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.

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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.

 

The Deborah Hunt Interview #SanJuan

Deborah Hunt, curator of Sobre La Mesa Puppet Slam and co-curator of Noches de Cabaret has been performing with masks and puppets for the last 35 years. Originally from New Zealand, she has had the privilege of performing and leading workshops in many parts of the world. For the last two decades she has lived in Puerto Rico.

Marsian: How long have you performed at Puppet Slams?

Deborah Hunt: In 2008 I created a project called “Sobre la mesa”, a small format puppet challenge of tiny scenes inside a labyrinth of cloth. I gave each puppeteer the same object and suggested that we each create a 4 minute scene using the object as a point of departure. Each puppeteer has his/her kiosk and space for 6 people to observe the performance. At the end of the specified time music plays and the public move to the next kiosk.  As they are moving the puppeteer resets his/her piece to repeat it to the new audience entering the kiosk. This was my first slam.

M: How do your puppet slam pieces tie into the other kinds of puppetry, performance or your art-life at large?

DH: Sometimes I create pieces that then become part of other larger works….so in a way the slams are “breeding grounds” for further work. They give me a chance to experiment with a new technique, mechanism, or  personal challenge.

M: What inspired you to start hosting Sobre la Mesa and Noches de Cabaret?

DH: Well, I have talked about “Sobre la mesa”…which is now in its 9^th edition. Generally it happens twice a year. Noches de Cabaret is an adult slam that is part of the Titeretada, which is our celebration of World Puppetry Day…we usually have events over a 2-6 week time period. We invite other puppeteers to present short pieces for adults.

M: Who exactly is “We”?

DH: ”We” is a committee made up of individuals or representatives of distinct groups interested in broadening the horizons for adult puppetry work (Papel Machete, Mary Anne Hopgood, Teatro Aspaviento, Y No Habia Luz and myself.)

M: How did you end up living in SanJuan?

DH: My ex husband.

M: I see… And what is the puppet scene like there?

The puppet scene is pretty much divided into 2 groups…companies that have been working a long time through within the education system and for children’s/family audiences,…and us…a coalition of individuals and companies dedicated to performing for largely adult audiences… we host the only puppet slams in town.

M: If you were to form a puppet slam circuit near you for touring, what slams/cities would this include?

DH: We live on an island in the Caribbean. So the closest place would be the Dominican Republic. We would love to create a Caribbean circuit…

M: I can think a lot of people would love that.. Please keep us posted! Why are Puppet Slams important to you?

DH: Here in Puerto Rico, the development of adult audiences has been extremely important to me and to my fellow collaborators. So the puppet slams are definitely a way of attracting both puppeteers and public interested in adult work. The slams give us a grand opportunity to experiment.

M: What inspires you to create a puppet slam piece?

DH: The shortness of time inspires me. To create a succinct piece that adds to an evening’s intrigue gets my juices going.

M: What pieces do you have in circulation at puppet slams?

DH: Personally, each year in the Noches de Cabaret Puppet slam, I perform as “Mission Educativa”, a character that basically forces everyone in the audience to make a puppet.

M: Where can people contact you to perform?

DH: maskhunt@gmail.com

M: Where would you like to see the Puppet Slam Network in the future?

DH: All over….the world

M: What advice do you have for up and coming slam artists just starting out?

DH: Just do it!

Honolulu Puppet Slams: Enda O. Breadon Interview - Part 2

Enda O. Breadon curates the Kolohe Puppet Slam in Honolulu and has worked as an actor, director, movement coach and playwright across the United States and Europe.  As a teaching artist in creative drama, Enda employs both clowning and puppetry.  His lifelong love of puppets has led him to include them in a number of shows that he’s written and directed.  While living in Atlanta, he was mentored by Clint Thornton and Spencer Stephens, who he met at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Enda briefly studied puppetry at the University of Hawai’i.  

M: Is Honolulu part of a slam circuit?

