Vignettes

Vignette productions featured the work of individual Handspan members.

These programs of short pieces gave members the opportunity to experiment with techniques and explore topics that interested them.

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line drawing handprints pegged to clothesline

SMALLS

1985

Smalls was created by Michele Spooner and Peter J. Wilson.

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clothesline hung with items spelling the word Smalls behind man and woman with miniature clothesline

man in spotlight manipulating several crossed bamboo sticks

closeup puppet head framed by its hands

closeup puppet head with its hands over face

squatting figure with human legs and puppet upper body

puppet reaching towards its face in a mirror

man and woman dressed in white manipulating puppet baby

baby puppet meets a smaller baby

baby puppet cradling doll

Group shot of five people

Smalls poster in Japanese and English

Smalls poster in Japanese and English

black and white poster with handprints pegged to clothesline

MOMENTS

1986

Moments was created by Michele Spooner and Avril McQueen. Its sequence of miniature single-character pieces portrayed moments in life from childhood to old age.

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man in spotlight manipulating several crossed bamboo sticks

clothesline hung with items spelling the word Smalls behind man and woman with miniature clothesline

closeup puppet head framed by its hands

closeup puppet head with its hands over face

cartoon hand wearing duck finger puppet

DUCK

1987

Duck was a collection of cabaret sketches by Avril McQueen, Rod Primrose, John Rogers and Annie Wylie.

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woman wearing tiara with frog puppet wearing beret

two woman manipulating large teddy-bear

three puppeteers with three large duck puppets

three puppeteers operating large phallic puppet wearing a suit

black and white poster with multiple small drawings

WOMEN ALONE

1989

Women Alone was a collection of solo pieces by Katy Bowman, Michele Spooner and Annie Wylie.

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baby dinosaur hatches from egg while mother dinosaur hovers overhead

egg in eggcup at miniature altar with angel figurines

woman injecting an egg at tabletop set with miniature laboratory equipment.

woman with cheery miniature cardboard pop-up lounge room.

woman with unhappy miniature cardboard pop-up lounge room.

woman with banana and puppet

cupboard body costume with locks and chains, with arms reaching round to open them

cupboard body costume topped by a straw hat with open doors showing small objects inside

black and white photo of four smiling people

drawing of two figures looking at themselves in hand mirrors

METAFOUR

1993

MetaFour featured items by Katy Bowman, Avril McQueen, Michele Spooner and Lizz Talbot.

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simple figure covered in white cloth moves in mid-air

brown paper figure emerges from white cloth covering

ball of brown paper floats above ball of white cloth

winged wooden figure floats on a cloud, gazing at a star

star has become floating child's head with long white draperies, wooden figure stands near globe of world, looking up

star child leads wooden figure, who beckons to floating smaller wooden figure.

wooden figure astride stylised horse's head travels in mid-air with star child

wire figure half-reclining strokes head of stylised snake

wire figure falls to floor of stage

life-size white figure in white ceremonial robe kneels in prayer

puppeteers in view place white-gloved hands over white figure's eyes

woman in white body-stocking twists large flexible disc into swirling shape

in deep blue light, woman in white body-stocking twists large flexible disc into curved cone shape

masked woman stands erect, light beams stream from her head and from small boxes mounted on one hip

BELOW THE BELT

1997

Below the Belt featured three cabaret pieces by Liss Gabb, Heather Monk and Rod Primrose.

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