National Puppet Slam #ATL

Beau Brown hosts The 2012 National Puppet Slam at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta Friday August 3rd at 8:00PM and Saturday, August 4th at 8PM.  For more information, call 404-873-3391 or visit puppet.org/perform/nationalpuppetslam

Experience the beauty, ingenuity, and hilarity of short-form puppet theater in this showcase of puppet slam acts from across the United States. Nominated by their respective slams, then curated by The Puppet Slam Network and the Center for Puppetry Arts, the nation’s best slam performances will be presented for two nights only!  

 
The lineup includes: Travis Lope #Auburn #NY,  Katie McClenahan #Portland #OR,  Gregg van Lanningham  #Atlanta, Therese Schorn #Ossining #NJ, Carla Rhodes #Brooklyn, Leila Ghaznavi #Philadelphia, Gwendolyn Bonar #Phoenix, Lyon Hill #Columbia #SC, Honey Goodenough #Brooklyn, and Spencer Lott #Kansas City 

Marsian: Why are you excited about the National Puppet Slam?
Beau Brown: I am excited to have so many talented slam artists all in place for the public to see. It was great doing it at the Nationals Festival last year for the puppeteer community and this year we get to share it with the public. I think that having it at a important puppet institution like the Center for Puppetry Arts is a wonderful way to continue to legitimize short form puppetry. People who would come and see adult programming at the Center might not go to a smaller local slam.

Marsian:  Why have a National Puppet Slam?
Beau Brown: I think it important to recognize excellence in our field. Right now UNIMA and PofA don’t really take much notice of short form and it is my hope that, as the tradition of the National Slam continues, acceptance into the show is considered an honor and something that the artists should feel extremely proud of. It is the Oscars of puppet slam! Also doing it at the Center gives these artists a chance to perform on the main stage of the Center for Puppetry Arts which without doing a full length show is not an opportunity that these artists might otherwise get.

Marsian: How do you see this selection showcasing where this movement going?
BB: I think that the lineup truly reflects the diversity in slam performances and puppetry styles. Just like the National Slam last year it shows that puppets slams aren’t just “naughty puppets”.

Marsian: It sounds like people are coming from all over the country...
BB: I have! It is so exciting to see members of the puppetry community making the trip. I am putting up some of them at my place and other members of the Atlanta puppet community have stepped forward to host some out of town guests.

Lets take a closer look at the performers...
 

Travis Lope #Auburn #NY

Travis Lope is a performer, puppet designer, and a costume designer and technician. Favorite credits include working with Dr. Cosby on Cosby, Lewis Black in Black Humor and Lorenzo Lamos in Dracula. Travis particularly enjoys building larger than life puppets. Ranging from dragon heads and dinosaurs to a 31-foot tall, cable controlled Giant for Ronald Dahl’s BFG. Travis’s work has been featured in commercials for the Connecticut State Lottery and Bob's Discount Furniture.  He recently finished graduate school at the University of Connecticut. The Enchanted Vanity Set has been performed in four different states.

Katie McClenahan #Portland #OR

Katie's love affair with puppets was sparked by a certain green, Balinese sea captain puppet named Captain Clamp. He and Katie were part of a roving pirate, puppet rock opera band consortium called Jollyship the Whiz-bang. After years of touring, Katie departed the high seas to find her land-lubbing ways were far more productive. Currently residing in Portland, Oregon, Katie runs Beady Little Eyes, a puppet event company that specializes in keeping adult short-form puppetry alive in the Pacific Northwest. 

Gregg van Lanningham #Atlanta

Gregg Van Laningham is a puppeteer who got his start in the world of puppet slams. He has written and performed dozens of shows over the course of the past two years, and currently works as a freelance puppeteer in Atlanta with a specialty in science education. Gregg often collaborates with his best friend and creative partner Qate Bean, and together the two of them have performed for audiences ranging from a 4-year-old's birthday party to a crowd of hundreds at Dragon*Con. Gregg earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Therese Schorn #Ossining #NJ

Therese Schorn is a NY based puppeteer, clown and designer. She most recently performed in Puppet Art Attacks. She also performed and taught at the 2011 International Yunlin Puppet Festival in Taiwan. She is a 23 year veteran of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care bringing puppetry music and clowning to hospitalized children. Shows include A Village of Fools (Theater for the New City) and Peaceable Kingdom ,a puppet and physical theater play with a cast of 2.4 children. She also constructs and performs with giant puppets for Nyack’s Halloween Parade.