EB: For all practical purposes, the answer to all of that is “no.”  There’s a really great, fairly new burlesque troupe here in Honolulu, Cherry Blossom Cabaret.  Last October Chinatown hosted Hawai’i’s first ever fringe festival and there’s a new, unnamed clown/physical theatre workshop that is about two months old, so there’s a young art scene with a lot of chance for overlap that hasn’t fully materialized as strongly as I feel it is about to.  And in fact, it was a connection through Cherry Blossom that we were able to get a new location for the slam this month.  I’m told some of the Cherry Blossom dancers will make appearances in slams/cabarets on the west coast, particularly the Bay area.  But most local artists don’t think in terms of circuit because this is an expensive rock fly on and off of - San Diego is as close to New York as it is to Honolulu. 

 

M: Dang!

EB: And while our economy depends on it, the idea that this is place is some kind of theme park in the middle of the ocean, doesn’t encourage artistic interaction.  We’ve seen a lot of people come out here, give a half-ass performance because they really just want to be on vacation and then book it out of here.  Because of what we get from national performers some people here really believe we are a “less-than” destination artistically and there are others that look at what we get from the outside and have a really low aesthetic bar – it’s a cycle.  That said, there have been some really great performers who have come through and some promoters doing yeoman’s work, but they are in the minority.   I hope both Kolohe Puppet Slam and our fringe festival become a destination for West Coast artists and are part of encouraging local artists to start thinking in terms of a circuit and getting their work out there.  But if it happens it’ll probably take some time. 

M: Tell us about a fabulous failure and what you've learned from it.
EB: Well, just this week I feel like I’ve experienced one of my biggest failures to date.  Between what felt like the great success of the first slam in February, I ran into some problems.  As I’ve said, I just directed Inspector General for TAG, a show with live actors and two different kinds of puppets that play minor characters.  Literally, the night Inspector opened several of TAG’s board members complained that sock puppets have no place on the TAG stage and are “not to the quality of what we do.”  The poster and all the promotional material used had the sock puppets to promote the show, but apparently that somehow got past the attention of some board members.  And they apparently hadn’t talked to the Artistic Director, who’d been talking excitedly about the puppets for around six months before the show ever went into rehearsal. At this point, I must take pains to again thank Brad Powell, TAG’s Artistic Director.  He went to the mat to defend both the puppets in Inspector and to defend the slam to his board.  But after some of the longest days I’ve ever experienced, it was clear that it was not in the best interest of the slam or of TAG to hold a puppet slam at a theatre where there were hostile board members.   

M: So I guess we won’t be seeing the Lion King or Warhorse at TAG any time soon…

EB: The stress and potential for unhealthy resentment abounded.  But I’m trying to stay positive, I went to a hippy-ish Franciscan-nun-run elementary school.  I wish TAG nothing but success in their puppet-less future.

M: ::Sigh::

EB: A friend and fellow artist here in Honolulu gave me a “buck up” talk the other day saying that this was a lesson about focusing on the kind of work you want to do and making your own opportunities.  I guess that’s as good as a lesson as any.  This is all just in the last week, maybe after a few months of reflection I’ll have a real good perspective about what the moral of this tale is.  

Again, if there are other curators who have walked through similar experiences please, please, please email or call me.   I’d love to hear how others handled it so I can properly reflect and learn from the situation.

M: Please post that on our Facebook page, a great place to dialogue with other slam organizers… Why do you think Puppet Slams are important 

EB: For me, puppet slams are all about 2 things: 1) getting a chance to workshop your material and 2) experiencing the other puppeteers in your community/circuit.  We all know that not every idea we have is worth pushing to a full piece, that some of the best pieces need a lot of work to get good, and that pieces are awesome as short pieces. 

We also all know that getting to interact with other artists fills-the-well and motivates us to do more and better work.  The proverbial rising tide raises all the proverbial boats until the sailors puke over the proverbial sides.  

