th August 2020
An Etsy customer got in touch and asked me to make a range of Disney inspired shadow puppets for them, and here's the results! Feel free to get in touch should you want anything making into a wooden shadow puppet as well... I'm really enjoying using this new technology.
'Building The Ribblehead Viaduct' for The Yorkshire Festival of Story / Settle Stories
15th July 2020
The Yorkshire Festival of Story will be held free online throughout the month of August. There's loads of wonderful things to see, including our short shadow puppet film 'Building the Ribblehead Viaduct.' The film will be premiered on August 3rd at 12pm. Find out more and see all the events on offer here https://yorkshirefestivalofstory.com/programme/
ArtFelt Anywhere Shadow Puppet Packs
14th July 2020
A lovely job to do, I recently created a shadow puppet pack for ArtFelts project, ArtFelt Anywhere packs. These packs have been designed so that they can be given to patients at Sheffield Childrens Hospital to get creative whilst at their bedside and adhere to government guidelines when it comes to social distancing. And the good news is you can also have ago yourself at home and check out the other fun packs created by local artists, just head to https://www.tchc.org.uk/our-impact/artfelt/artfelt-anywhere/
PS. Lovely design work by their in house team!
New Puppets on Etsy Shop
23rd June 2020
I've been enjoying slowly adding more designs to my Etsy shop, most recently the elephant and Chinese dragon shadow puppet... More coming soon as well! You can see the shop at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TravellingShadow
New Etsy Shop
25th April 2020
I'm in the process of opening a new Etsy shop, which will sell my laser cut shadow puppets. I've been wanting to update how I make these puppets for a while. As they are now made out of wood they are more environmentally friendly compared to the plastic that I used to use. Also, the fact that I no longer need to hand cut each puppet now means that I can produce them at a lower cost, meaning a cheaper price for customers. Winning all round! Here's the shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TravellingShadow
'Fabvlae Aqvae' Video 31st March 2020
Hoping that you are all doing well during lockdown. To keep myself busy I've made a little video of the puppet show I created for Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust. 'Fabvlae Aqvae' is now available as part of their education program. Learn more about the program at https://buxtoncrescentexperience.com/learning-visits-2/
Nettles In The Garden Heads to Puppet Animation Festival 2020
17/02/20
Pack your bag Nettles, we're heading to Scotland as part of The Puppet Animation Festival 2020. We're so excited about making new friends and discovering beautiful places. We hope to see you along the way. You can view the full program of events here https://puppetanimationfestival.org
Nettles In The Garden at Deer Shed Festival 2020
16/02/20
Deer Shed Festival have just announced their Under 5's program, and we're super pleased to say that Nettles In The Garden has been included, alongside a puppet making workshop. So grab your wellies and suncream and hopefully see you there. You can see the full program here: https://www.deershedfestival.com/under5s/
Grimesthorpe Story Swap Commission Complete
10/12/19
A video of the installation I've built for The Grimesthorpe Story Swap project. Commissioned by Ignite Imaginations, Sheffield City Council and The Grimesthorpe Story Swap team, its been wonderful to work on this project alongside the local community. In time I will share more photos and documentation of the piece, but for now I hope you enjoy this video.
'Fabvlae Aqvae' build complete for Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust
17/10/19
This has been a wonderful project to work on. Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust asked me to build and create a puppet show based on the Roman Era in Buxton. Its lovely to be able to finally share the finished photos with you. The show will be performed to school groups as part of their education program...So get your kids booked in! :) And thank you to Tim Green for the photography.
Skipton Puppet Festival
03/10/19
It's the most wonderful time of the year...It's Skipton Puppet Festival time! It's this weekend, and you can catch us performing with Cuckoo: A Theatre For One throughout Friday and Saturday. Then on Sunday 'Nettles In The Garden' will be performed in The Drawing Board Tent at 1pm and 3pm. Pray for sunshine and hopefully see you there!
Puppet Show build for Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust
18/09/2019
Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust asked me to create and build a puppet show based on how and why the Romans went to Buxton. The show is to be performed as part of their education program and is called Fabvlae Aqvae which means Water Story in Roman script. Above shows the main character Jerome from Rome and the pop up portable theatre box. Looking forward to sharing more images with you soon.
Studying Clown at Gaulier this Summer
07/08/2019
I've just returned from Ecole Philippe Gaulier in France where I have playing and learning all about Clown. It was an amazing experience and I think it will take me a bit of time to process it all, but looking forward to putting what I have learnt into practice. Onwards and upwards! Speak soon chums x
Suitcase Shadow Theatre
28/07/2019
I've been so busy that I forgot to load this build which I completed a while a go now. It's of a suitcase shadow theatre to perform short stories in. Take a look.... In other news I'm currently in France studying Le Jeu and Clown and Ecole Phillipe Gaulier, and back home I have a new build on the go which I look forward to sharing with you soon. Take care and speak soon!