Carla Rhodes #Brooklyn

Carla Rhodes has been practicing the art of ventriloquism since the age of 9, after seeing Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop on television and to her absolute delight, was later mentored by her hero. Throughout her teens, Carla performed all over her hometown of Louisville. She has been living and performing in New York City since 2004, at such legendary venues such as Joe's Pub. Recently, Carla performed a full-length rock'n'roll ventriloquism show, The Continuing Story of Carla Rhodes. Time Out New York proclaims the show “is an idiosyncratic neo-retro blend of ventriloquism, rock music and comic storytelling" and she “throws her voice like a curveball, bringing old-school ventriloquism skills to new-school puppets (including one of Keith Richards).”  

Leila Ghaznavi #Philadelphia

Leila Ghaznavi is an actor, puppeteer and playwright currently based in Philadelphia. She has been featured as an emerging artist at The National Puppetry Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and her original multi-media puppet work, Silken Veils, received five stars and was nominated for best new work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Silken Veils has been featured on the Leonard Lopate Show, BBC Persia, and Voice of America. Her featured work, Remembrances was presented at 2011 Puppetry Festival, UNIMA Day in NYC, and the Puppet Pandemic Slam in Philadelphia. Leila Ghaznavi has an M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts.

Gwendolyn Bonar #Phoenix

Gwen is a second generation puppeteer who started puppetry as soon as she was able to walk and talk. A professional puppeteer from the Great Arizona Puppet Theater, she has performed all around the state of Arizona as well as numerous guest performances at theaters around the country. She has also had the pleasure to perform internationally, including Kazahkstan this Fall. 

  

Lyon Hill #Columbia #SC

Lyon takes his inspiration from comics, animation, pop up books, view master reels, and other graphic arts. In his work, he combines these diverse mediums to create new hybrids.  Supine is a nightmare experienced by his wife. Small paper puppets are projected large scale to tell the surreal story of a woman being chased through a desolate city by a shadowy figure.

Honey Goodenough #Brooklyn

Honey Goodenough is a New York City based puppeteer, producer, costume designer, educator, clown, and magician. She earned her MA in Educational Theater from NYU. She has produced many puppetry related events including the premiere of Puppet Rampage (Puppeteers of America Festival Documentary film). Honey has co-curated Emerging Artist Theater's Laugh Out Loud: Clown and Puppetry Festival in 2009, the Voice 4 Vision Puppet Slams hosted at The Theater for the New City in 2011, as well as the UNIMA USA: Celebration of World Puppetry, hosted by Teatro Sea. She is a three-time recipient of the Puppet Slam Network grant to produce Puppet Pandemic, a showcase of puppetry works developed during The National Puppetry Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, which supports the Alumni Scholarship, to help artists create more short form puppetry. Honey has been touring from Brooklyn to Brookline, Austin to Boston and throughout the Puppet Slam Network for the past four years. 

Spencer Lott #Kansas City

Spencer Lott is a freelance puppeteer. He develops and produces commercials and online video content as well as live stage productions. This summer his work was on display at the Springfield Art Association and his original puppet shows The Bicycle Brothers from Ohio and Bigfoot’s Magical Moped are now in development. Recently Spencer has performed in Puppet Slams in Kansas City, New York City and Chicago. After the National Puppet Slam, Spencer will return to Kansas City where he will act in Theatre Gym’s adaptation of The Miser by Moliere.

Advice for Puppet Slam Artists & Curators

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…

Adult Puppet Cabaret #SanDiego, Photo: Kiwi (Craig Brayton)

Evan O’Television - Blood From a Turnip #Providence

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.

Alexander Winifield - Pirate Puppet Cabaret #London 

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.

Kat Pleviak - Puppet Meltdown #Chicago 

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!

Deborah Hunt - Sobre La Mesa Puppet Slam

Noches de Cabaret #SanJuan

Just do it!

Enda O. Breadon - Kolohe Puppet Slam #Honolulu

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. 

