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Puppet Magic on the NS T, . he art of puppetry has a history as defended the well-known Punch and Judy shows in England during the mid-1800s and more recently. North Americans fell in love with Sharon L e w i s and Lambchop. Jim Henson's Muppets are probably the most famous and well-loved puppets in the world. The North Shore has a piece of this puppetry pie in the form of the Talking Hands Puppetry Theatre, which just completed its first youth program series. With over 20 different kinds of puppets (including animatronics. giant figures, hand puppets, computer based puppetry, masks and Vietnamese Water Puppets), Talking Hands taught students how to construct and perform with marionettes. The instructors, all experienced teachers and performers, included North Shore resident Luman Coad of Coad Canada Puppets, who has won international acclaim for his puppetry skills. Sessions for Talking Hands began with construction, costuming old as entertainment itself. Japan's puppet theatre tradition. Bunraku. dates back to 1684 in Osaka. France's famous Polinchinelle puppets were created by Lauren Mourguet. a financially struggling father of ten who originally designed his puppets Gnafron and Guiganol in 1808 to attract clients into his dental chair. Charles Dickens adored and publicly puppetry and stringing marionettes, and after 12 classroom hours, plus homework, work began on manipulation and character development. The homework on this segment never ends i f one wishes to achieve perfection of movement and characterization. Scripting, improvisation and prop and set design followed--stimulating creativity and ingenuity amongst all the participants. With the introduction to sound and lighting techniques for the puppet stage in a Burnaby puppetry studio, students used their marionettes on a professional stage for the first time. The final class saw all the hard work pay off in students' performance pieces and students left with the ability to create a show of their own and became a part of the tradition of the art of puppetry. Perhaps a budding Jim Henson was among them. ~~ For information on youth programs, call Marjorie Woods at 987-3725. Dirk Oerte/ drills into a marionette, making room for a string to control the head. Wi Family F e s t i v a l at Becitennial Theatra Talking Hands Puppetry Theatre is having a Puppet Fest on October 19, 10 a.m.-A p.m., in the Tamarack Room at the Delbrook Community Centre. Activities include handson puppetmaking, shows, demonstrations, face painting, a silent auction and a puppet sale. Stories of the River:The N a t u r e vValk, performed by the Nonesuch Tales and Puppet Theatre, is an ecological play portrayed with humour, fun, music and audience participation. Info: 987-3725. CALL CTC BOX OFFICE: series tickets o n sale n o w . Single tickets o n sale S e p t1 1 . 984-4484 N o o n 4 p m ,M o n S a t