WCPIT Finale

Well, it is the end of 9 days of traveling on the road talking to puppeteers & improvisers about puppet improv. I got a lot of great new info and inspiration.

The tour ended Saturday with the show "Puppet Up" put on by Henson Alternative.


The show is a mix of Henson puppeteers and Groundlings improvisers, under the direction of the very funny Patrick Bristow. They start with a Puppet Up theme song, play improv games and scenes, and end with a "naked" version of the theme song that was my favorite part!! (puppet faces made of hands). I only had an iPhone to take photos, but here's someone else's photos from the previous month's show.


The day before (on Friday) I got to tour the "Swazzle Workshop" in Glendale where I learned a few tricks about puppet building.


The guys were in the process of building a set of "Audrey II" puppets they're going to rent out to High Schools performing "Little Shop of Horrors".


The day before THAT (on Thursday), I'd arrived in LA just in time to see Swazzle co-founder, Sean Johnson, perform an amazing library show "Water Color" for the last time of the season. The show was a 1 man show, but it there were a lot of characters and it was easy to forget one guy was doing everything.


That night I went to see the Groundlings improv show -- "Cooking with Gas". It was really fun! A mix of games in Act I, then a narrative longform set in the style of Jane Austin after the intermission. Very fun! And they had a guest, Nichol Parker, who'd just finished a run on Broadway in the leading role of Elphaba -- which they had sing a lot. She'd also been on Mad TV and in the Groundlings Sunday show, so it was not surprising that she was not only a great singer, but a great improviser!

Overload

OMG! Amy Gray, Rebecca Stockley, Mandy K, Pixar friends, Liebe Wetzel...

My brain is overloaded with interesting ideas, including...
- puppets as masks
- Commedia dell'Arte
- puppeteers performing with imps
- puppet dictating character
- imp "finding" character within puppet
- crossed graphite rods
- chopsticks as rods
- Eye, breath, consonant bounce
- rolling playboards
- multi-level set
- 3 puppeteers with 3 imps
- 4 shows a year (march, may, august, holidays)
- marketing
- $20 tickets; heavily discounted
- balance between stylized movement, and realistic movement
- stylized movement based on "basic shapes" (circle, square, triangle)
- camera
- "Why is That So Funny?" by John Wright
- Street performance
- Focus (eye darts = inhabited thought), Breath (purposeful; automatic), and Weight (grounded; playing on a table/surface)
- Marcel Marceau & his teacher... Etienne De Croux
- William Kentridge (Classic Clown); Avner Eisenburg; Charles Viles Meziner; Animo w/ Improbable Theatre
- silent performance
- performance with music
- "Face it, we're all reptiles; drawn to (or distracted by) visual movement"
- sketchbooks
- sunburn
- time-space continuum

Must rest.
Then process.

Off to see some Wizards!

Tomorrow I'm off on a tour of the western coast to seek out wisdom from some improvisers, puppeteers, & puppet improvisers! Four cities in nine days. My tour begins in Portland, pops up to Seattle, then trips down to San Francisco and Los Angeles. I'm planning on connecting with a lot of great artists -- some new friends, some old. I can't wait!! When I get back, I'm hoping to host another Puppet Improv Workshop and share what I've learned. In the meantime, I'll try to post updates about the trip here.

On a side note, I auditioned for a group shooting a puppet show pilot for a show on Nutrition... and got in!! Hope to share more on this next month, as things develop.

Also of note is the fast approaching Out of Bounds Improv Comedy Festival, happening right here in my very own home town of Austin, TX on Labor Day weekend! Get Up will be performing on Sunday, September 6th. There should be a ton of improv and sketch from around the United States, including the headlining troupe from Austrailia! However, as far as I know, there will be NO puppet imps. Check out the schedule HERE... http://www.outofboundsimprov.com/2009/home.html


That is all.

"Improv with Puppets" Workshop

... is happening this Saturday. The class is being offered through the MERLIN WORKS SCHOOL OF IMPROVISATION as part of their summer specialty series.

NEWS FLASH -- I'm making traditional "sock puppets" as a TAKE HOME bonus for those who sign up for the class. I'm also bringing my own hand & rod puppet arsenal -- which I've been working on this week. Hope to see you there!

official posting...

"Puppets mania is sweeping the nation and improvisers are catching the bug, too! In this 3 hour workshop we'll play with the basics of puppet manipulation (eye contact, breath, emotion, etc.), before we get into some improv games & scenes to explore how improvising with puppets can get you closer to PLAY and out of your head. A fun class to take, whether you're looking to expand your improv tool-belt with puppets, or just looking for a fun afternoon with puppets. $25"

register HERE.