Alissa Hunnicutt - New Brew #Brooklyn

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.

 

Honey Goodenough - Puppet Pandemic #NYC

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. 

 

Valeska Populoh - Puppet Slamwich #Baltimore

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.

 

Carole D'Agostino  - Performer-At-Large #NYC

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!

Cathy Shaw – Puppet Art Attacks #NYC

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.

Is this Résumé Goodenough?

Recently Puppet Pandemic Slam mogul, Honey Goodenough, posed the following question on our Facebook Page:

"PSN Friends - was wondering how you cite your work as a Slam Performer and/or Producer on your resume?"

What started out as a discussion on résumé advice, quickly turned into a broader conversation on how we value our work and interface with the rest of the performing arts world.  A number of slam organizers and performers weighed in and here are some highlights. Note: If you have anything to add, please join the conversation on our Facebook Page or start your own conversation.

* * *

Roxie Myhrum - Puppet Showplace Slam #Brookline: 

If it's performance-based - "Puppeteer", "Puppet Showplace Slam", or if administrative, "Producer/Curator","Puppet Showplace Slam". I have never really seen a resume that successfully integrates performance and production responsibilities, other than making one or the other just a brief footnote (i.e. my production admin resume includes "puppetry" in the "miscellaneous skills" section)

Honey Goodenough - Puppet Pandemic #NYC:  

As a performer, I don't like to take up more than one line for puppet slams even though I've performed in roughly 8 a year. but as a producer should it be listed by slam title?

Eric Brooks - Playhouse Puppet Slam #GlenEcho: 

Have you produced more than one slam? It should definitely be on your resume. 

"Slam producers put a whole lot of work in than what everyone sees. It deserves attention on your resume."

Describe what you did, but offer quantitative info such as how many performers you brought in, how much money you raised, how many people saw it, etc. 

Honey Goodenough - Puppet Pandemic #NYC:  

It does depend on what job you're applying for. What type of job do you think would be most interested in hearing about producing work? If you are auditioning for a role, do they want to know you produce as well?

Carole D'Agostino - performer-at-large #NYC #NJ:  

I have a separate section in my resume about "Personal Productions" - my own work. I simply state the title, the subject and the genre so: Flirty Birdie/Cabaret Style Peacock/Marionette". Or: "The Hoarding Show/Satirical History of Hoarding/Tabletop and Shadows", "Object Theater".   Anyone who is asking for my resume doesn't care about what the venue is - slams or not. If they are asking me for my resume then they don't know me - all they care about is - can she do the specific thing I need for this job - so - can she do marionettes? Fine. Can she do green screen? Black light/ Whatever. No one actually cares what you did- they care who you know and if you have that one thing they need. . . That said - if you perform at a National Festival- or a major venue - you might say you performed there 

Honey Goodenough in “Sweet Dreams”, 2011, photo: Frankie Cordero

 

Honey Goodenough - Puppet Pandemic #NYC:  

Personal productions. . ..I like it. . . But I wonder if there's another way to phrase it. Self produced? or Independent Projects? Carole - you deserve a producer credit for all the work you've created. . . it's hard to sum up in one title.

Carole D'Agostino - performer-at-large #NYC #NJ:  

Well everyone's resume is individualized- and I will customize my own resumes to suit the client- some people don't care if I can build. I have a show resume. Some people don't care if I can make puppets- I have a costume resume. I am not sure who to define "producer' but I do know if I put THAT on a resume an "actual" producer will think he can't afford me and I won't get hired.

Honey Goodenough - Puppet Pandemic #NYC: 

It's complicated. . . "Producer" can encompass so many duties. It's hard to know when it's a useful to post on a resume. . . I wonder what Katie McClenahan of Beady Little Eye Puppet Slam thinks of all this. .. She also helps produce photo shoots. . . Do the same skills apply to other fields?

Keith Shubert - Wham Bam Puppet Slam #Asheville: 

i am dirt handed, under the table, and ghetto. i have never made a resume. i am sure if you live in NYC or LA a resume for a big puppet job is proper but here in north carolina, you just have to tell em you do and puppet show and most the time, yer in....