Skeleton Mermaid Shadow Puppet in Etsy Shop
18/4/2019
Nothing screams Easter more than a skeleton mermaid shadow puppet. And here she is! You can purchase her over on my Etsy shop 'The Travelling Shadows.' Enjoy the long weekend folks!
'Nettles In The Garden' now available for parties - happy days!
29/3/2019
Sorry we have been a bit quiet on here - but lots going on, hence the lack of time to update the website :) Hope you are all well.... As this is our news page we've some good news to tell you. Our puppet show 'Nettles In The Garden' can now be booked for childrens parties and events. Happy times indeed! We performed our first party the other week for Melissa and family - it was so lovely sharing our stories with them, so we thought 'Let's do this more often.' If you are interested in having us perform at your event contact Lois at info@thetravellingshadowtheatre.com .... Until next time keep shining friends!
It's 2019! Workshop fun times on the way
8/1/2019
Well its 2019! If you are reading this you survived, well done! Lots of shadow puppet workshop fun times coming up our way. First up is this Saturday (12th Jan) at Abbeyfield House, Sheffield. Pop along 2-4pm where we will be making shadow puppets as part of the Peoples Kitchen Pitsmoor Event. Happy days! Speak soon and stay fresh! x
New Angry Sea Monster Shadow Puppet in Etsy Shop
23/10/2018
Press
for angry sea monster fun times. Happy Autumn!
Poet Laval Puppet Festival, France
13/07/2018
New clown nose has arrived! Ready for our performances at Poet Laval Puppet Festival in the South of France...Can't wait to give it a test run :) We head there next week, and will also be working for The London School of Puppetry to assist them with their teaching. Excited! Is it too early to pack?!
'Nettles In The Garden' - WE DID IT!
25/6/2018
Last month we debuted our new puppet show 'Nettles In The Garden' at Theatre Delicatessen, Sheffield! Yipeee! We are so grateful to everyone who came and supported us.
The show is now available for bookings, so should you be interested head on over to our contact page and get in touch. Happy days!
Workshop Fun Times!
15/3/2018
In between the build for our new show 'Nettles In The Garden,' we have been doing some workshops. Thanks so much to Showroom Cinema, Sheffield, who had us in recently! We worked with children to create shadow worlds and puppets based on the film Persepolis. Wonderful pics by Isabelle France.
TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR 'NETTLES IN THE GARDEN' AT THEATRE DELICATESSEN
1/2/2018
Yippeee, yippeee, yey! It's never too early and so tickets are now on sale for the preview of our new show 'Nettles In The Garden' to be premiered at Theatre Delicatessen, Sheffield on May 19th 2018. You can buy tickets And don't be confused, they have used the working title 'Nettles Longs For Butterflies' but it's the same show. Get your wings packed and see you there!
New T-Rex Shadow Puppet in Shop
16/1/2018
Happy New Year and all that jazz! Hoping it was a good one and that your settling into 2018 fine and dandy....I've been busy trying to build our new show 'Nettle in The Garden' but found I was missing some essential tools along the way which I had to wait to be delivered - which meant a couple of days spare, allowing this little roarsome dude to be born.
'Nettles in the Garden' - Coming 2018!
20/11/2017
The Travelling Shadow Theatre Presents 'Nettles in the Garden.' A brand new show full of joy, with inclusion, accessibility and laughter lying at its heart! Adapted for both street and theatre performances keep your eyes peeled for us in 2018...Here's a lil' blurb for you...
'Springing out from an old brown suitcase, Nettles shows us the beautiful world he lives in, including his beloved garden. But where are the flowers?!
It appears that mischief makers are messing , monkey business is brewing and shenanigans shimozzle! Can Nettles find a solution to all these funny frolics?
Using no spoken text alongside puppetry, clown and a sprinkle of audience participation, your all invited to help Nettles solve his problem and share in his delightful world.
Nettles in the Garden is brought to you by The Travelling Shadow Theatre - an internationally touring company which calls Sheffield its home.'
'Absinthe' built at Puppets In Prague
24/10/2017
Very lucky to have attended a recent workshop at Puppets In Prague, to create this trick skeleton marionette who has hailed the name 'Absinthe.' She is based on the traditional Czech design and can do all sorts of fun stuff, including appearing to disassemble herself and then magically come back together. Look out for her, as we aim to take her street performing with us in the future. She's a hoot!
