Looking for advice on starting a
slam or being a better puppet slam artist? Find out what leading puppet slam
curators and performers had to say when we posed the question: What advice do
you have for up and coming slam artists or curators who are just starting out?
Have something to add? Continue the conversation on our Facebook page…
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| Adult Puppet Cabaret #SanDiego, Photo:
Kiwi (Craig Brayton)
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Maintain a spirit of
adventurousness and experimentation but also never forget the importance of the
audience. What is the journey you are hoping to take them on? How
successful are you? Whenever experimental work forgets to continuously
engage or reward the audience then it misses the inherently conversational
nature of live theater and risks being over-indulgent.
Don’t be
afraid of failing miserably, or looking like an idiot. There is nothing so
dangerous, nor full of potential, as a man unafraid of looking like an
idiot. Try not to make a habit of it, is all.
Make each
performance the very best it can be on the day you do it and take pride in your
work! Have fun, share work, learn and grow and live!
Noches
de Cabaret #SanJuan
Just do
it!
I’d tell them to give me advice. I am making
this shit up as I go and I really have no idea what I’m doing.
I think a lot of your interview subjects have suggested going to a slam
if you're interested in participating in slams. I totally agree.
See what other artists in your area are doing. It's inspiring.
I am also a huge cheerleader for The National Puppetry Conference at The
O'Neill Theater Center. Your readers hear that name a ton too, I'm sure.
The participant pieces that are developed in the evenings are where a lot
of the slam content comes from in my circle of peers. In a few days you
are exposed to so many different methods and techniques for creating short form
puppetry. Plus it's a very tight network of puppeteers who have leads on
performance opportunities, become fast friends, and it has a very special place
in my heart.
Gepetta - Performer-At-Large
#Philadelphia
The best advice I was given was from writer/performer Ryka Aoki, while I
was on the Tranny Roadshow. She said something along the lines of if
you are nervous you need to channel that energy into the performance.
The best performances I have done are when I want to pee my pants a
little.
Above all, be good to your performers. There can be a lot of stress
related to producing an event, but if you want people to continue to work with
you it must be worthwhile for the performers. We have to support this art form,
from the ground up! So work hard, be kind, and have fun!
Roxie Myhrum - Puppet Showplace Slam
#Brookline
Document your work! It's a pain in the ass, but it's well worth it--if a
curator can see you looking awesome and rocking it out at one slam, they'll
want you to do the same at their venue. Also, see lots of work! It's easy to
get stuck in the studio or to be swamped by your own projects. You'll
grow as an artist by getting out more!
Jessica Simon - Nasty, Brutish and
Short: A Puppet Cabaret #Chicago
Try and see a lot of stuff, talk to people after shows, ask veterans to
do something with you.
Go watch a lot of performers. See what makes people laugh and respond.
See what works and what doesn't. Don't be discouraged if your first
performances flop or have flaws. Keep performing and making more work and
seeing more work and talking to other performers in order to learn and grow!
Beau Brown - Puckin’ Fuppet Show #Atlanta
National Puppet Slam #Atlanta
DO IT! Start a slam! Crash an open mic night with your puppets! Make
videos! Keep throwing stuff at the wall till it sticks! Something will and it
will be awesome!
Valerie Meiss - Wham Bam Puppet Slam
#Asheville
Do it! Do it now! And promote it, and promote it as an adult show, so you
don't have to deal with upset people. (It shouldn't be a big deal, but
sometimes it is.) And have fun with it! And send me an email if you have questions, I
feel like I'm able to help out sometimes! And I've asked a bunch of questions
myself, so I know whom to recommend.
Go see shows, take notes. Make your own shows and rehearse the heck out
of them. When you travel, bring your own tape and extension cords. You have
something to learn from everyone- and it's a good idea to be aware. Also, save
all your receipts- these events are tax write-offs. This is your career!
The
messiest parts are the changeovers. You need someone who will run and organize
the changeovers. I like it when all of the participating artists are part of
making the event work - it really establishes a community fast. They
should each have a part to do in the changeovers. Then you need someone to
carefully go through the pieces with each artist, setting cues in a cue-to-cue
fashion, building light and sound cues only - NO RUN THROUGHS! We are able to
do 10 or 12 acts in 2 hours and all the cues are executed near perfect in the
show. I do that, facilitating communications between the designers and the
Stage Manager and the Board Ops and keeping things moving forward.
The artists may not be used to writing out a script (or they might say there
isn't any dialogue, or that their piece is easy, just lights up lights down) -
but still they have to write out a narrative in advance that the stage manager
can use to record her cues (if he/she will be calling the show.) Otherwise the
Board Ops need something that they can refer to during the show to jog their
memory for the cues. All of the pieces might be easy separately, but put
together it is an hour or more show with a lot going on. So, the
artists must write a script that the crew can use to record what they need
to record to run the cues as efficiently as possible. Even knowing if they will
be onstage behind the host frozen to start, or if they will enter in darkness
after the host has introduced them - all of this must be written in a script -
its all part of how their piece resonates--so they should take care of
every single detail and write it in a script they can give people who will
execute cues for their piece. They should get it to you in advance.
Digital is best because the Stage Manager can format it just the way they like
to write in cues.