Hannah Miller - Action Puppet Force #Orlando:  

No one has mentioned it yet, but I think calling slam production "event management" is a nice, palatable alternative when you think "producer" might complicate things... As for a performance resume: I do a similar thing to Carole; I have a section for Personal Productions, and I give a one-sentence overview of the scope of each {ex: "Original 30m marionette production with troupe of 3 performers, production sponsored by CFL ArtsFest"}. If the job calls for skills that are specific, like hand/rod work, I also put a list of bullet point summaries at the top of the resume describing jobs I've done with the most relevant skills called "Recent Achievements" or something bilious thing like that, where I list 3-4 specific challenges or performance triumphs that relate.

Marsian - Puppet Slam Network Coordinator #LosAngeles:  

Keith, what about when you lived in Chicago? 

Keith Shubert - Wham Bam Puppet Slam #Asheville:  

pretty much the same. for a decade i opened for rock bands in bars and clubs. i had a couple good booking guys who would basically call me up whenever they had a "weird" or "art rock " band. and 80% of the time i was a fan of the band. needless to say, i have never been able to completely support myself with my art and have always had some sort of shit job that eats up most of my time. 

Amy Rush - Performer-at-Large #Atlanta:  

You need a resume in Atlanta. Or should. I've noticed that local people list puppet slam or Xperimental Puppetry Theater (at the Center for Puppetry Arts - which is like a large-scale slam/workshop) pieces that they've performed in (not produced) and that's weird to me. Seems like a desperate move. They are listed alongside large-scale work. Or, as though they ARE large scale because the performer hasn't really done anything but little slams.  I mean, if you PRODUCE a slam production/night - list it. If you've PRODUCED/DIRECTED/PAID FOR a piece in XPT at the CforPA, list it. Mine are listed under "self-produced." Some of those pieces at XPT have gone beyond XPT - to the National Festival and a local fringe festival, for example. Gotta list that.  As far as listing individual, one-or-two-time puppet slam pieces in my performance resume goes, I never would, but our slams are pretty loose and fun/drunk/easy down here. And they're like 5 minutes long. It's not the same as a marionette piece you developed at the O'Neill and have traveled the country with (I can name a few folks who have done this, of course and they rock!). That's different. List that - a small cabaret piece. 

Honey Goodenough - Puppet Pandemic #NYC: 

I like Carole D'Agostino's idea of having a section about "Personal Projects" or "Self Produced" section. Would that work?... I think that's important, but it's hard to list on a resume. I find most Puppet Slam artists are self starters.

Roxie Myhrum - Puppet Showplace Slam #Brookline: 

I wonder, then, if a resume is the right document for showing your work? It might be that the resume should highlight and point to certain things, and a portfolio or a "list of original pieces" or "current repertory" is what you need in addition. Or a website? What is this for?

Eric Brooks - Playhouse Puppet Slam #GlenEcho: 

Honey, your right about the "self starters" and if I had $1 for every time The Puppet Co. Playhouse positioned that I "was not a producer," well, we know how that would end ha. The PuppetCo Playhouse is more "the producer," per se, with their amazing puppet-ready venue, classy theatre/backstage and all those beautiful, full-sized velour curtains. My job is to find the right collection of pieces among the small pool of willing and/or able & available puppet artists that live here in the D.C. area.

For one of my resumes - the " arts professional" version, here is an example:

Curator, Playhouse Puppetry SLAM!, 2009 - present.

A showcase of vignettes aimed at mature audiences. Assembled and communicated with puppeteers, musicians, backstage crews and the Puppet Co. staff in months prior to slam as well as during the event. Sold playbill advertising. Designed posters and press graphics. Arranged and selected live music setlists. Coordinated, choreographed and co-wrote opening and closing numbers. Performed as a puppeteer and musician. 

• Founded slam program at the Puppet Co., curating six slams to date 

• Established and maintained relationships with puppetry networks throughout the East Coast 

• Introduced playbill advertising, generating approximately $_ per event 

• Organized and oversaw _ performers and crew during each event 

• Attracted an average of 100 audience members for each performance 

• Coordinated directly with The Puppet Slam Network for puppet slam grants to receive a total of _

• Managed staff assistant in press-related matters, as well as in garnering, over two slams, $_ in in-kind donations 

• Slams reviewed and featured by DC Theatre Scene and The Gazette and The Washington Post

... to agree with many of the above comments, if you are an "event manager," a "showcase coordinator" or a "curator," list that wholeheartedly. 