And to a much lesser degree, it gives people a chance to see artists grow through their career in the same way music fans like to talk about the difference between an early album/show and what a band is doing in their 40s.  I think what Patton Oswalt is doing with the Comedians of Comedy is pretty much the same thing we’re trying to do with slams. 

M: What motivates you to create a puppet slam piece?
EB: The same sick thing in my soul that got me kicked out of class almost every single day of my elementary, middle and high school career. 

M: Which slam artists you are inspired by?

EB: I’ve already mentioned Nicole earlier.  Her ideas and enthusiasm are inspiring.  My friends Gregg Van Laningham and Qate Bean have some characters they’ve been working on the Atlanta puppet slam circuit that are apparently illicit in the slams and yet they get requests to do them at the kid’s birthday parties too.  So while I haven’t seen them live, the fact they have dirty puppets also performing kids’ parties is among the funniest things I’ve ever heard.   They’re great writers, even though I suspect they wouldn’t use the word “writer” to describe themselves. 

Speaking of writers, while not puppeteers, there are two writing partners that constantly inspire me and the ideas we bounce around are starting to make it into some of my pieces.  First is Joe Goltz, the funniest human being, period.  He’s a musician and part of the comedy scene in Chicago.  But Joe and I have been friends since elementary school and it was scripts we wrote in radio and TV class in high school that not only got me suspended but made me really want to create for life.  Second is Lani Murray, who first came up with the idea of a dirty Bronte puppet piece.  I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy a relationship with someone 45 years older than me that is more raunchy or fulfilling. 

M: What pieces do you have in circulation to perform in puppet slams? 

EB: Hopefully the Bronte piece soon.  I think I’m going to retire the Russian sock puppets, at least for a while.  It might just bring up stressful memories of the TAG situation. I’m thinking of bringing back the dog chases from Stewart Little and making a new piece with them that has nothing to do with the book.  I’d like to remount and tour a puppet version I did of Marki Shalloe’s One Hand Clapping.  It’s a great short script about masturbating. And I’ve got a puppet I love that is a blue monster, with a cool way of working the hands.  But I just can’t make any material stick.  Maybe some day.   Also, it’s not my piece, but I’d love to see Nicole’s Chucky piece get a little longer and go on tour.  It is so well done.      

M: Where can people contact you to perform?

EB: The best thing they can do is call or email me.  kolohepuppet@gmail.com or (808)457-9324.  I’ll probably screen the calls, so make sure to leave a message. 

M: What is the future of puppet slams?

EB: I would really love to see some of our young puppeteers get to work the circuit nationally and bring back here what they learn.  And now that I’ve produced a slam I’d love to return to Atlanta where I was at best a fringe meteor to the puppet scene and watch the slams there with a whole new perspective.  As for the future of the Puppet Slam Network, I’ll probably look like an idiot if I make any predictions. 

M: What advice do you have for up and coming slam artists just starting out?

EB: 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. 

M: Anything else we should know?

EB: Don’t sleep with a raccoon in your bed.  You are always welcome to come here and perform, I’ll do whatever I can with my meager resources to help (also contact promoter Tim Bostock).  But don’t come here with a lame-ass I’m on vacation attitude.  Don’t bring rabies to the islands. 

Honolulu Puppet Slams: Enda O. Breadon Interview - Part 1

Enda O. Breadon curates the Kolohe Puppet Slam in Honolulu and has worked as an actor, director, movement coach and playwright across the United States and Europe.  As a teaching artist in creative drama, Enda employs both clowning and puppetry.  His lifelong love of puppets has led him to include them in a number of shows that he’s written and directed.  While living in Atlanta, he was mentored by Clint Thornton and Spencer Stephens, who he met at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Enda briefly studied puppetry at the University of Hawai’i.

2008 Photo: Sandra Payne

Marsian: So you are hosting, Kolohe Puppet Slam this month?

