Off to Comic-Con!

Had a great puppet show in Livermore (Thanks to the staff for making an outdoor show such fun!)today! Of course, my camera is packed up for my trip to Comic-Con in San Diego!! I'll be away for the rest of the week and unable to post until my return!

Everyone have a great week! See you Monday!

After checking the picture again, it doesn't look too blurry--so I thought I'd post it. The stage fit snuggly into the doorway and I had to walk waaaaay around to get to the back and enter the stage.

I love the lighting in this room!

What an expression!

I tried taking a picture of our set up inside MOCHA but, it came out blurry (Dang you tiny camera window!). Instead, I have this hilarious picture of Tim setting up the sound system and making a great face ("What? Perform here?!" or "I say, do you smell something unpleasant"). That guy mugs for the camera like noone since Sean!

On the Rack!

A close-up of the drying rack @ the Museum of Children's Art in Oakland. I just thought it looked cool so snapped a pic of it before the show.

Art on Display

The really unique thing about MOCHA is that they hang the art that their attendees make on the wall with tags featuring information about the artist (just like the regular museums do!). When I was a kid, I would have LOVED going to a place like this and seeing my creations on the wall!

I'm glad we had time to look around and snap pics before the show!

Trunks

Here's a close up of our new puppet show trunks before the set up. They are GREAT!...and in this picture, still unscuffed. Sigh.

This is a pic from the SFBAPG June Guild meeting @ MOCHA.

Painting Place!

Upon entering MOCHA, you find the most amazing wall! It's a section where children can paint lovely pictures and then hang them to dry. The wall is covered with paint spatters and drips and is just beautiful!

I love the idea of treating the children's work as art, and hanging it on the walls! Sure beats the Fridge!

June SFBAPG Guild Meeting.

This year I was able (with Tim's help!) to perform for the SFBAPG at their June meeting. It has been AGES since I've been able to give a puppet performance @ a Guild meeting, and it was a TREAT!

The meeting took place at MOCHA (The Museum of Childrens Art) in Oakland.

The Guild also hosted a workshop! I'll be posting photos from the meeting and pics of the museum for the rest of the week!

3rd Show!

Sacramento! Arcade Library, 6/14/07.

Set up a BREEZE!



These are the light fixtures in the library! Aren't they lovely?! They looked nice and craftsman-y to me and I just had to snap them.

ME! Backstage: Pre-show.

And BOY! Is my hair a WRECK, or what?!?!! I just can't make my hair look cute AND wear the headband! I just can't!

Still, I was pretty psyched for the 1st show! Look at that cheesy grin:-)

Puppet Show set up from our first show.



"Is it right?" says Anita.
"I don't know!" says Tim*

*Just kidding! We TOTALLY had this right! Have I mentioned enough how much I love the new set up?

Having Fun!

Here I am goofing off after we've set up the puppet stage. A good way to cure the first show jitters? Laugh!

Puppets backstage.

Here are the puppets on my side of the new stage set up. At first I really missed having hooks to hang puppets and props off of--it made getting into them MUCH easier! However, the added benefit of just setting them on the trunk (besides the ease of set up!) is that the puppets and props are SOOOO easy to reach! When dealing with a prop heavy show, or a show with multiple characters it was sometimes necessary to hang the puppets far apart, which could make it a challenge to reach behind you and pick them off the hooks. Setting them on the trunk takes care of that!

YAY!

Rex & Boots! First Summer Show!

Elk Grove. June 12, 2007



Tim backstage right before the first puppet show. He looks good and eager to perform! He needed the enthusiasm! The first show is always the roughest. You rehearse and rehearse but, you're never really prepared for the first time an audience sees the puppet show. After all, rehearsals are usually NOT attended by an audience, so you aren't ready when they (the audience) laughs at a joke, or claps during the chase...you can't expect it (although you HOPE for it!) or anticipate it in the rehearsal process. Don't get me wrong, Swazzle CRAFTS shows that we know the audience will enjoy! There are jokes and "bits" in the puppet show that we EXPECT will get laughs but, the TIMING...that's the thing you CAN'T rehearse! Knowing a line is funny and getting the laugh in the show are completely different animals!

The Elk Grove Library was GREAT and the Librarian was VERY enthusiastic! It's always such a pleasure to perform at a new branch (Tim and I had never performed there before), especially when the staff at the Library is as eager to see the show as WE are to perform it! The audience was excellent and the show was well attended. A GREAT kick-off for the summer!

Sean tries out Monty Mosquito from "Bugsy Brown" while Patrick continues his work. You can see the completed show on tour now! Check out Swazzle's Schedule!

The Mollusk from "Bugsy Brown: Private Fly". Now touring Southern California.

Patrick designed and built this guy. He's great!