Monday, August 20, 2007

Day of Puppetry

Blog Post: Day of Puppetry

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the Day of Puppetry happens when the weather is good--August! Also, because the Pike Place Market (established in 1907) closes off their street every Sunday throughout the summer for various event of which we are one.
I must say, though the day started out gloomy, we had a rather nice crowd. I was wishing I had my sunblock towards the end. It did not, in fact, rain that day. The turn out of puppeteers was lower than it had been in the past few years. Many of the acts we've had in the past were booked else where so when it was all said and done, we just had two performances that day--Rob D'Arc's Three Little Pigs and my Punch and Judy show. But the Market has seriously lucked out in the past getting as many acts as they did for a free promotion.
I had new jokes! Not to mention a whole new puppet and routine to go with it. At the Puppet Rampage I picked up a foam Crocodile puppet and I surfed YouTube until I found a routine I could pull off with it. I found one, but because of the size and shape of the puppet, I modified it beyond recognition. I guess one could call it the Crocodile Pillow routine. But I can't snore through the swazzle so I ended up just saying the word "snore" mostly because Frank thought it was funny. The word is an onomatopoeia anyway, so I guess it worked. Actually, the pillow routine works better for my puppet than the one on web because my puppet isn't wood. It can't make a loud snap and it looks soft enough for a pillow. Wait till you see it! I'll definitely do my new routine at September Crown(if I go) and the mini-faire in Richland in September.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I met quite a few interested people at the Market. We handed out all of the 50 fliers I brought and we needed more. Next year, I'll print a hundred at least. I'd like to put together a new-comer meeting for the beginning of October. Premise being a meet-and-greet party with a scary puppet mini-exhibit to get everyone inspired for Halloween. What do you think?

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