Colorado

Been working on the puppets in my grandparents garage, and they have been out there every day to help me out. It's been great for all involved, talking, working, making some really nice puppets. I'm on a bit of a time crunch, as I have a lot to do with puck before I leave here!
I've found a great source of inspiration for the puppets though. The site, and also the actors reaction to the site. I've been reading their posts and using what I get from them to inform the design of the puppets. Hopefully will post some pictures of them tomorrow. The four puppets are different ages, and each has a different emotion that has been attached to the cemtery. Sorrow, Joy, Peace, and Happiness. Each one is completely different from the others. They are beautiful and simple in so many ways. Tomorrow I'm going to be working with stones, to see how they effect me as a puppeteer and also as a designer. I might try to crush the stones and see if I can add them to the final product.
SOOOO much to do so little time to do it



Pictures are all personal photographs. Top to bottom: Puck's skeleton, construction, puppet hands, Mustardseed, Cobweb's face.

Native American Influence.

So, while researching the site, came across the fact that prospect was once (as most of the United States is) Native American land, that was always a sacred place. They people were called the people of the beaver, so Emms and myself have been thinking about how to incorporate the Native American influence into the puppets....we think Puck and Oberon should reflect it in some way. Perhaps puck could have a Beaver related head, or tail, or even pouch? Not sure yet where to go with this, but it is intriguing that these keep coming up....
I took a workshop with Laura K Vannah in the Spring of 2008 that dealt with Native American totem work. Finding and accessing parts of the self by using totems of animals, animal physical movement work, and ritual. It was an invigorating process that helped me to reconnect with some part of myself that had been missing for a while. Everything is a cycle. These totems have reemerged for me over and over again, and while I don't really know how I feel about spirituality, I surely have found something that I can put some sort of faith into, and in turn it has helped me find what I am desperately trying to find: faith in myself.
I digress.
Prospect has the potential for something magical to happen, on so many different levels.

Chorus

Wow, what a wonderful few days this has been. Been working with my research and practices group and we are figuring out each other and how we work. It's been fun and exhausting because I am not getting the right amount of sleep I need to mostly because my body hasn't adjusted to being back in England. That will come with time I'm sure.
I had a huge moment in movement today, where we were supposed to be putting together a piece using what we had observed the day before in the market that is just outside the school. The objective was that we had to watch the market for 12 hours, so we divided our time amongst all members of the class, and it was most interesting to see one of my classmates perched on the stairs with a notebook, observing. Anyway, one member of our class really took charge of organizing in a really rather organic way. It felt like it was supposed to be this way. She needed some help, so I decided to pick up my watch and sort of keep a track of our time and how we could manage our time better, so that we could get through the task at hand. I felt like I had a purpose and that by giving her assistance I could help her to be an effective "chorus" leader. It was exhilarating, the feeling the class had to it, all of us moving and working together. i think I am finally beginning to understand the meaning of collaboration. It's not about one person over another at all. There is a leader, but the followers or the chorus needs to be just as opinionated about what is going on. I wonder how I can apply this to my current work? How can I use what I learned today to inform my practices sessions?
I have to think more on it, but for now I leave it as an open question, up in the air with a myriad of possibilities.
:)

Research Project

To anybody who reads this:
If you have a few minutes, please visit the following link and follow the survey directions.

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AUPN7l-BunHeZHJ2NnJzYl81ZHh2cXpjZHc&hl=en

Thank you for your time!

Puppet Show

So over the break, I have been working on several projects all at once, and I got to see a few bits of theatre. First I saw a marionette show from Tanglewood Puppets at the Millbrook first night. I was really impressed with the show, although I think the poor puppeteer was probably really tired from the day as she did around four shows that were roughly an hour each.
It was one puppeteer and she was performing "Sleeping Beauty" with nine puppets. The voices were prerecorded and the stage was lit very simply with two par cans and two standard shop flood lights. I think the movement was sometimes lethargic, but again I attribute that to the lady have performed all day. I thought the story was well cut however for a children's show the humor was not as strong as it could have been. It had a few good moments for adults and a few good moments that the children could really rap their heads around. I think as far as a professional show goes it was towards the bottom of my list although I did thouroughly enjoy it.
I also saw an eight year old give a full theatrical production of what she liked to call "Aaaah!" An enrapturing story about a princess whose mother had been turned into a unicorn from a spell. The king had died two years prior in a civil war and the queen felt that she too wanted to pass on, since she was very very old. In order to die, however, her princess would have to find a prince and marry him. When they kissed, she would die and the princess would become queen. A cow, a chicken, a horse and finally a farm boy all asked for the princesses hand in marriage, and she finally kept the farm boy, but whoa alas, an evil witch appeared to kill the farm boy. Then we were shuttled back in time, to when a wizard of the castle had done the same thing to the witch, and so now, in current time, the witch wanted the princess to feel her pain. Luckily for the princess the wizard shows up and saves them. They lived happily ever after.
I think there is something to this. Mostly because I believe that children are creative geniuses as they have not encountered the limits/peer pressure they will encounter later in life. The imagination runs free and that is something to strive for.
:)


http://www.tanglewoodmarionettes.com/

I Haven't Posted in a while....

....I am a bad person.
I haven't posted in a while because the term got really crazy really fast. I have so much to post, so I'm not going to post everything tonight. Just some thoughts for the day.
Shared our solo presentations with the other clusters and it was really fun, really worth it. The feedback has been amazing and because of it I want to take it further. Going to do some puppet sketches tonight.
I feel like I have grown so much over the past ten weeks, and in some ways, I feel so small and insignificant. I see the work of all of the talented people on this course and on one hand I am motivated to work and explore and create, but sometimes it overwhelms me, and I get lost in it all and then it's a spiral downhill.
I am thankful for the peer assessments. I feel my peers hit every point and a few that I wasn't aware of, that I need to work on. Thank you to all of you for your honesty and openness, I truly appreciate it.
Like I said, so much to post, however, I am coughing and sneezing and need to get some sleep.
More to come tomorrow!

The Tiniest Post

I have never felt so much aggression towards having an opinion in all my life as I have during the last few weeks. I can not yet understand why people are so very hostile, and at the same time, not willing to just listen. Breathe and listen.
I wish we would take a step back and really allow each other the chance to get to know each other, before passing all of these crazy judgments.