Beantown Finale!

We had our final show at the Puppet Showplace Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts today! We are sad to leave, but are thankful for the great audiences and all the hard work from all the people who make everything happen at the theatre. Three of our shows were sold out (yippee!), and everyone had fun.

I did have my professionalism put to the test during the final show…

The stage for this show is a traditional “box” stage, where the performer (me) is hidden from view. I work on two different levels for “Little Red and the Gingerbread Man,” and am seated on a rolling stool for parts of the show — standing during other parts. In today’s second show, I was rolling around in the front section. I happened to knock one of the shims (used to level the stage) out of place. It broke a bit, but no big deal. At least, not until I ran over it again and speared my big toe! OUCH! I did not scream. I wanted to scream. I really, really wanted to scream.

It was a fun performance with great audience reaction — and a big success… in part because I did not scream in pain or curse out loud. (Whew!)

Beantown continued…”Puppets in Primetime” and the New England Aquarium

I was able to play “tourist” today! I usually don’t get to do a lot of touristy stuff in our travels in Boston. My husband ventures off with the girls and does fun stuff. TODAY, though, we went to the New England Aquarium. Wow! Someday, I am going to have my tidal pool puppet show…complete with puppeteers in scuba gear! I’m looking forward to that someday.  But right now, of course, I have another show to build…

Tonight we watched “Puppets in Primetime” at the Puppet Showplace Theatre. We were able to munch popcorn and watch a Muppet Show episode plus a Fraggle Rock episode on a big screen! The Puppet Showplace will be featuring their “Puppets in Primetime” every third Friday. Popcorn is only 50 cents with a suggested donation of $4 for the movies. Quite the treat and a nice “cheap date” night.

More shows tomorrow…plus the PUPPET SLAM!

Tune in tomorrow to find out what that is!

Our continuing adventures in Beantown…

We had our second performance of “Little Red & the Gingerbread Man” today. As promised, Paul Vincent Davis (only the best hand puppeteer in the country) was kind enough to come and watch the show and talk with Heidi (err…that’s me!) today. He had some great feedback and I look forward to incorporating his suggestions into the show!

My husband, Sam, (who is also my roadie and sometime performing partner!) has ventured into Beantown with the children and his sister (aka Aunt Katy). Destination: The Children’s Museum. I look forward to a full report! We have become quite the children’s museum connoisseurs (had to spellcheck that word!), having seen many throughout the country. We have our favorites — I’ll post up more on those later!

I am working on the script for the new show and then will head off for a yoga class (Bikram yoga — the hot kind where you go into a room that’s over a hundred degrees and sweat for 1 1/2 hours…don’t knock it ’til you try it!). Being up here in the cold has really made me yearn for a class, so I am delighted to discover that there are three Bikram studios in Boston.

Our new show, "Little by Little," features a feisty hummingbird as one of the main characters. Portrayed as both a show puppet and a hand puppet -- the above is a sketch for the shadow puppet version.

The script is coming together nicely — all the dots are connecting properly and the characters are beginning to assert themselves. You might ask…How does a character begin to assert itself? Sometimes the dialogue begins to write itself in a very easy, fluid way. Then the real fun starts when you can “hear” the voice of the character. Do I hear voices? Well, technically, yes. But don’t worry, it’s just the puppets! Really. Seriously. Just the puppets!

“Little Red” goes to Beantown!

We are thrilled to be back in Boston performing “Little Red & the Gingerbread Man” at the Puppet Showplace Theatre.  PST is one of a few “all-puppet” theatres in the country and is THE place to see puppets in New England. For thirty-five years, PST has hosted performers from all over the world and enthralled audiences of all ages (yes, they have shows for adults, too!).

We are able to visit with old friends up here — most notable is Paul Vincent Davis,  who is arguably the most skilled hand puppeteer in the country. Really. I am very nervous to be performing “Little Red” for him as it is mostly hand puppets! Wish me luck!

Our off-time will be spent at the Aquarium (thank you Aunt Katy for the tickets!) and the Children’s Museum with the girls. I am also hard at work on the new script (60% done!) for “Little by Little.” (Note to self: no more puppet shows with the word “little” in the title.)

The Big Bad Wolf and the Gingerbread Man from "Little Red & the Gingerbread Man" performed at The Puppet Showplace Theatre in Boston January 2010.

I have fantasies sometimes of having a puppet theatre like this in Richmond, Virginia…but am definitely not ready to tackle that project on my own!

We’ll post up more soon about our SLAM! performance on Saturday night and adventures with the children…Stay tuned!