You People Deserve To Read Something

Good golly, how many times have you checked back & nothing new had been posted? I keep feeling as though I'm on the edge of something, so I hesitate in posting because, well, something significantly rad might come up tomorrow, whereas right now nothing definite is going on & reading about maybes is boring and difficult to follow.

I've been asked to go to Toronto in May to give an improv workshop to puppeteers. Oh, man, you have no idea how excited I am about this! I geek out over both of these things so hard. I love teaching improv to people who don't really know how/what it is. The fundamentals of improvisational theater are so lovely! Anthony Fama, of Tucson's Streetprov, has often said that the fundamentals of improv would solve a lot of people's problems (to be fair, I'm sure many people have said this, however I associate it with Anthony). I believe it to be true. There are some great foundations for life. I think everyone should be required to take First Aid/CPR, Driving Lessons & at least one improv workshop from the right person. I suggest Joe Bill.

The other half of that geeking out is that I adore seeing other puppeteers doing wonderful things & I'm rarely around puppeteers that I haven't known for 6 years! Oh man, and there's another side of it: Toronto! Yay that!


(Allison, did you hear gunshots around 10:30 on Sunday night? Yeah, me too..just now)

Also, I made a cabbage. I like him.

Happy Pie Day!

I declare today the best day of all!

Second best: International Talk like o'Pirate day

Lessons from the Muppets

The Muppet exhibit at the Arizona Museum for Youth closes on Sunday, so I did one last trip today with a friend. I looked for specific things today & how I could apply them to my own work. I did find techniques that I might use, but more importantly, looking at the puppets & Jim's doodles, I realized that there's a beautiful lack of perfection to most of it.

While the puppets are well more than what I can muster, they're not the models of perfection that I had built them up to be in my mind, from television, or from the initial exhibit visit, at which I was just amazed to be in the same room as these great works of art (not to mention Dave Goelz).

This time around I was looking for imperfections and I found them. Just like I can for anything in life, especially my own work. While I won't ever be content with my work, seeing all of these wonderful imperfections from people so highly revered encouraged me to go a little easier on myself.

I think the perfection that has been built up in my mind was due to the excitement & energy that Jim Henson & his cohorts put into it all. I've got that...holy crap, I've got that! So I'm just going to go with it. I'm not going to worry about what so-and-so might think....My own style & better building will come with time & with practice. I don't need to be perfect, I just need to do what I'm doing with the joy that it brings me. And if that doesn't make me successful, then I'll be having too much fun with what I'm doing to know that I'm miserable, right?

Just because I like to throw in photos, my carrot army is at the top there...its me..having fun with what I do!