Hobey Ford's Golden Rod Puppets
BIOGRAPHY
Performance Formats:
NEW SHOW!!!
MIGRATION- Hobey returns to the natural world of animals exploring the wonders, trials and sometimes unspeakable beauty of those who move across the planet in search of food, shelter and often a better way of life. A sequel to ANIMALIA, Ford's new show, MIGRATION, is for K-5.
HOBEY FORD AT A GLANCE
(Click on these downloads to the right)
• Biography (below)
• One-Sheet (Bio Page 1 (pdf) &
Bio Page 2 (pdf))
• Technical Rider (pdf)
• Performance Descriptions
• Study Guides (Individual Performance
Guides at right)
• Student Shadow Puppetry Workshop
Description
• Student Monarch Butterfly Workshop
Description
• Teacher Workshops (Kennedy Center
Teacher Workshops Available)
• Featured Articles/Reviews/Quotes
- Teacher Review: The Selma Times-
Journal
- School Performance Review: Fallston
Elementary
- Performance Review: Raleigh News &
Observer
- Student Review: Going Animalia
- Interview - "Acclaimed puppeteer shows off his handiwork"
- Article - The Daily Advance (Animalia)
- Article: Hobey Ford Maestro..
• Quotes
• Poster - Animalia
HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS (click on this link)
VIDEO FOOTAGE - ANIMALIA (click on this link)
VIDEO FOOTAGE - SCENES FROM MIGRATION (ANIMALIA SEQUEL) (click on this link)
VIDEO FOOTAGE - TURTLE ISLAND TALES (click on this link)
VIDEO FOOTAGE - SAMPLER (click on this link)
IN THE PRESENTER'S WORDS
"Funny, talented, wonderful, creative, delightful. Absolutely great to work with!
~Clark Performing Arts Center, Springfield, OH
SHORT BIO
HOBEY FORD- Internationally award-winning performer, Kennedy Center Partner in Education teaching artist, recognized master puppeteer, and Asheville NC resident Ford often adapts folk cultures and tales from various countries for his performances, always adding a special "Golden Rod" twist. Ford has brought his amazing talent to family audiences all over the world for over two decades and has received the highest awards for his priceless contributions to the world of puppetry. Using his own voice to create characters and sound effects, tell stories and make his puppets sing, Hobey's performances feature his handmade original signature “Foamies," animated, carved-foam rod puppets. He performs unmasked, in full view in his roles as MC, engaged storyteller, puppeteer and animator, creating a seamless, magical and hypnotic dance between the audience, the puppeteer, the life-like puppets and his original artistic scenery. Two-time winner of puppetry's highest honor, the UNIMA Citation of Excellence, recipient of three Jim Henson Foundation grants and The Heritage Fellowship, Hobey Ford is known for excellence in puppetry performance and craft.
MORE BIO ON HOBEY FORD
Hobey pursued his artistic studies at The State University of New York at Purchase and the University of North Carolina Asheville. His desire was always to personally design and construct all of his Golden Rod Puppets and the beautiful sets that surround them. Hobey also draws on his early experiences growing up in coastal Connecticut or living in a Nevada Native American community in writing the scripts for some of his performances such as "Whale Walker" and "Turtle Island Tales."
Hobey is considered by his peers both an innovator in puppetry craft and a master storyteller. He has created both the "Foamies" and the clever hand puppet known as "Peepers," an imaginative, patented set of plastic eyes - for hands of any size- worn in several ways that turn the bare hand into an innovative - and inexpensive- instant puppet! The "Foamies" are large animal puppets that Hobey designs, carves and paints from blocks of foam. After studying each animal's characteristic movements, Hobey designs various rod control mechanisms to make the puppets themselves move in an incredibly life-like manner. The "Foamies" are presented using both stage and house performance spaces, often flying or "walking" right out over the audiences' heads!
HOBEY'S PERFORMANCES
NEW! MIGRATION- Hobey returns to the natural world of animals to explore the wonders, trials and sometimes unspeakable beauty of those who move across the planet in search of food, shelter and often a better way of life. A sequel to ANIMALIA, Ford's new show is MIGRATION. Hobey immerses us in the original story of a young Mexican girl, Beatriz, whose name means "traveler," and her own family's migration to the US. Along the way, family and children's audiences experience Beatriz's journey juxtaposed with the stories of wild animals that migrate: Monarch butterflies, polar bears, the Godwit bird (a Pacific Rim sandpiper) and the giant sperm whale. Known for his extremely realistic puppets, Ford performs Migration behind a thin circular theatrical scrim onto which scenes are projected and animated to take the audience along on the travels of these incredible creatures. The puppets appear to be performing within the video projections.
WORKSHOPS
In conjunction with The Kennedy Center's Partnership In Education program, Hobey provides K-5 teacher workshops in puppetry:
"The Magic of Peepers Puppets: Exploring Story Through Puppetry." Ford believes puppetry is a magical teaching tool that activates students' creative thinking through play. In this workshop, he introduces participants to his patented Peepers Puppet. Discover how to help your students learn the basics of creating numerous characters using the Peepers Puppet and how to teach your students to write and perform simple scripts, gaining knowledge about basic story structure, story sequence and the power of story in their lives--- by creating theater with just their hands.
Also offered for elementary teachers:
"Telling Folktales With Shadow Puppetry" and "From Larvae to Butterfly: Metamorphosis Through Puppetry."
Hobey's intricate shadow puppetry work and creation of the original rod puppets, the "Foamies,' have earned him a place on stages across the world. These workshops can incorporate a variety of puppetry styles including Bunraku, rod, marionettes, "Foamies" and shadow puppetry.
Hobey Ford's Shadow Puppetry Student Workshops
For K-5th grade. Combining storytelling with shadow puppetry brings a variety of cultures to life in the classroom through folktales. During this workshop, students become familiar with folktales from many cultures and choose one to illustrate with their own easily-made shadow puppets. Participants will learn shadow puppetry performance techniques and how to construct their own shadow puppets. Each student will construct a puppet that he or she may take home.
Also for elementary students, Writing Stories With Peepers - a workshop exploring story writing using Peeper puppets.
Hobey Ford has a study guide to accompany each performance as well as his teacher workshops. Study guides can be downloaded below or sent to you via e-mail by contacting Loyd Artists.
files to download:
