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Here's an audition story with a twist ending.
Quite some time ago an advertising executive invited me to submit a video audition for a Dawn Dish Detergent commercial. In the ad, a helpful bottle of Dawn comes to life, walks around, offers its services, and dances a jig along with the theme from Lavern & Shirley. Okay, so me and no doubt several other Toronto puppeteers made self-tapes and sent them in. I chose to simply dance to the theme song, nice and simple. We wait, we wait, we wait. Some of us even asked each other "Did you ever hear back from that Dawn thing?" "Nope, never did. You?" "Nope." "Hmmmm .... I wonder who got it." Fast-forward a couple of months, and, by coincidence, my agent sends me out to audition for a commercial for Dawn - not as a puppeteer, mind you, but as a regular human actor. (I do that sometimes.) For this, it's for the part of a stuffy butler who's holding a bottle of Dawn on a silver platter, standing by, ready to serve. At my audition -- in person, this time -- I deliver my one scripted line "Yes, of course Miss Mary" and I'm just on my way out the door when I stop and ask: "By the way, is this part of the same campaign where there's a bottle of Dawn that comes to life and dances around?" "Um ... we were going to do that, but we've changed the entire scheme to this butler guy. How would you even know about that?" "Because I'm one of the puppeteers who submitted a video for that!" "Oh," they said. "Well, we're not doing that one anymore." Right then. I could see them all jotting down notes as I walked out. Well, by golly, I got the call last night: I am to play the Dawn butler. I'm being fitted for a deluxe tuxedo on Monday and we shoot next week!
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I just spent three happy days on the set of a Ryerson University student film, coaching a cast of new puppeteers in the basics of TV puppetry. Most of the action, comedy, and drama in this delightful screen story focuses on the behind-the-scenes life of the show-within-the-show, particularly on a young puppeteer who yearns to be recognized. Limbs: A Short Comedy "For every Bert and Ernie, somebody's got to suck it up and play Bert's left arm. As Ryerson U film students, we feel that." "Every Muppet needs somebody crammed deep inside Jim Henson's left armpit to play puppet limbs. Our somebody has had enough." Director: Franci Dimitrovska Cast: Marienne Castro, Anesti Danelis, Heather Dicke, Sadie Fay, Michelle Urbano, I've been with Theatre Direct's tabletop puppet show, Old Man and the River, since its very inception - ever since the earliest workshop 5 years ago when a focus group of 5-year-olds laughed at a man made of popsicle sticks who woke up and swept his floor. Our "trees" were pool noodles back then - plain, naked pool noodles - gaffer-taped to a literal table top. It's been such a full and lovely road of developing, tweaking, building and learning all these years later, and I don't think I've ever felt so close to a show or a group of creators. It may be that Sunday's performances at Crow's Theatre were the last, at least for the foreseeable future. What we leave behind, then, is the lasting memory of a perfect piece of intricately-choreographed puppet theatre, one that not only entertained people by tickling their souls and touching their hearts, but also by inspiring some folks in profound ways. One day, a teacher sent us this letter: "This morning I took the kids in to school. When I checked in at the office, the woman who works in there was praising this little boy. He left the office feeling good, and then she told me the story. He is known for bullying kids around the school. She had a talk with him recently about how whenever a child comes in crying or upset it is his name that comes up. Well...yesterday, a girl who is regularly bullied by him, had broken her arm last week and was at the school. This boy shadowed her all day, looking out for her, read to her, cared for her. She even rested her head on his shoulder. When he was asked about it he talked about seeing Old Man and the River. Somehow the performance shifted his perspective, and it seems that he has made the shift from curmudgeonly child, to a vulnerable caring child. I know this performance is powerful, and this is amazing and truly magical and brings tears!" Shaw Festival Theatre has commissioned Alexandra Montegnese and I to create a short, funny, non-verbal tabletop puppet show all about the history of the Niagara region. There are so many important and colourful true-life episodes to choose from! Here is our work in progress: My last gig of the summer was an excursion to Almonte to perform my Good Old Fashioned Punch & Judy Show at a really cool (but actually hot & sunny) new event called Paddles & Puppets, raising money for the Almonte Hospital. The highlight of this excursion? A private tour of Noreen Young's retrospective museum exhibit, with tour guide Noreen Young herself. I grew up watching Noreen's art on TV, from Hey Diddle Day to Today's Special to Under the Umbrella Tree. She's actually one of my early heroes, and so the honour was truly mine to come to Almonte, perform at her new event, and revisit her incredible body of work. The other highlight? That ice cold beer on the patio of the Barley Mow, of course! The famous Sherlock Holmes mystery comes to vivid life at Shaw Festival this summer, featuring a spooky appearance by the mysterious, titular "demon hound" - a brilliant puppet conceived by designer Dana Osborne and directed by me.   Joseph Patrick Presents The Very Hungry Caterpillar this summer, directed by me, and featuring a cast of stellar local puppeteers and a menagerie of bright, colourful puppets!  Performed my Good Old Fashioned Punch & Judy Show at this marvellous outdoor music event at Historic Fort York yesterday, for a small group of families sitting on the grass in the "kid area". The lovely and charming Amelia Blaine worked with me as my roadie, my stage manager, and as my carnival barker -- or "Bottler" in Punch & Judy parlance -- introducing the show with a brief comedy routine between she and Mr. Punch. If you know your Punch & Judy, then you know that most of the fun comes from the audience itself. The audience IS the show! This one was no different, with one particularly vocal and rambunctious tyke sitting near the front who insisted -- over and over again -- that my crocodile ate the CN Tower. A good old fashioned good time was had by all. Thanks Amelia! This inspiring event will be held on Sunday, May 27th at Aki Studio! An almost-annual, totally day-long mini-conference and festival showcasing artists taking new and groundbreaking directions in the art of puppetry. Fresh Ideas is a day of presentations and demonstrations, discussions and hands-on workshops, culminating in an evening cabaret of fresh new performances. A stimulating event for everyone interested in current developments, innovations and explorations in puppetry. Featuring presentations, demonstrations and performances by: Jeremiah Bartram, Brad Brackenridge, Lochlan Cox, Sequoia Erickson, Ingrid Hansen, Humber College Second Year Theatre Students, Frank Meschkuleit, Robin Polfuss, Hans Krause, Gabe Levine, Mike Petersen, Annie Katsura Rollins, Théâtre De La Pire Espèce, Nadya Weber …and more!  The Conductor
I’m fascinated by the relationship between a puppet and its audience. Why are we always so willing to believe a puppet, and get involved with its plight? How deep can this relationship go? Here, a symphony conductor must perform music, with a most unexpected group of symphony players. Come see this, and many other freshly-baked puppet pieces, and Fresh Ideas! |
