Imagine That.

Our theater is doing an amazing project with a local school. Schoolchildren grades 2nd-8th have written stories that they think would make good puppet shows. 2 from each grade were chosen (plus one rad poem) and in a relatively short period of time (about 3.5 weeks), the shows were created & performed in the theater. The school brings their students to see their work & the 15 chosen authors are given awards this week. This has all been funded through an arts grant (of course).

I have to say I really enjoy all of the pieces. Each puppeteer has taken 3 stories to adapt. Everyone kept the voice of the child throughout each piece. Some shows are funny, some are very sweet & one makes me nearly cry each time I read the script.

And even the variety of puppets used gives a really great exposure to puppetry. It starts with a blacklight show (which brings on immediate Ooooohs from the kids) and moves into rod marionettes, rod puppets, scarf marionettes, mouth puppets, shadow puppets, overhead projector puppets (drawn & colored in rather than silhouetted shadows), and glove puppets.

It was a greuling process trying to put all of these shows together, but I'm really pleased with the result. In all, I think we kick patuchus.

I leave you with a lovely that I sent over to The Trunk Space not too long ago.



It makes me happy.

PuppetFest Midwest Tomorrow!

I leave tomorrow bright and early for PuppetFest Midwest in Trenton, Missouri! I was awarded a scholarship & I plan to use it to the fullest! This festival sneaked up on me. ("Sneaked up" doesn't sound correct..but really it is.) I think I was so excited about the release of the video this week (Yesterday it was a feature story on yahoo! YAY!) that I completely forgot about packing. So today is all about getting my ducks in a row before I leave!

Things I doubt you care about: Swim lessons with the boy-child are going well. If I were a newspaper I'd say something about them going swimmingly. Which causes me to ask why newspapers are still using puns after at least 100 years of readers groaning at them in agony.

He also got into the school we were hoping for! He'll actually be in the kindergarten classroom this year. They stay there until they're about age 7 because it's a hippie-school. How hippie you ask? The 3rd graders are in charge of taking care of the farm animals. They encourage the kids to jump off of the swings, catch frogs, and climb trees. (As long as the tree doesn't bear fruit.) They keep the same teacher from the 1st-8th grade. They spend a lot of time outside while they learn. They all learn to play instruments & paint. They make stilts, learn how to felt, and put on plays. What's even cooler? Puppetry is huge at this school! HUZZAH! (That's a dork's way of saying amen.)

This is where I preach:
Encouraging children to move while they learn and using music to teach math, and art to teach science, and dance to teach language causes children to learn effectively. It's well-rounded and it makes learning far more fun than sitting at a desk. Stupid desks.

Preaching done. Look at a picture of rhinos to flush your brain.

Project Puppet Project has been put on hold until all of the bad workmanship on our electrical has been fixed. That's a saga for another blog.

I can't get to my sewing machine. Ah well. I thrive on pressure. I also thrive on forgetting to take pictures of what I have completed.

I *do* have pictures of some new puppets I managed to make while sitting in a car. I thought I'd share. It's a new direction for me, be it ever-so slightly new.

I begin teaching at a new school in a new school year tomorrow. The school seems very open to the arts and puppetry. I'm pleased. We'll see what that's like, too. Not sure that this journal entry is all that entertaining. Ah well, at least you know I have electricity!