'Cuckoo' at Skipton Puppet Festival
28/9/2017
We can't wait for Skipton Puppet Festival this weekend where we will be performing with Cuckoo. There's always so much great stuff going on so head on down and have a lovely day!
'Cuckoo' at Charleville Puppet Festival 2017
27/9/2017
Thank you for having us to perform Charleville - it was a dream to be able to do so! And it was so wonderful to be able to see so many inspiring shows from other companies. And thanks to puppet pals who caught this moment of some children enjoying Cuckoo at the festival. We're already counting down the days for Charleville 2019!
Performing at Charleville Puppet Festival, France
11/9/2017
Super excited to be setting sail this weekend and heading on over to the prestigious and incredibly inspiring Charleville Puppet Festival. We are part of their 'Off Rue' program and you can catch us street performing with our piece 'Cuckoo' throughout the festival, either at Ile du Vieux Moulin or at the Espace Festival. Hopefully see you there...Au revoir!
Busking in Spain
17/7/2017
Hola amigos! Hope alls well....I find myself busking around Spain at the moment, I'm not used to the heat but getting there. Photos above are of San Sebastian - it was great to meet fellow busking puppeteer heres too...Looking forward to sharing new and exciting busking spots with you soon....To be continued...Here's hoping you are all up to lovely Summer adventures aswell...xx
Busking in New Zealand
24/4/2017
Kia Ora friends! Currently on a lovely busking adventure around New Zealand. We have been performing with 'Cuckoo: A Theatre For One' alongside our lil' marionette 'Nettles.' Busking spots to date have included Wellington Night Market, Wellington Indoor Market, Wellingtons Cuba Street, Queenstown Market and Queenstown Lakeside. Upcoming stops include Christchurch and Nelson....Keep a look out for us and come say hello! Talk soon and be happy!
Busking with 'Cuckoo: A Theatre For One'
24/1/2017
Keep a look out for us as we start a busking tour with our Theatre For One. Yesterday we were down in London, and all being well we will be heading overseas very soon. To be continued!
'My One True Glove' at Theatre Delicatessen, Sheffield
5/10/2016
We've had such a wonderful time as part of the Deaprture Point residency at Theatre Delicatessen over the Summer. Thanks so much for having us! We developed our piece 'My One True Glove' and presented it to a sold out audience at Theatre Delicatessen and Bradford Playhouse. The creative team were:
Jessica Gibson - Deviser and Performer
Lois Conlan - Deviser and Performer
Aaron Mears - Live Musical Accompaniment
Caroline Astell-Burt - Mentor and Deviser
An amazing experience! Some photos of rehearsals, behind the scenes, and the performance by Joseph Samuel Priestly below:
Departure Point, 2016 at Theatre Delicatessen
19/7/2016
We're happy and excited to annouce that The Travelling Shadow Theatre are part of Theatre Delicatessens program 'Deaprture Point 2016' - a new and exciting 10 week training programme for emerging theatre companies and collectives. We're looking forward to the future and seeing what we create! To be continued!
Travelling
26/4/2016
Currently doing a bit more travelling than making at the moment. Kia Ora from New Zealand! Talk soon...
School Visit
11/3/2016
Lois headed into her old school in Sheffield the other day to discuss shadow puppetry, and puppetry as a career with the students. Fun for all!
New Elephant Shadow Puppet Available on our Etsy Shop
3/3/2016
So there's a new lady in town! And she is available to buy on our Etsy shop here
Sold Out Season at Theatre Delicatessen, Sheffield
29/2/2016
And it's a wrap! Thank you so much to all who came down and supported us at our recent Theatre Deli shows. We sold out each night three times over and had to move to a bigger venue - we're so grateful to everybody who came and made it such a special event. Additionally, a huge thanks to Theatre Delicatessen who made it all possible. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.....
Unfortunately we were so busy, we didn't really get any photos. But here's an image of the performance space before the arrival of the audience, plus musicians Toby Hay, Jim Ghedi and Josh Kelson having a rehearsal before the main event....
PROMO VIDEO FOR THEATRE DELICATESSEN SHOWS
Just one month to go before our Theatre Deli show, and so to get you excited here is a little promo video for 'The Death Curiosities.' Live musical accompaniment in the video is by Melbourne based musician, David Wells.... Enjoy and hope to see you there!
New Dragon Shadow Puppet in Etsy Shop
Check out more here
COMMISSION
Recently, a school in London got in touch and asked us to make two shadow puppets that could be used in the classroom with children, to tell 'The Story of Nian' and of how Chinese New Year came to be. And so here are the puppets.....