Summer Marches On

Improv with Puppets! -- In case you didn't know, the puppet improv workshop that was scheduled to happen this weekend has been pushed back to Saturday July 11th, 12-3:00pm. Hope to see you there! You can sign up on the Merlin Works website.

NO SHAME -- [Friday, June 3rd] The PIP made an appearance at the last "No Shame" where I opened the puppet-arsenal to anyone who wanted to try improvising with puppets. I had forgotten the curtain part of my puppet theaters, so we just used the PVC skeleton... which was perfect for NO SHAME! We did two 5 min sets. PIP Part I included Patrick Knisley, Marci Spivey, Topping Haggerty, and I. PIP part II included Kerri Lendo, Howard Katz, Noah Voelker, and I. We started with puppets talking to puppets, and then "puppeteer" character imps talking to imps, then back into puppets (whole scene as one scene). It was like a workshop on its feet. I think it was very playful and that made it fun. Howard had a knack for puppet manipulation and I hope he joins us again next month.

Next "No Shame" [Friday, July 3rd] I would like to try...
-- creating something longer than five min
-- a puppet/actor scene
-- playing with the "bad" kids puppet show (people like naughty puppets), then flipping it show the actors
-- scripting something out, maybe a la "comedia del arte". I'm making a few more creature puppets... devil, leprechaun, monkey, monster. Mostly tricksters. Maybe I need a princess or lamb.

WEST COAST TOUR -- Plans are moving forward for my puppet and improv tour of the west coast. I have my tickets to LA, San Fran, Portland/Seattle. I'm going to drive from Portland to Seattle to see the shows there.

I have lined up some places to stay with friends, and talked to some people about meeting to talk puppet improv. I had hoped to get to see the two Swazzle shows ("Otter Circus" & "Watercolors"), but they are happening the day before I get to LA and school prohibits me from getting there earlier. It may be possible to stay one more day in LA, then I might get to see at least one show on Monday before heading to San Fran. I will be getting to see "Puppet Up" while in LA, and hopefully meet with the puppeteers and Groundlings imps after the show. Then its off to San Fran, where I will be talking with Liebe Wetzel, the Artistic Director of Lunatique Fantastique. She's interested in getting into animation, so it will be fun to talk with her! In Portland, I'll be talking with Amy Gray of Comedy Sportz "Puppetz vs People" show -- which they do once a year. I'm still hoping to talk to the Unscripted guys, and some puppet imp from Jet City Improv and Unexpected Productions in Seattle.

This trip is shaping up nicely, and I'm starting to get excited!

Improv Puppets! @ No Shame, this Friday 6/5 10pm @ SVT

Lovers of the off-beat meet once a month at the SVT second stage to see "No Shame Theater", produced by Gnap! Theater Projects. For $3 you can watch or participate. Rules are your piece has to be under 5 min, and you can't hurt yourself or the stage.

This week, the PIP will make at least ONE appearance by opening up the puppet stage for whoever wants to join in. We will try to do some improv using several puppet performance techniques, as many as we can fit into 5 min! If we have a bunch of volunteers and need more time, we may commandeer a second 5 min slot. I've already lined up a couple of people who want to try this. If you want to join us, email me! or just show up before the show. SIGN-UPS are @ 9:30pm!!

If you can't make it out to No Shame, or performing in front of a crowd is too intimidating, then SIGN UP for the Puppet Improv workshop I'm facilitating through Merlin Works.

"Improv with Puppets!" (June 20th)
Presented by Merlin Works as part of a "Summer Speciality Series"
Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road
Saturday, June 20th 2009
$25
REGISTER HERE

Summer Workshop w/ Merlin Works

The Merlin Works School of Improvisation is offering a summer speciality series of workshops. Each week there will be a guest instructor, and I will be leading one focused on puppet improv. I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned so far and playing with other improvisers who like puppets. Here are the workshop deets (taken from the Merlin Works website)...

"Improv with Puppets!" Saturday June 20th 12pm - 3pm

Puppet mania is sweeping the nation and improvisers are catching the bug, too! In this 3 hour workshop we'll play with the basics of puppet manipulation (eye contact, breath, emotion, etc.), before we get into some improv games & scenes to explore how improvising with puppets can get you closer to PLAY and out of your head. A fun class to take, whether you're looking to expand your improv tool-belt with puppets, or just looking for a fun afternoon with puppets. $25

REGISTER HERE