Enda Breadon: Honestly, I regularly tell myself, “Holy crap, no one is going to show up to watch or be in this thing.”  I don’t know if paralyzing self-doubt is normally part of the process for other curators, but it is for me. 

M: How do you find acts?

EB: ..After deep philosophical arguments with myself about where to find performers and audience, I email and call everyone I know on Oahu who has any connection to puppetry.  A number see a “slam” as somehow beneath them, but I’ve seen some seriously gnarly folks getting excited and stepping up either to spread the word or enter. 

M: Like?

EB: Jeff Gere is a local puppeteer who deserves serious props (notice my hipster use of 90’s street terms, very “slam” they tell me).  The biggest support the slam has gotten is from Mark Branner, professor of puppetry at UH.  He’s championed the slam to his students and has us connected with the young performers that are the future of the local arts scene.  I’ve been on the UH campus a couple of times badgering his students to take part, with Mark’s support. 

M:  What inspired you to start hosting puppet slams?
EB: I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, an expert at puppetry.  I had three really strong motivations for making this happen: 

1. Selfishly as an audience member, I wanted to make sure there were opportunities for me to see more puppetry happening;

2. Through the puppetry classes at UH-Manoa there are a lot of young puppeteers here and I wanted to give all of them an opportunity to get in front of an audience and try out their material in a way that was not based getting a grade and made them feel like this was a community to stay and continue their careers;

3. In Atlanta I saw how great puppet slams in were for encouraging artists to gather and share ideas.   We had a few really great events serving this purpose, but I’d love to see at least 5-10 more. 

M: Have you performed at other slams?
EB: Again, I feel sheepish in answering this one.  Even though I lived in Atlanta for six years and worked there regularly for almost ten years, I never once performed in one of their many slams.  It was always on my to-do list, but a combination of a usually pretty-busy schedule and fear kept me on the sidelines of Atlanta’s slams – mostly the latter. 

M: Well, there’s no time like the present…

EB: I still kick myself in the butt for not using slams as a way to try out the puppets in several shows that I directed.  For example, in 2008 I did a version of Stewart Little that had some two dimensional puppets that allowed us to do some really fun chase scenes.  The prop designer called them “protest signs.”  I thought they worked great and got good feedback, but to this day I wish I’d had an extra 3-ish hours of rehearsal time with them.  I could’ve tried them out at a slam, problem solved.  But I guess my head was in my okole.       

M: So you have been hosting your slam at The Actors’ Group in Kohole..

EB:  First, I think it’s important to say that the slam might not exist if it were not for the support of TAG’s Artistic Director, Brad Powell.  I have directed exactly one show at TAG.  About a year ago, Brad asked me to direct Inspector General, which was my very first interaction with TAG or with Brad.  From the beginning it was part of my concept to have a sock puppet Greek chorus in Inspector.  Because Brad and I were talking about Inspector General and about puppets, it was a pretty natural fit to do the first Kolohe Puppet Slam at TAG.  And our sock puppets in Inspector (but not the “head puppets” we also use) got to use the slam as a way to help the puppeteers improve technique and find out what worked and didn’t work. 

M: Will you be having future slams at TAG?

EB: Unfortunately we’ve just had to move the slam out of TAG.  I’m not sure if I’ll direct at TAG again.  Brad hasn’t made a specific offer, but keeps telling me he wants me back.  The hulabaloo I’ll go into later has me wondering if that would be a wise decision.  The great upside of the story is that ARTsmith, a venue and artist-collective, stepped up and in the space of two phone calls was really excited to give our a home to our slam this month.  ARTsmith is about to do some reorganizing and in the shuffle we may be homeless again. I would love to get advice from other curators who have gone through this kind of thing. 

M: What was it like hosting your very first slam just a few weeks ago?

EB: I co-hosted with Judy Doodee (Howdy Doodee’s former trophy wife).  She was there to shill her new biography, Woodies I Have Known.  Apparently, the section on Pinocchio is pretty steamy. 

