It's always such fun! The Friday of every Halloween Ralph Lee unleashes his menagerie of ghouls and demons into St John the Divine. I've had the great joy of participating the past two years as the turtle demon of death. Ralph's creations are really just so gorgeous and whimsical. This event is an NYC treasure.
Growtowski bo bowksi
I've been taking a weekly acting class with the wonderful and wise Erica Fae. We've been learning (or relearning) the forms developed by the Polish avant garde director, Jerzy Growtowski. It's been really great to dive back in to work like this. It's work that really asks you to engage with your body on a fundamental level as a way to create images. I love the work. It's hard. And it's good for me.
5 Years of TRE
I can't believe it's been five years since TRE's founding. To celebrate we held a gala and relived all the shows the company has put on over the years. I got to read a scene with Jaclyn Backhaus from our very first production "A Doll's House". The memories! The memories!! The whole night was a blast. We had a really nice turn out of friendly faces and great supporters. Here's to many more years!
Mimi and Rita's Magic Hour
What fun!
I've had the privilege of being the puppetry director (and sole performer....and builder) for Mimi and Rita's Magic Hour. The show is being created by Marisa Lark Wallin. She has been wanting to create a children's show her entire life. It stars the madcap and wonderfully talented actors, nicHi douglas and Cyndi Perczek. We had an awesome day shooting out pilot on a set brilliantly designed by Greg Laffey.
The puppet characters appearing in this episode are ViVi, the Vulture DJ, who lives in the trash pile in the corner of Mimi and Rita's apartment and Grandma Pearl, the cranky neighbor in the window, who teachers the girls how to make cinnamon apples.
Keep your eyes peeled for updates as the pilot gets edited!
Rhinbecca, NY, onward, ho!
We've just finished our second workshop for Theater Reconstruction Ensemble's latest endeavor "Rhinbecca, NY". It's been a blast. The show is shaping up to be a wild, weird, suspenseful ride. It's such a joy working with this group of people. We're slowly finding what this show is. Our script is in it's early stages but I'm really intrigued to see where we end up.
ONWARD!
Secret puppet project
I can't tell you what it is. But it's secret. And cool. And I hope someday soon I'll get to share it with you. But for now.........
The 2016 National Puppetry Festival
That was a lot of puppets! But what a blast!
I spent the past week up in Storrs, CT at the University of Connecticut (which has the only Masters degree in puppetry in the USA). The week started with an optional teaching artist development day. It was really great to hear all the creativity and ideas flowing from puppet teachers around the country. It also confirmed what I already knew, that puppetry in education makes a difference. I then ran off to participate in the opening performance of the festival with The Bread and Puppet Theater. It was great fun getting to be a part of such a historic company for a day.
The rest of the week was spent taking wood carving workshops and seeing ALL the shows and films. It was great to be so engulfed in puppet performance and puppeteers. It really gave me a sense as to all the work that is going on around the country. It was also a great way to help remind myself what I like and what I don't like in puppet performance.
All in all, it was totally worth the trip!
I am one who.
I had such a great week last week. I took a week long intensive with a teacher of mine from college, Raina Fernandez VonWaldenberg. Raina is a teacher whose classes stand out as really pivotal turning points in my training at school. It was such a joy and a challenge to jump back into that work after so many years away from it. The group of students taking the class were laying it on the line. It's always such an inspiration to watch other people work in a setting where we're all being asked to really be present and vulnerable. It was an extraordinary week.
More Puppets for Persia
We had a couple of repeat performances of Hamid Rahmanian's adaptation of the Iranian legend of the Serpent King. They were the sort of rag-tag show up at a school and hope for the best sort of gigs. I'd say they went very well. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and had very cute questions after the performance. I'm looking forward to getting to perform the show more in the future!
Guest teaching with Co/Lab
I had a blast as a guest teacher for CO/LAB Theater Group today. CO/LAB is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Creative Opportunities without Limits And Boundaries. CO/LAB exists to offer individuals with developmental disabilities a creative and social outlet through theater arts. I got to work on some Bunraku style puppetry work with them in which they had to collaboratively puppeteer a single puppet in groups of three. The students were really receptive to the work. I was impressed by their engagement and imagination.
You can check out more of CO/LAB's work here: http://www.colabtheatergroup.com