Vote because you love me

Ok, apparently it's not obvious to everyone reading the blog that I have a poll. That you can vote on. Unless its the same 14 people coming back to visit the blog to find out if there's a new poll...I'm just sayin'. You can also choose more than one option when you vote. its amazing.

So I'm starting to pick the show up little-by-little. Very little. Every time I pick up a puppet to perform for an audience of nobody I transform into a human ball of nervous energy that can't settle. And then heaven forbid I need to do the show for the director--or anyone else in the theater! So they sit there & it's just some puppets, a solitary folding chair and me...ready to rap my little heart out.

It was brought up to me that as long as the music isn't going that I can rap okay, but if you add a beat then I'm lost. This I knew. Need not point out--thanks. So then I was advised to tap my foot to the beat. Its helping a little, but let's think about this....when you hear ragtime, or polkas, or some big band you have a tendency to want to tap your feet....but rap? Do you tap your feet to rap? Not so much--so it's either sound like a fool or look like a fool. Which I should be used to already. I am somewhat of a dingus. (Somehow the word dingus is in my web-browser's dictionary--that makes me happy.)

Ok so this is where I make excuses for my bad puppetry skills:
I'm using a style of puppet that I've never performed with before(which is neat!). They're mostly table-top rod puppets. They're controlled by a rod going through the back of their head or body with a string and elastic for the mouth control (all but one anyway). So first off, I need to keep my derned feet on the playboard. Not something I've ever had to worry about before. Second, I'm so used to moving a puppet's mouth with syllables in a word that I am moving my puppet's body with every syllable which is terribly distracting and uncool. I'm also doing 4 characters in one show..not something I've ever done. I'm usually only one or two characters in a show and they're very seldomly on stage together, so I've never had to worry about vocal distinction in characters. I also work with a male puppeteer most of the time, so I'm never really doing any boy-parts. So in this show 3 of the characters are boys. OY VEY!

My first two shows are Monday, back0-to-back. So today is Wednesday. I have--not that long. Keep your fingers crossed, people. Otherwise some first graders at an elementary school in Chandler are going to be very disappointed.

So I'm thinking about the next puppet fest & what kinds of workshops I'm going to sign up for. I'm thinking a manipulation workshop for sure, and probably a vocal one as well.

Growing in your artform is sometimes a very difficult thing.
(Also, I wish people wouldn't smoke in the basement--just sayin')

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!