And here they are having a little play.....
NEW POSTER
Here's the poster for our Theatre Deli dates in Sheffield. A hand printed, lino cut poster by Lois at The Travelling Shadow Theatre. All being well you should be able to get one at the event, but in the meantime you can also pick one up online here
And tickets available here
'THE DEATH CURIOSITIES'
Moor Theatre Delicatessen, Sheffield
February 25th and 26th, 2016 @ 7.30pm
Following on from the success of our Lynwood Gardens show, we're back to perform 'The Death Curiosities' once again in Sheffield. And we will be off travelling again soon, so come see us whilst you can!
Music by Jim Ghedi, Toby Hay and Josh Kelson
Puppetry by Lois Conlan
Tickets are £7 and available here
More info on Facebook
'HOME IS WHERE I EXIST, NOW TO LIVE AND DIE'
WE DID IT!
Thanks so much to everybody who came down last night to see the show at Bloc. It was wonderful to have a full house, and we all had loads of fun.....It was great to work alongside some great artists and celebrate the music of Jim Ghedi. More photos and stuff to come but for now here's this one....And in the meantime, you can hear more of Jim Ghedis music over here
'HOME IS WHERE I EXIST, NOW TO LIVE AND DIE'
Bloc Artspace, Sheffield
November 24th, 2015 @ 7pm
We have a new and exciting event coming up soon....The Travelling Shadow Theatre presents a live mixed art performance inspired by Jim Ghedi's debut album 'Home Is Where I Exist, Now To Live & Die'.
This mixed art event will be conducted from a team of artists using shadow puppetry, live projections, art, object installations and live sound / music.
The show will be a running dialogue focusing on theme's of travelling / exploring the new, to then making that journey back to reconnect to home. `
Presented at BLOC Art Projects, Sheffield
Ticket information coming soon.
Performed by:
Liz Von Graevenitz - Projections / Object Installation / Live Art
Lois Conlan - Puppetry / Shadow Art / Object Theatre
Jim Ghedi - Sound & Music / Field Recordings / Noise
Ric Booth - Sound & Music / Object Installation / Noise
Toby Hay - Sound & Music
Head over to Facebook for more info
New Hand and Eye Patch Available in Shop
We have a new handprinted lino print patch available to buy on our Etsy here. Take a look....
'My One True Glove' (2015)
'My One True Glove' is a new five minute piece created by The Travelling Shadow Theatre. It has been performed at Skipton Puppet Festival as well as local schools, and is a development of 'Les Gants' - a puppet installation we performed at Poet Laval Puppet Festival earlier this year.
'Thought provoking and highly imaginative.' Audience member
'Bird Box' - A Theatre For One (2015)
This theatre for one was performed at Skipton Puppet Festival, 2015. The viewer watches the piece through a large bird box hole. Inside is revealed a short shadow puppet performance, accompanied by an original recorded score from Sheffield based musician, Jim Ghedi. Look out for us busking with it soon.....
'Striking imagery...Mesmerising and intriguing.' Audience member
'Les Gants' at Poet Laval Puppet Festival, France (2015)
Back in July we travelled to the Poet Laval Puppet Festival in the South of France to perform a new puppet installation entitled 'Les Gants.' The piece took place in an old barn room, and was for an intimate audience of six. It was a beautiful festival and a great experience.
'THE DEATH CURIOSITIES' at Lynwood Gardens, Sheffield.
On May 23rd, 2015, The Travelling Shadow Theatre presented 'The Death Curiosities' to a packed woodland at Lynwood Gardens, Sheffield. It was a truely magical night and we'd like to thank all of you who came. Live musical accompaniment was provided by Robert E Lee, Jim Ghedi and Jeesaw Kelzebob. Puppetry by Lois Conlan. Keep a look out as we hope to do it again...
POSTER
Handprinted lino print poster for our Sheffield show of 'The Death Curiosities' at Lynwood Gardens, May 23rd. Although it is to be noted that we have now moved the time of 9pm to 8pm. And following on from requests, you can now pick one of the posters up online here
'THE DEATH CURIOSITIES', Lynwood Gardens, Sheffield.
May 23rd, 2015 @9pm
Having been travelling for a few years, The Travelling Shadow Theatre are happy to be back in Sheffield (UK), to perform their production 'The Death Curiosities' in Lynwood Gardens..
Music by Robert E Lee and Jim Ghedi
Puppetry by Lois Conlan
It's a free event, but donations welcome.
It would be wonderful to see you there! Find out more on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/738085982973707/
