I’ve been working with shadow puppets up at McCarter. I feel like I’ve been playing catchup all day and that’s a little hard. I think I’m on the same page now, but who knows what surprises tomorrow may hold.
More Arabian Nights Read More »
I have just landed a dream job. Ector Theater in Odessa, TX is contracting me to build, and design, a brand-new set of Little Shop puppets. I won’t quote numbers here, because that would be rude, but it is enough to hire a shop space and employee stitchers, mold-makers, and builders to make a really
Little Shop of Horrors Read More »
Dana and Mark Reed came to join me for lunch this afternoon. They are some of the most interesting people that I’ve met here, but this is the first time I’ve spent any time with them outside of large groups. We talked about theater, the nature of puppetry, what interests us about our work, and
Dinner with Dana and Mark Read More »
It was lovely today to sleep in, although I still woke up at dawn. Granted, that was 8:30, but I can at least pretend that I got up early. Today I’m going to have to run around getting my Halloween costume ready. Julianna and Kahlua are having a party at their place tonight. I’m going
I’ve been on set all day, bouncing between different puppets live hands. Most of my shots seemed to involve being wedged into tiny spaces. Besides lunch, this is the first time I’ve been off set today. I’ve been really tired the past couple of days and finally realized that it’s because I haven’t been outside
First Time Off-Set Read More »
Bernd is a puppeteer that I know from the States who lives in Iceland. He is a really phenomenal puppeteer and an all-round great guy. I went up to northern Iceland to spend the weekend with his family. They live forty minutes outside of Akureyri in a remote valley. That’s his house in the lower
A weekend at Bernd Ogrodnik’s Read More »
We’ve been playing soccer for days now. There’s very little for me to do because soccer is not played with the hands. Mostly I’ve just been hanging out on set and getting pillows or carts for the puppeteers. Whee. Fairly dull for me, but better than the days when we all sit in the dressing
Soccer All Day, Everyday Read More »
I was right. We didn’t work until 4:00 yesterday, but then we were in for the rest of the day, so that was nice. I was frustrated because there was a series of shots that were difficult but didn’t look hard. It was mostly about finding a place where I could reach the things that
We weren’t called until 11:15 today, so I skipped yoga. None of us have anything to do yet, so I’m going to head back to the puppet shop to play with the hand puppets some more.
Today, Raymond, Thor and I were the only puppeteers called. We did one shot and have done nothing since. Fortunately, Jonathan Judge (our new director) chose today to present us with a cheap set of Punch and Judy hand puppets, which we’ve been cheerfully modifying all day into the cast of the show. I’ll post
I’ve just been practising balancing a quadruple scoop fake icecream on a cone. Ah, the joys of puppetry. In a related story, I don’t think I’ve mentioned that Fridays we have icecream at lunch. They don’t normally serve dessert, so everyone gets very happy about icecream Friday. It’s like we’re all kids again.
Balancing Icecream Read More »
I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you about this. Yesterday I was in the puppet shop talking with Adam (one of the wranglers) and Magnus came in. I figured he was there to ask Adam something so I started to sidle out, but–! He had come looking for me. He said, “I’ve really
I’ve spent the morning assisting David with the Mayor. That’s always fun. The only thing that’s a little odd is that my hands are too small for the gloves, so I have to wear a second set underneath them to give a little extra puffiness. After we come back from lunch we’ll be dialing a
No. It’s not the name of a band. It’s a fancy fabric that reflects light, and–with the right computer system–makes the puppeteers invisible. Of course, the fabric is coated with tiny glass beads and so also acts as a mini-greenhouse. Did I mention that there can’t be any breaks in the fabric? Like for eyeholes?
The Retroreflectives Read More »
Today started with me, thirty feet above the floor working a marionette of one of the characters. The hero was supposed to rescue two of the characters from their treehouse by swinging out of it on a rope ladder. They tried shooting it yesterday, but the puppets just flopped around like wet laundry. It was