M: I haven’t seen that title.. I guess it must be too hot for the Puppetry Store. . .

EB: I wore an Aloha shirt, I guess because I believe in reinforcing stereotypes. Before the opening, I was sweating in places the FCC doesn’t like you to talk about. 

M: I hear botox can help with that.

EB: The whole day leading up to it my wife and I were making trophies for the slam.  They turned out appropriately crappy I think.  The winner trophy had a sign on the back that said, “Quit looking at my ass!” The Russian sock puppets from Inspector General took second place.   While not puppeteering, I interacted as part of their performance.  It was later in the evening, so a lot of the nerves had worn off.  But we had judges, so even though I was co-host and curator, I’ve got a little bit of defense against favoritism charges. 

M: Are you working on anything particular for your next slam?

EB: My friend Lani Murray and I have half-written a dirty puppet piece about the Bronte sisters using Barbie puppets.  We’re tentatively going to try out at the third Kolohe Puppet Slam.  I’m hoping when my wife and I bring our new baby to the mainland to meet family I can also go to some slams and enter the Bronte piece.  Just FYI, Lani is the funniest, dirtiest 79-year old I have ever known.  On the day we met she told me, “You know the best thing about my double mastectomy is that I can go topless on Halloween.”  

M: It’s a real gift to be able to make your own cancer hilarious.  What’s the most exotic location you’ve seen a slam?

EB: While Honolulu would probably be pretty exotic to a lot of puppeteers, in comparison to here, I guess the most exotic place I’ve seen a slam/cabaret was in Dublin.  My parents are from there and my cousin has worked the cabaret circuit with a really hilarious character I’ve seen her do twice.  Unfortunately the second time I was watching it with my mom and my cousin’s mom.  When she started her dirty ditties we all tried not to look at each other.  I’m pretty sure she’s taken that character to London and Edinburgh, but not positive.  I also once saw a poetry slam in Cardiff, Wales, that was really fun because the big name poets – the big draws – were mostly plastered and didn’t give a shit.  One of them joked about how he’d lost a slam at a boy’s school earlier in the day because the student judges all voted for the “busty female gym teacher.”

M: What’s the edgiest slam piece you have witnessed?

EB: As for edgiest, it might have been our winner last time.  It was a puppet that manipulated his own puppet, who had just gotten out of prison.  It was really cool.  The judges gave the award to Chucky, the puppet, and not to the puppeteer ultimately working them both.  In the interest of full disclosure, that puppeteer was Nicole Deslauries, who designed my Russian sock puppets that got second.  I only met Nicole when she expressed an interest in the slam.  So you can point out how awesome she is and/or point out how the slam is already drawing people together 

M: Done! What was the worst slam you’ve been to?

EB: Nothing jumps to mind as far as puppet slams.  However, I was once a judge for a high school acting slam/competition that was beyond painful. 

M: What made it a disaster, beyond the obvious?

EB: It was the complete level of bullshit from the parents and teachers.  They were hostile to the judges, all of whom were professional actors doing it as a favor to the host school.  Just thinking about that now is a reminder how important it is for me to keep the slam here all about having a good time.  If people are getting angry emails a week later because of the results and it isn’t fun, nothing else probably matters. I won’t say the name, but it was pretty prestigious private school in Atlanta.  I hope for the students’ sake the drama teacher there has grown up a little and it has rubbed off on the parents.   

M: Join us for part 2 of our interview with Enda O. Breadon where we talk more about the Honolulu puppet slam scene…

Down Under with Lana Schwarcz

Lana Schwarcz is a Melbourne-based multi-disciplinary performance artist who prefers the medium of puppetry. She is one half of the Slam Noir team and the current secretary for UNIMA-Australia.  In her work, Lana straddles the line between comedy and "narrative that can challenge", all the while embracing the love of the utter stupid.  Her signature piece, Minute Exhibit Boxes are one minute shows for audiences of one.  She often combines character work with her puppetry in her longer stage shows, so is rarely seen in puppeteer’s hood (although she did admit to owning a couple during this interview).

