My journey creating and producing puppetry... trials, tribulations, inspiration and contemplation.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Moving Right Along...

Helping Drew, my anti-bullying puppet musical has secured a national booking agent, Theatreworks USA, which will begin to secure bookings in their over 2500 outlets this coming school year. Good friends of mine arranged the introduction and we met at their studios in Manhattan to showcase the show. Our first show has been booked for October and I already have a couple shows booked for local schools as well.

Recently, I've just been updating some puppets. I've added arm rods and articulated hands to older puppets that didn't have them. I'd also like to build a couple extra small puppets to use in situations like the kids classes. I've purchased a new backdrop system that will be easier to set up and transport. I'm testing the ability to have my backdrops printed on fabric and Velcro it to a frame that will make transporting that much easier as well.

This past Thursday, my friends at Just Off Broadway, Inc. asked me to come by their theatrical academy [camp] to teach some puppetry 101 to their students [photo above]. I was happy to oblige since these are the friends who made the introduction with Theatreworks and have worked so tirelessly to help get my puppet productions off the ground. Working with kids is always an unexpected pleasure. It's fun to hear what they're curious about. "You made these??" Well, all except one. Other curiosities included: what's inside the mouth? [material], how do you work both arms?, and... you play with these?? Kids bring their own delight and playfulness when working with the puppets. It inspires my own sense of play and creativity so, it's a welcome time of inspiration. It was a joy to see them so engaged and reluctant to have our time together end. I get to repeat it in a few weeks with the older students as well. Can't wait.