Carole D'Agostino - performer-at-large #NYC #NJ:  

For the record- nobody reads that. I've asked tons of hiring types- they scan for key words- they need a rod puppeteer- they scan for "rod" and "puppet". At least in NY. And It's true- most of my jobs come from recommendations and referrals. If they re asking for my resume at all, I know they have little interest in who I am as an artist- they just need to have a placeholder for me in the cattle call. More often than not, I get hired to the job- THEN they see my credientials and go- oh! You've done a lot of work! yeah- so maybe how 'bout paying me what i'm worth.

Honey Goodenough - Puppet Pandemic #NYC:   

I was thrilled about Beau Brown's proposal of the National Puppet Slam - I think it validates the work of the Slam Artist. And the success of his Slams a the POA Festival spoke voluminous about the type of work that can be produced in 7 mins of stage time (or less).

Bridget Rountree - Adult Puppet Cabaret #SanDiego:  

I list selected ones on my resume, especially ones that are in a well known venue like the Museum of Photographic Arts

Marsian - Puppet Slam Network Coordinator #LosAngeles:  

.. I think its hard to represent all the things that puppet and generative artists do in one document for all purposes and I would love to see how other people address that. I am curious what other categories people include in their puppet artist resumes. Personally, I list "Major Performance Works" (shows that usually they had a premiere and little pieces had been workshopped at slams - I write a short one line description). Then I also include "Other Performance Works" - this category could be one-off shows, shows where I performed for somebody else in a role, and occasionally a slam piece that was performed more than once that I feel was important or at a fabulous venue that I am proud of  

Katie McClenahan - Beady Little Eyes Puppet Slam #Portland #OR:

I agree with Marsian, you have to tailor your resume depending on the job you are applying for. I have several different resumes and would revise for each position applied to. I'll include notes harkening to producer-like qualities, but I wouldn't list every slam I'm produced on a resume for an audition. Producer = professional organizer. 

Hannah Miller - Action Puppet Force #Orlando: 

I want to second Carole's comment about jobs coming from referrals... I don't think I've actually USED my resume for anything except grant, workshop, or award applications in over 4 years. Before I began working in the arts, I worked in project management, and reviewed many resumes to fill positions on my teams. I didn't care about long boring descriptions of jobs at all... like Carole says, in general, people know what the basic responsibilities of a job are; what they're interested in are things that relate to what they need you to do or crazy, amazing success that you could possibly repeat for them.

Key words and brevity were what I appreciated; not only did it tell me what I needed to know quickly, it also told me that the person applying was an effective communicator and not filled with a sense of self-importance (or have low self esteem and overcompensate for it) that might make them difficult to work with. No matter what the field you're applying for, I think that a resume with a brief section at top (3-4 bullets) that summarize your biggest accomplishments OR a short summary of your career paragraph followed by 2 lines of 3 bulleted "area of expertise" key words AND fits your career history & relevant training/education onto one page is the absolute most effective, particularly if sent with a strong cover letter.

 

Keep in mind: you DO NOT have to explain what your responsibilities were at a previous job. A title is really, truly enough. The resume is just to get you in the door: the interview is the time to elaborate on unusual challenges you took on under those titles. Okay, super long commenting done now.

Eric Brooks - Playhouse Puppet Slam #GlenEcho:  

I agree with Marsian, Carole and Hannah here, but the biggest snag that I run in to is that different organizations in D.C. have separate expectations of what they want to see or know about a possible candidate. Puppetry is not viewed the same way here as it is in NYC, LA, Boston and Orlando. I have found that people here WANT to know a fair amount of the minutia, even though I think that its unnecessary, too. Few people here have two clues what a puppet slam event coordinator, producer or curator is, let alone a puppet slam!

Of the 6 or 7 actual puppet operations in the DC area, they generally keep to themselves, rarely collaborate with one another (if they ever do) and are not very often placed in positions to vouch for another puppeteer or help find them work, unless they are offering work themselves...

Then there are the DC area theatres, a different puppet market. They want to include puppetry in their productions, as they should, but they "just want to find someone to build their puppets." They are not often searching for the professionals out there who know what they are doing rather, they would be content to expect a general props artisan or costumer with no prior puppet construction experience to make beautiful figures that work even more beautifully. Sometimes they succeed but then again, they often fail and in so doing, they perpetuate more bad puppetry. So it can be a challenge in this area to shine above in an area of mostly non-puppeteers in order to land steady puppet work.

 

Is this Pandemic Goodenough?

When she’s not clowning around as a children’s party entertainer, or cheering up kids as a pediatric clown, Honey Goodenough produces PuppetPandemic, a touring showcase of works developed at the O’Neill National Puppetry Conference.  Since 2009 Puppet Pandemic has raised funds for alumni scholarships at the conference.  Honey has a BA in Theater and Dance with a focus in costume design and technology from the University of Texas, and a Masters in Educational Theater from NYU.  Currently, she is a NYC Teaching Artist, developing literacy based puppetry programs for Shadow Box Theater. 

Handle with Care, Puppet Pandemic NYC 2010, Photo Credit: Richard Termine

Marsian: When did you start performing in Puppet Slams?

HG: My first official puppet slam was in 2008, at CoLab’s Puppet Slam produced by Mary Gragen Rodgers. But, with the help of Matthew Leonard, I debuted my first original piece called BJ Tucker’s Freak Show at the Margo Rose Scholarship Fundraiser, hosted by the CT Guild of puppetry in 2005.

M: Tell us about one of the acts you have developed at puppet slams?

HG: Most of the pieces I currently tour were originally developed at the O’Neill National Puppetry Conference. But the slam piece I like to perform most of all was developed with Marta Mozelle MacRostie, specifically for Jon Levin and Josh Luxenburg’s Puppet Playlist in NYC. Its called Nothing Compares to You, the story of a girl suffering from a heart-break and is seduced by ice cream. [Seen on this link under Cream]

M: What inspired you to start Puppet Pandemic?

HG:  Puppet Pandemic is based on the idea that Puppetry is an infectious art form.  It is also a fundraiser for the O’Neill National Puppetry Conference Alumni Scholarship.  I was inspired to start Puppet Pandemic because I attended the 2009 O’Neill National Puppetry Conference, and that year the shows sold out early.  I was shocked that so many puppeteers were driving 4 hours from NYC to see a show of peers and then couldn’t get seats.  So, I thought, Lets bring the show to NYC!   Once I began contemplating the finances, I thought it might be more beneficial to everyone to use the funds for a scholarship to attend the O’Neill to produce more work.  So basically, the mission is to produce art in order to fund more art!

  

M: Who have you partnered with and where have you toured?

HG: I’m constantly surprised by the support this movement has inspired. With the help of many friends from the PSN, I have partnered with other Slams to tour Puppet Pandemic:

Puppet Pandemic (NYC) - October 2009 & September 2010

PuppetShowplace Slam (Brookline) with Roxie Myrum - January 2010 &November 2011

Puppet Co.Playhouse (Glen Echo, MD) with Eric Brooks – March & October 2010, October 2011

AustinPuppet Incident with Caroline Reck & Connor Hopkins - March 2011

Puppet Pandemic (Philadelphia) with Martina Plag - November 2011

Many other slam producers have been willing to host fundraisers in conjunction with their own Puppet Slams including Beau Brown of The Puckin’ Fuppet Show in Atlanta, Katie McClenahan’s  of Beady Little Eyes in Portland, Mary Gragen Rogers  of CoLAB Puppet Slam in New Jersey, Hannah Miller of Action Puppet Force in Orlando, and Madison Crips of The Wham Bam Puppet Slam in Asheville. 

Carole D'Agostino , Object Theater Time, Puppet Pandemic, Glen Echo, MD, Photo: Bruce

M: That’s quite a list! And in such a short period of time! What cities will Pandemic spread to next?  

