Books published by Charlemagne Press

For three decades the Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera was a cultural gem in Chicago. After dinner at Frederick Chramer's famous Scandinavian restaurant, patrons adjourned across the lobby to the plush 210 seat opera house to enjoy miniature but elaborate productions of such operas as La Bohème, Aida, La Traviata, and Madama Butterfly. In 1967, Gary Jones joined the exclusive group of puppeteers who operated the unique rod puppets from beneath the slotted stage floor. He was the first, and only black puppeteer at the Miniature Grand Opera but his artistic talents were quickly recognized when he was invited to create the scenery for the opera's new productions.Here is his account of his adventures, the performers who worked "understage", and the abrupt finale of the Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera in 1971.

From his lengthy career as an award-winning professional puppeteer, Paul Vincent Davis offers sage and practical guidance in creating meaningful and memorable puppet theatre art.Reaching beyond today's often limited vision of puppet theatre, he explores the crafting of the characters, giving each a unique voice and movement.He then examines the process of creating a suitable and compelling story for those characters and the professional practices which polish the artistic endeavor into the finished work.

In the 1950's, Dick Myers developed a unique type of rod puppet and began creating whimsically memorable productions. His first play, The Story of Dick Whitington, premiered at the 1966 National Festival of the Puppeteers of America and was the hit of the week. Three other productions and an experimental show followed before Dick retired from performing in 1983. After he died, his puppets, stage, and all the components of the shows were donated to the Puppet Arts Program at the University of Connecticut. For his MFA project, Seth Shaffer restored the Myers' puppets and remounted two of the productions using the original sound tracks. This book details not only Dick's life, but Seth's adventures in the Dick Myers Project.

For more than eighty years Chicago has been home to several unique miniature grand operas. In 1935 Ernest Wolff and his mother premiered the Chicago Puppet Opera Company.In 1941 the theatre was installed as after-dinner entertainment at Fredrik Chramer's Kungsholm Scandinavian Restaurant. When the theatre was destroyed in 1947, a 208 seat jewel-box opera house was created as the state-of-the-art home to the unique rod puppets. The Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera closed in 1971 but William Fosser's Opera in Focus continues the miniature opera genre in a Chicago suburb. Here is the story of these three entrepreneurs and their determination to create grand opera. The book includes a study of the puppets' construction and manipulation.

Martin Stevens was one of the great North American puppeteers - creating such notable productions as "The Passion Play", "Joan of Arc", and "Taming of the Shrew". Steve, as he was affectionately called, was a frequent performer and teacher at the national festivals of the Puppeteers of America. In the 1950's he wrote a correspondence course with nineteen published lessons plus a final session written specifically for each student. Here are all the published lessons plus all the known final session. "It is a happy day that this material is once again visible and available to nudge young puppeteers to find their own way of seeing and doing shows. Bravo to "Steve." George Latshaw in the Puppetry Journal, Spring, 1998

Over sixty selections on mime from the writings of famous mimes, theater people, dancers, choreographers, critics, historians, and teachers. Ms. Rolfe traces the historical development of mime and its present-day manifestations in theater, film, and dance. Mimes will find the art represented by Marcel Marceau, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Lecoq, Dmitri the Clown, Buster Keaton, Etienne Decroux, Angna Enters, Lotte Goslar, Jacques Tati, Dick Van Dyke, Woody Allen. All selections are set into an historical context that outlines the history of the art.