Hi Folks!

I have a new piece in development!  It is a 5 minute puppetry.movement short.  I'm pretty excited about it. :-)

Here were the parameters for the piece:

Promt: If the world were to end tomorrow, what would you do today?

Specs:  Use at least one object, one piece of music, and up to 3 performers.

The puppet is masking tape and newspaper.  He has a wooden dowel in his head.

Hello dear readers!

I have just returned from the most wonderful weekend in our fine capital!  For my brithday I was given tickets to see both Ronnie Burkett's Penny Plain and Handspring Puppet's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Both were lovely examples of puppetry theatre.

Ronnie Burkett is an excellent example of puppetry as a one man show.  He writes, builds, and performs his work.  I met him at the O'Neil in 2012, and he's a joy to talk to.  He planted some beautiful images.

Hi folks,

I was asked to teach an extra class at my University this month, so I have had less time to do the theatre work I love.  

Even so, there is a bit of movement.  If you would like to learn more about TeachLivE (TLE), take a look at their most recent newsletter here: http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/teachlive/newsletter/?wysija-page=1&cont....

Last week I was working on the Eye Contact Tutorial.  The goal was for it to be completely done.  Instead, I went through a discovery process and a first draft.  :-)  Such is life!  Here's the first draft if you feel like checking it out:  

{C}{C}

The reading with Mad Cow went incredibly well!  It was an honor to be on stage with some of the best actors in Orlando.  It was also wonderful to be a part of the talkback.  We often talk about how art and science are so different.  But the two are not so different when we think about questions of ethics, the process of creation and discovery, and the role of the final product in society.  There were a number of scientists in the audience this weekend.  I truly enjoyed hearign their perspectives.

Hello kind reader,

I have returned to work following a wonderful and rejuvinating holiday.  Waiting for Godot was incredible.  Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen had a wonderful rapport.  They didn't play it as though they were best friends, and I liked the bit of tension that choice generated.

Today I begin rehearsals for the reading at Mad Cow.  In case you've forgotten over the holiday, I'm reading Ellen in An Experiment with an Air Pump.  I'll be workign with some of my favorite Orlando actors.  It's too bad it's only a 4 day engagement!

"Words We Wear" played to three engaged and sold out houses.  It was a huge success for Epic Vita, the sponsoring organization.  It was also a huge success for me as a director and writer of theatre.  I learned a lot from working with this wonderful team.  I now get three wonderful weeks to process that production before I jump back into the work.  Real reflection doesn't happen until the tension dissipates - and with any creative endeavor there is a bit of tension.  Good work is soul baring.  It makes a person sensitive.  It make a person invested.

The year is drawing to a close.  Words We Wear is in our final tech week.  We will have our first rehearsal in the actual performance space on Tuesday, December 9.  It's exciting!  We will finally start to add our final character - the Kinetic Typography.  It's an integral part of the show.  I know if will be beautiful.  I'm excited to finally see it!

In other news, I went on my third ever commercial call on Saturday.  It's good to audition.  It makes me feel like I'm putting my training to work!  (Even though I put my training to work every day!)

I love December.  It seems to be a time when project efforts culminate into a finishing performance.  We get one final hurrah before we take a break and rest a bit.  I've been talking a lot about "Words We Wear."  This post is about a different, but equally dear and exciting project.

I'm so proud to be a part of such a talented creative team.  We managed our first stumble-thorugh for "Words We Wear" on Monday night.  It was a success.  We are still working on transitions between pieces, but it is becoming clear that the work we've done is going to pay off.

I'm officially done writing the piece "Words of my Mother," which is a 3 minute part within "Words We Wear."  One of the actors will be under a piece of fabric for the duration of the piece.  I'm sewing that fabric together this weekend.  You'll have to come see he show to see what it looks like!