Bio
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STEVEN RITZ-BARR
PRODUCER/PUPPET ARTIST
lapuppet@gmail.com website <www.lapuppet.com> and <www.classicsinminiature.com>
20170 Observation Dr., Topanga, CA 90290 tel. (310) 428-3464
Presently President Metropolitan Puppet Authority, non-profit entity dedicated to Puppetry Arts
And President of Classics in Miniature, Inc: creating, producing, and distributing puppet films worldwide.
FILM
QUIXOTE, puppet film Producer/performer Classics in Minaiture
KURT CANNABIS & CONNIE CANCER Len Richmond Films
FAUST, puppet Film Chief Producer/performer Classics in Miniature
Team America Puppeteer Paramount
Alien Resurrection Puppet performer A.D.I./Fox
Men In Black Puppet performer R.Baker/ Sony
Prehysteria Puppet Performer Full Moon
Pet Shop Puppet performer Full Moon
Subspecies Puppet performer Full Moon
Robot Wars/Jox Puppet Performer Full Moon
Dr. Mordrid Puppet Performer Full Moon
Batman Returns Penguin performer S. Winston/Warner
Muppet Vision 3-D Puppeteer Disney/Henson
Puppeteered muppets on the last shoot by the late Jim Henson in 1990.
TELEVISION
Plato’s Cave (pilot) Producer/performer Ritz-Barr Production
Baby Einstein (stars show) puppeteer Disney Prod.
Furry Tales (3 episodes) head puppeteer Kidzvid Entertain.
Kingsley’s Meadows (26 episodes) Puppet/Suit performer cable/Kidzvid
Muppets Tonight (18 episodes) Puppet performer ABC/ Henson
Puppeteered muppets for Brian Henson in 1996-7.
Alef Bet Blastoff Puppet /builder/performer JTN (cable)
Built, and puppeteered muppet-style puppets for 6 episodes.
Cozy Corner Puppet performer/designer Sony TV
Bedtime Stories Puppet performer Think/Showtime
Puppeteered with Shelley Duval for 13 episodes of her 1994 show.
What a Dummy Puppet performer MCA/Fox
Puppeteer for the 24 episodes of this 1991 Fox sitcom.
COMMERCIALS AND PSA’S
(Most recently)
Drunk Driving PSA Puppet Master H. Ochiyama
Barbie Industrials (2 spots) Key Producer/Puppet Master Mattel
Various others with Mark Rappaport Creature Effects, Inc
and David Allan Stop Motion FX (list available on request)
THEATRE
(the following are Ritz-Barr Creations/Productions)
Native Dreams- Shadow Show Producer/Performer Tour
Currently performing for family audiences. MPA production.
THEATRE EXPERIENCE with photos
Moon Over Madness – Writer/Designer -J.A.Ford Theatre (1000 seat)
Created several segments with experimental puppets.
Evening with Poe – Writer/Actor/Producer -West Coast Tour
One-person/one puppet show (college tour)
in conjunction with Theatre 6470 in L.A.
Les Premiers Silences -Performer/Designer- 2-year Euro. Tour
Modern Dance Creation with Herve Diasnas, Paris. 30 performances.
Les Elephants -Performer/Designer -Festival Budapeste
Performed at Euro. Puppet Theatre Festival and won UNIMA excellence award.
Contes Futurs -Puppet Master/Designer- 2-year Euro. Tour
Created Modern Dance with puppets for 7-member Dance Co. Witzman-Anaya in Paris. In 2 season, 75 shows were performed in 600+ seat venues.
Punch Revisited -Writer/Performer/Producer -4-year Euro. Tour The stable show of Ritz-Barr Productions. Hand puppet artistry seen in many puppet festivals, small theatres, and cafe-theatres in France and So. California.
(the following are not Ritz-Barr Productions):
PBS Awards-Julie Taymore Performer PBS special 1990
Les Premiers Silences Performer/Designer 2-year Euro. Tour
Modern Dance Creation with Herve Diasnas, Paris. 30 performances.
Les Elephants Solo Performer Festival Budapeste
Performed at Euro. Puppet Theatre Festival and won UNIMA excellence award.
Contes Futurs Puppet Master/Designer 2-year Euro. Tour
Created Modern Dance with puppets for 7-member Dance Co. Witzman-Anaya
in Paris. In 2 seasons, 75 shows were performed in 600+ seat venues, including theatre/art festivals in Paris, London, and Annecy, France.
Punch Revisited Writer/Performer/Producer 4-year Euro. Tour
Hand puppet artistry seen in France, Belgium, and England.
Bruce Schwartz Light/sound 4-month Euro.Tour
TRAINING AND AWARDS
UNIMA(intl. puppetry org.) citation of excellence FAUST film Wash. DC 2008
BA Theatre Arts/ Education Whitworth College Spokane, WA
2-year cert. Theatre/Mime/Movement Ecole Jacques LeCoq Paris, France
Puppet Training Jean-Loup Temporal Paris, France
3 years full time apprenticeship /work
Puppet Training (10 week course)* Alain Recoin Paris, France
12 week workshop Intl. Puppet Insti.* Phillip Genty Charleville, France
10 week workshop Intl.Insti.Puppetry* Jim Henson Charlesville, France
Movement-Dance Training (7 years) Sonia Demitrescu Paris, France
UNIMA excellence award Solo Theatre Festival Budapeste, Hungary
5 Writing Classes (Screenplay) UCLA Extension Los Angeles, CA
* Teaching Assistant Positions
Henson Foundation Grant recipient in 1992 for EVENING WITH POE
SPECIAL SKILLS
Fluent in French Familiarity with German and Spanish
Mime/Juggler Published Author Dancer- Acrobat
Singer- (Current member Angel City Chorale in Los Angeles, CA (high Tenor))
Former Little league baseball coach for both sons, Leo and Julian
PUBLISHED ARTICLES
“Conceptual Differences Between Real-Time Filmed Puppets and Theatre Puppets” commissioned by International Puppet Encyclopedia editor Dr. H. Jurkowski (Wroclaw, Poland) published by Institute de la Marionnette, Charleville-Mezieres, France; 1998
“La Marionnette Facon Hollywood” appeared in Puck: La marionette et les autres arts, editions Institute International de la Marionnette #9; 1996
“Way-High Tech.-Puppetic Images Found in Films and Television” appeared in Puppetry International (Atlanta, USA); published by UNIMA-USA; 1997
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- UCLA Animaiton Dept. of Theatre, Film.Television PUPPETRY ARTS(2009)
-Taught small classes “VIDEO PUPPETRY” to professionals at my studio.
-Taught Puppet Classes at Hollygrove Children’s home, in Los Angeles from 1999-2002
for teachers and children. “Self-expression through Puppets.”
-Taught Puppetry at Widney Special Ed. High School in Los Angeles 1999-2001; Developed a curriculum for severely mentally/ physically challenged older teens.
-Hosted workshops on Puppetry and Special Education from 1999-2001
at Claremont College, Claremont, CA, Psychology Dept, “Alternative Therapies”
and UCLA, school of Public Health, Dr. V. Mays “Puppets in Public Health”-how puppets are used to educate the public regarding Aids and STDs .
-Taught Puppet Arts for the City of Paris in France 1983-88. Several classes: “Puppetry and the Avant Garde” for adults and others for children.
-4 week intensive (160hrs) for La Bebette Show, for TF1 France, training of professional puppeteers for the highly successful show (14 years running in France).