HG: I hope to partner with Puppet Slamwich in Baltimore, and I hope to go to Minneapolis, Chicago, and Portland. But, in order to tour I need a contact person in the prospective city who will help me organize our tech, travel, and housing. If anyone is interested in helping me organize a new tour or fundraiser, please contact me at Puppetpandemic@gmail.com

M: What are some of the acts that have traveled with you on the Pandemic circuit?

HG: Carole D'Agostino Object Theater Time, Carole takes objects from the audience and invents and performs a story with them on the spot. It’s very exciting to hear the audience’s reactions to some of Carole’ s re-interpretations of their common everyday objects. Its like everyone shares the same huge a-ha moment.

Alissa Hunnicutt,  Red Dress - Puppet Pandemic, 2010, Photo: Richard Temine.

Alissa Hunnicutt is a conservatory trained singer, and it is always to pleasure to see her blend her love of singing and puppetry together to create a auditory and visually stunning pieces like Uninvited and Red Dress.

In Z Briggs’ Dumb Lovers, Z not only performs this beautiful puppetry piece without the use of puppets, but she also demonstrates the amount focus it takes to create two independent characters through one puppeteer.

M: How much money have you raised for scholarships?

HG:  In 2010 we raised $2,500 or the equivalent of 7 scholarships. In 2011 we raised $5,500 or the equivalent of 9 scholarships. If you want to donate to the 2012 scholarships, you can donate online through Flock Theatre.

Honey Goodenough - Making of Handle with Care, O'Neill 2009, Photo Credit: Honey Goodenough

M: What is your goal with fundraising for scholarships?

HG: My goal is to inspire other alumni of the O’Neill to consider ways they can give back to their community. It can be challenging for artists to find time and the funds to follow their passion and produce their art, while working a day job. I’d like to remove as many financial hurdles as possible.

There is no clear path as to how to become a puppeteer and learn about the art of puppetry, but the O’Neill National Puppetry Conference has been an important part of my artistic process and the crux of my puppetry community. It is my goal to raise as much as possible each year. I haven’t made any official announcements about the scholarship funds this year, but I hope we can award at least 7 scholarships.  That would mean we would have awarded 23 scholarships in just 3 years. That’s one more scholarship that there have been years of the conference!

M: How do you see what happens at the O'Neill Puppetry Conference being relevant to Puppet Pandemic and the Puppet Slam Network? 

HG: The O’Neill Puppetry Conference has a component that is called “participant pieces” for works 3 minutes or less. It’s a great place to work with other creatively powered professionals. If you need a singer, a director, a writer, or a musician, you and just ask for it and someone will help you. It’s an artists dream!

M: Where do you see Puppet Pandemic in the next few years?

HG: Currently, Puppet Pandemic is in search of a new home in NYC. I would love for La Mama ETC to invite us to perform in their theater.  Pandemic is an ensemble of very dynamic puppetry pieces, produced by young artists.  I think the concept of Puppet Pandemic is something Ellen Stewart would be proud to support.

M: What do you think of the current crop of slam names? Puppet Pandemic sounds infectious like a disease. Austin Puppet Incident sounds like they have a problem with the police. Puppet Meltdown has nuclear disaster connotations. Puppet Rampage - Do they have anger issues? My favorite name this year,  King Friday’s Dungeon less apocalyptic and more kinky - sounds like Mr. Rogers + S&M. 

HG: I love it! I chose Puppet Pandemic because I wanted a name that had the word puppetry in it, but didn’t sound like it was for children. I think these names have a similar vibe. The names promise an intense puppetry experience.

Alissa Hunnicutt with Honey Goodenough & Kate Katz - Puppet Art Attacks, Photo courtesy of Honey Goodenough

M: Any advice to future slam organizers or slam organizers who are just starting?

HG: 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!

M: Anything else you’d like to tell the readers of our blog?

HG: I would like to thank the Puppet Slam Network for supporting this movement. It’s not only helping support our artists on a micro level, but also making it possible to connect with other artists and producers who believe in the same principals. I think of puppet slams as more than just one show, but a rather a collection of shows that the audience gets to see in one sitting. I think the format really appeals to today’s audience. And it can give wings to young artists who are learning how to create full-length works.

I am always trying to think of innovative ways to fund raise, and looking for donations for our raffles and silent auctions. If anyone has any suggestions, please contact me at: Puppetpandemic@gmail.com