Puppet Shows For All Ages

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Puppet Shows For All Ages, Children's Birthday Parties, Schools, Libraries, Camps & Organizations! Traveling puppet shows in NJ, puppet shows for kids, Childrens Puppet Shows, birthday party ideas, puppet shows for children, puppet shows for birthday parties, free puppet shows, NJ, childrens, puppet, shows, parties, birthdays, Birthday Party, Puppet Shows and much much more!

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Performing since 1956! We have puppet shows for all ages, including shows for Children's Birthday Parties, Schools, Libraries, Camps and Organizations!

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Marshall Katzman received his M.A. in Television and Radio production from the University of Michigan and was a Fellow at Princeton University. He is a member of Union Internationale De La Marionette, Puppeteers of America, The Puppetry Guild of Greater New York, The Garden State Puppetry Guild and is listed in the 2nd edition of Who's Who in Entertainment. Katzman is an Emeritus Professor of Communications at Bergen Community College, in Paramus, New Jersey.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Read the many great and outstanding, complimemtary reviews on http://fantasypuppettheater.com/Reviews.html.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. In the early sixties, while living in Closter, New Jersey, he was influenced by Russian puppeteer Sergei Obratsov as well as Frank Paris, creator of the original Howdy Doody and Larry Berthelson, creator of the Pickwick Puppet Theater. Katzman was mentored by Marcel Jovine, the award-winning toy designer, sculptor and designer of coins. Richard Hunt, the Muppeteer on Sesame Street, started his career in puppetry after purchasing a collection of puppets from Katzman. The New York World's Fair of 1965, saw Katzman perform a puppet production written by the world renown Sergei Obratsov. In the summer of 1973 "Fantasy Puppet Theater" made its debut with Rock-A-Day Johnny, a Rock and Roll puppet, at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. The one man troupe then began a tour of the United States, which included performances for museums, nightclubs, libraries, camps, major armed forces installations like Fort Knox as well as recreation departments in Charleston, Columbus, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. In 1986 Marshall Katzman produced a television documentary, "Stars on Strings": a tribute to Frank Paris the creator of the first Howdy Doody. "Stars on Strings", "Not Just Puppets" and "An Evening of Puppetry" have all been included in the Theater on Film and Tape Archives of the Billy Rose Theater Collection, Lincoln Center.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love my work!

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. What does you show entail?
Programs suitable for ages 5 and up.
Approximate stage dimension: 6’ X 4’ X 3’
Setup time 40 minutes
Strike time 40 minutes
Includes sound system and lighting requiring access to a standard home outlet.
Setup available for indoors or outdoors.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. Katzman was mentored by Marcel Jovine, the award-winning toy designer, sculptor and designer of coins. Richard Hunt, the Muppeteer on Sesame Street, started his career in puppetry after purchasing a collection of puppets from Katzman. The New York World's Fair of 1965, saw Katzman perform a puppet production written by the world renown Sergei Obratsov.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. "Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh boy……. This enchanting production of the classic tale “Aladdin’s Lamp” held the rapt attention of a group of 15 or so children plus several accompanying adults for close to 45 minutes. Beginning with no introduction except a strain of eerie music coming from an unseen source, the velvet curtain of a small theater opens on a single character, Aladdin’s mother looking for her son, and at times as many as three characters are performing as simultaneously as possible given a two handed puppeteer. The show is interactive, with the characters including the audience in a discussion of the action. And the children respond in sometimes hilarious ways. They buy into the illusion and are literally on the edge of their seats for most of the production, giving advice and direction to the characters. Like most classic children’s tales, the story raises moral/ethical questions and resolves them with the elimination of the bad guy and the magical triumph of goodness and true love. The adults in attendance enjoyed the show as well, and everyone left happy. We would all recommend it."

Grace Mitchell
Assistant Director, Dennis P. McHugh Piermont Public Library

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. CURRENT EMPLOYMENT

Dates
Patch.com, 2009.
Emeritus Professor of Broadcasting, Bergen Community College, Paramus, New Jersey, 198O to 2009.

ACHIEVEMENTS
Dates
University of Michigan, 197O-1971.Children's Radio Theater and Public Affairs FM Radio Broadcasts,
awarded "Best Radio Play" and "Best Radio Actuality".
New Jersey Public Television, 1974 & 1976, Teen Arts Video Festival.
New Jersey State Department of Higher Education, 1983, "Project Success": ETV production for ESL students.
"Bergen Outlook", 1983-1997, weekly public affairs television production cablecast over TCI and Manhattan Cable of New York City."Community Voice", 1984. "This is Bergen", 1988-1998. Weekly Radio Magazines aired over WRPR-FM 9O.3.
New York State Council on the Arts, 1983-1987, Con Edison, 1987, grants for production of Children's Puppet Theater for the New York Public Library System.
New York State Council on the Arts, 1994-1997, grants for production of Children's Puppet Theater for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
"Three Billy Goats Gruff", 1990. American Film Institute, runner-up fiction.
"Mortal Danger", October, 1990, Lincoln Center, New York City, New York.
"Diabetes: Into the New Decade", 1991, North Jersey Press Club's 44th Annual Memorial Journalism Competition Award, for radio feature.
"The Star Spangled Trunk: American Puppet Artists and Images from Vaudeville to Television and Beyond", Multimedia paper presentation, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1992.
National Broadcasting Society AHerHo Advisor.
Who's Who in Entertainment, 3rd Edition, 1998-99.


education
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
A.B. English/Education, 197O. M.A. Radio/TV, 1971.

Editel, Weynand Associates, New York City, New York.
CMX 34OX Videotape editing, 1983. Videotape Operations, 1985.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Videodisc Design/Production, 1992.

Princeton University.
Mid-Career Fellowship Program 2002

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. My rate schedule is as follows:

Classic folk tale utilizing traditional hand puppets and audience participation: $ 400
Discounts available for more than one performance requiring no additional setup or strike time.
Travel fee for any distance greater than 50 miles round-trip will be $50 for every 50 miles.
Additional fees charged for tolls and parking.