CaptainOrange

If you have just come on board, this is the 5th post on my trip to the Puppeteers of America 2015 festival and conference.  Following are links to all of the posts: http://captainorange.blogspot.com/2015/08/national-puppetry-festival-2015.html http://captainorange.blogspot.com/2015/08/national-puppetry-festival-2015_12.html http://captainorange.blogspot.com/2015/08/national-puppetry-festival-2015_13.html http://captainorange.blogspot.ca/2015/08/national-puppetry-festival-2015_15.html http://captainorange.blogspot.ca/2015/08/national-puppetry-festival-2015_17.html August 15th, 2015 10am - Squirrel Stole My Underpants by: Bonnie Duncan A lonely, awkward girl is sent out to the backyard to hang up the laundry and keep herself busy. The moment Sylvie’s back is turned, a mischievous squirrel appears, steals her favorite piece of clothing and runs off. When the girl gives chase, she finds herself lost in strange lands.  As the story unfolds, an entire wor...

August 14th, 2015 8am - Contemporary Shadow Puppetry These days keep getting better and better. Today there was more of the technical stuff, but much more playing than yesterday. We came in an hour early and were shown some basic shadow puppet craft. I didn't see any different technique from what Jim has shown me, but did get some ideas for different materials and methods for connecting rods. Below you can see my septopus, "Lucky." He managed to slide his tentacles into almost every example that we worked on this morning. With the right set up in advance, this would be pretty cheap to do with large groups. Next we spent some time using overhead projectors and slide projectors. I can see some possible applications for us, but they don't interest me as much as what we did at the very end of the session Actually, we stayed 45 minutes late, for which I will be eternally grateful. Below is a wonderful light table set up that I WILL be using when I get back...

Thursday, August 13th Faye, bends reflective plexiglass which projects a stunning animated white "shadow" Contemporary Shadow Puppetry Here is the description of the course: Instructor: Faye Dupras This workshop is a hands-on exploration of materials and methods used in contemporary shadow puppetry.  Participants will be given an opportunity to explore how the choice of lighting source and screen affects the visual vocabulary and storytelling possibilities of the form. I was nervous when I approached the classroom where I will spend the next 2 mornings. We received a stack of paper in a folder and were asked to staple 10 different swatches of fabric to various sheets of note paper. I thought, "Yikes! Perhaps a little more academic than I am prepared for." Not so. Our facilitator, Faye, is incredibly knowledgeable, generous and quite down to earth. When it seemed that several of use would be interested, she even arranged for the class to begin an h...

Wednesday, August 12 How I'm Feeling Here Tired, yet elated! With so much to see and do, my neurons are on overload. I wish the whole Children's Department could be here. I'm going to try very hard to have the blog almost finished before my last performance so I can get a full night's sleep 9am-12pm - Simple But Elegant Rod Puppets I worked with Bill Lorenzen and my table mates for another 3 hours. We lost a few people who were displeased with how yesterday went and gained a few participants and a couple of spectators. For my part, I loved Bill, but I can see what bothered people. He gets off topic, can be impatient and aggressive, but he is well into his 70's and still shares with me the wonder of a small child. He isn't in a second childhood. He just never left. It's a trait that seems to be VERY common amongst puppeteers and I am beginning to feel a real sense of community. We completed the puppets for the purpose of the workshop, did s...

A note before we begin. This blog is jam packed with information and links. On Tuesday, I ran from event to event. You know me. I literally ran ... in the rain. I carried my laptop so I could use every spare moment to journal this experience and even so, I may not be asleep until after 3am. Pace yourself. Be selective about the links you follow or you will be exhausted. Okay... Monday, August 10 Travel Flights were all on time(ish) which I consider to be a minor miracle. I was not selected for "random screening." Also, a miracle. The plane which flew me on the leg from Toronto to Hartford has the distinction of being the smallest (though not the sketchiest) aircraft I have been on. It was capable of seating 14 plus a pilot AND copilot. Really loud and shaky. Not a northern puddle-jumper. So, at least, I still have something to look forward to. I had to wait 2 1/2 hours at the airport for my scheduled shuttle. An hour of that was waiting for several other festival part...

Crew 4:30 I set an alarm for 4am and people began arriving at my place by 4:15. at 4:35, I began along with James, Bri, David, and for the first time, Leora. When we picked an initial day to circumnavigate the city, it had been very hot. I was expecting 30 degrees C, which would have been pretty unbearable. It always excites me when there is an added bit of adversity. I don't do this trip repeatedly because it's easy. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I want it to be hard and I expect sometimes to fail. When it rained so hard earlier this week, I knew that it was going to make the trip tough. The nature of this walk means that we spend a lot of time in the new construction areas of the city. That means clay and mud. Lots of mud. Mud became the defining characteristic that I will remember about this year. Oh Lolli Lolli Lolli... It seemed dry as we began to walk towards the south of the city. In 15 minutes we were at the rail lines and it was apparent that we were g...