I am a serious grown-up

About a half-hour ago I watched the clock change to midnight. I'm 30.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to eat cereal with no character on the box. For lunch I will eat a sandwich on whole-grain bread. I also plan to discuss my goiter with several people at a grocery store with whom I share no real connection. I'll retire to bed at 7:30pm and get up at 4am, go to the IHOP and ask for an early bird special. I will use the word elderly well more than I should.

I tell lies & that makes me happy. No. I'm happy because I immediately tattle. On myself. I'm meta.

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!

Puppet Pie has found a mascot.

I present to you....

PUPPET PIE!

It's a finger puppet. Part of Pie-Pact '08, however I decided that since I have so many things actually named Puppet Pie, that maybe I should keep this one. However *ahem* if you would like your own piece of puppet pie in any flavor of your choosing (most taste like felt), then just let me know & maybe I'll invest the time into making more for Etsy.

~

Also....Tonight our short film project for IFP's winter festival took home 3 awards:
1)Best Story.
*ahem* I'd like to thank Mack Duncan for our lovely brainstorming session & a lack of sleep for providing me with lines so hilarious that I shouldn't write them in a public space.
2)Best Use of Puppets
*ahem* I'd like to thank the panel of judges for making up an award specific to our show. I'd like to apologize to each film that did not get an award tailored to their piece. Specifically, I'm sorry film with the fat-suit. I really thought you should have had the best fat-suit award.
3)First Place (and a cash prize!)
*ahem* um..are you sure? You watched it, right? The one we submitted........Really? Wow. um...thank you? I think. Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much.

They took our picture. On the first one I thought, "oh lame, I get my picture taken & I smile like a 3 year old..that's great." On the second I thought "I get a second shot at the photo!" By the third photo I was really just a tad dazed.

The film will be presented at the Phoenix Film Festival on April 7th.

I want to make more films.

being proactive instead of reactive

Of all of the puppets that I've made, I think this frog might be my favorite. I think one of the reasons for that is because I didn't get to keep him for very long. He was shown at a local art gallery in '06 and I wasn't expecting him to sell. I'd made him out of the leftover fabric from a dinosaur costume that I'd made for my son for Halloween that year. At least I think that's where the fabric came from....

I was telling a friend of mine how I am sad that I haven't kept a few key puppets in my building career...the frog, the Phoenix Coyotes Puppets, and a bunny or two. My friend said, "Well, why can't you just recreate the frog?" I thought of a long list of unreasonable reasons to not remake him, one reason being, "I don't have the same fleece." Then thought that I should at least try it no matter what color he is. Green is still the goal, here.

So I've embarked on a make-a-puppet-for-myself adventure. I am not going to post this one to Etsy and I'm not going to use it for any shows (that I know of). I'm taking my time, I'm starting over with things when they don't work right, and I'm allowing myself to put him down without being finished with him. Leaving him alone when he's not finished is actually the hardest part of this project. A) I want to see him done! B) there's a lingering fear that if I put him down, I might never find the time/motivation to pick him up again. So far, I've gone back to him. And, I'm really excited about the whole thing.

I give another workshop to another library for teens & tweens tomorrow..and then again on Thursday & the following Saturday & that ends my library run of workshops. By the way, if you live anywhere near Phoenix, just let me know if you want to know about the workshops in more detail...the Library is paying me to teach, so it's free to anyone ages 12-18.

There. I've updated. Are you happy?

The title was so lame, I changed it.

Now, I told myself at the beginning of this journal that I'd not write about my boring personal life. I justify telling you about both my bronchitis and pink eye (at the same time) because I'm relating it to puppetry somehow.

A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend about interrupted plans..."I'll take January off (HAH!) & hit February really hard...." So, here it is, 1 week into February. I've been sick for nearly 2 weeks. All of my plans for February have been halted. Even January's plans didn't go according to plan. I prepared two shows, gave one workshop, met Dave Goelz & saw Kermit the Frog & Rowlf the dog (& Bert & Ernie & Cantus & Gobo & Gonzo & others...) for the very first time, filmed two puppet videos, taught classes, hosted an out-of-town guest and took at least one shower. All of this despite my wanting to take a little break.

Sometimes it feels like our plans are constantly interrupted. I'm not so sure that's true though, even though it seems to happen a lot. We silly humans remember abnormalities more-so than good ole regular things. So anytime a plan goes.....as planned, then we just assume that to be a normal thing. Anytime it goes down the drain, we remember it... This is something I have to remind myself of. Hey self, remember that time when I had 1 week to make 4 puppets and I did it? That was cool. That was a complete & utter abnormality. Maybe that's why I remember it. Oh the theory works! That makes me clap.

Life events always teach you something if you let them. What have I learned? Maybe it's to be flexible in my plans. To allow my plans to change rather than to be sad that they're not fulfilled. To be accepting of the changes & alter things accordingly. And that my eyes will scream if I forget to use their special eye drops.