Stop! It's Puppet Time

posted by Andy

Chris and I really enjoyed our visit to today's puppet workshop put on by the Majestic Theatre (downtown Corvallis, $5). We learned how to breath life into a masking taped wad of inanimate objects, including chopsticks, cloth and wadded newspaper. Mine turned into some form of Mickey Mouseish metro swinger with blue hair. The kid spent a long time forming his dragon head then added purple wings and a spiked tail. Now he can't wait to see the full Reluctant Dragon puppet show - but in the mean time he's out in the backyard sculpting left over chicken wire into a dragon head.

Speaking of puppets, the host mentioned Puppet Up, an improv troupe with Brian Henson and crew. Funny, but not for kids. Well, not for kids that haven't been ruined by crass humor and sarcasm. Ours are already beyond help.



Back in the day I once worked on a few projects involving famous TV puppets. Making video games for preschoolers was always an odd experience. There are few jobs where you might find yourself in a room full of grownups seriously discussing what a bear should say after sniffing you. All the best material was never suitable for all ages. But, even then I was always amazed by the other grownups who made their living with their hand up a puppet's keister. They're nuts. And yet I got the sense of a whole community universe not shared by us normals, where that line of work was as routine as flipping cow patties.

Anyway, I've been getting that creativity bug again, but it's not strong enough to rouse me into manic artist mode ... yet. I just lack that little extra muse-infused guidance to settle on a project I know I'll finish. Soon, very soon ...