General Publicity Material

Magical Moonshine Theatre has been recognized for fine quality programming, with emphasis on puppetry, mask and music since 1979. MMTheatre performances have been seen coast to coast in the U.S., as well as internationally with performances in 15 countries in 8 different languages. The group has received numerous awards and honors on the national and international level. MMTheatre director and founder Michael Nelson studied puppetry at the International Puppetry Institute with the late Jim Henson of the Muppets. In addition, Nelson has taught puppet theatre arts at Napa Valley College; was a California Arts Council Artist in Residency; has been a regular writer for the national journal of puppetry; was a past president of the San Francisco Bay Area Puppetry Guild; and is the past-president of UNIMA-USA (the U.S. branch of the UNESCO affiliated international organization of puppetry dedicated to promoting world brotherhood and understanding through the art of puppetry.

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Article from San Francisco Chronicle, November 20, 1998- Mike and Valerie Nelson can bring inanimate objects to life, delighting crowds and tapping into their psyches with little more than pieces of colorful cloth and carved, painted wood. It's a phenomenon the Yountville puppeteers have witnessed for more than 20 years as the founders of ...

Review from the Puppetry Journal, Fall, 1995, for Coyote Sings (Animal Folktales of the Americas) These trickster tales are presented with zest and exuberance. This program is appealing and folksy without ever being cute or crude. The puppets are presented bunraku style with puppeteer's faces visible and totally immersed in the characters they...

Local Puppet Theater Wins National Award, For Immediate Release (Fall, 1998) A Bay Area theater company has been awarded the UNI Award (the Citation of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry) for 1998, a national award founded by Muppet creator Jim Henson to recognize outstanding puppetry. Magical Moonshine Theatre from Napa Valley was...