Lana Schwarcz & Hamish Fletcher, 2011

Marsian: So you are hosting Slam Noir this month?

Lana Schwarcz: Yes it's very exciting!! We're so happy to be the first official Slam in Australia!  We had the first one in November last year, which was packed to the rafters! And we also hosted another one at the Inaugural Tarrengower Puppet Festival in Maldon.  

M: How did you get started?

LS: I was inspired by attending the National Puppet Slam in Atlanta when I visited in 2011. I saw the great work that was created by the themed slams in the US and the strong community that it created, and I started to feel upset that we didn't have that same sense of community here in Australia.

M: Is the vibe you got at the National Slam is similar to that of the Melbourne puppet community?

LS: The puppet community here is very different, and we hadn't really bonded through a united sense of fun and work.  It's quite amazing really how the slams, even in this short period of time, have managed to help unite a community.  It's understood that the works are created for the night or are works in progress, so no one expects seamless performances, but already a few pieces have grown and developed out of the seeds of the slams and I am super proud of that. 

I also blame Beau Brown. Inspiration or "persuasion" - it's a fine line. Basically, he backed me into a corner, asked me whether I would prefer being fed to the fishes or strung up like a marionette, and I caved when he showed me how he had strung his last victim. Phillip Huber would have been proud, but it just made me scared. Beau Brown is Puppet Slam Mafia. Just sayin'. It's a FINE LINE BEAU!!!

M: Oh Dear! Are there any other puppet slams or cabarets happening in Australia?

LS: Not that I know about.  I am running a rogue slam event this Thursday for Melbourne Comedy Festival called Set Up, Punch - a comedy focused slam event.  It sits outside of the Slam Noir series because it will have a stage and will be lit with tech, not torchlight like the others. Plus the only theme is Comedy, which isn't really a theme, so it's a once off event for the Festival, which is happening now. I do believe another super lady is wanting to organize one in Canberra, but this has yet to eventuate. I understand that Beau blackmailed her as well, but I have no idea how he got that horse's head to Canberra.

M: Did you perform at any slams when you were in the US?

LS: No I WISH!!! Oh hang on. Actually, yes, I did my Minute Exhibit peep box at the O'Neill Puppet Pandemic, so I suppose then yes I have.  But I'd love to come back with the new piece developed for one of the slams here, you know, so more than one person at a time can see it.  If money can be raised to get me there from Melbourne, that'd be awesome.  That's a hint (if you didn't get it by now)

M: Rewind: your slams are torch lit?!?

LS: ..Most of our slams are no tech, and we ask the audience to bring torches to light the artists.  It's slightly shambolic but a really great way to present the night and the audience stays engaged and interactive.  I'd love to say it was my idea, but really, it was only my idea in that I decided to steal it - from a midnight fundraising cabaret we used to do in Winnipeg Fringe.  The torches actually mean that we can set up anywhere, in any found space, AND because they can be focused anywhere around the room, we can have two or three (or more) performance areas so that artists can reset while another one is playing - therefore no delay and the acts flow nicely from one to the other without the host needing to fill time. It does mean the audience misses out on the throwing of candy, but we're cool with that. Shhhhh... Don’t tell them they're missing out they still don't know.

Slam Noir #Melbourne

  "..we ask the audience to bring torches to light the artists.."

M: How do you find acts for Slam Noir?

LS: Generally we ask them directly, but we also receive submissions. I have no idea, but somehow word seems to get around and acts come to us. Our last theme was dance, so our acts made shows based on that theme. Except for one or two who didn't realize we had a theme. Oops...

M: How do you define yourself as an artist and performer?

LS: Oh god. I have no idea how to answer that question. I don't feel experienced enough to call myself a puppet artist, although I work with puppets. To everyone else, I am a puppeteer, because somehow it seems easier to put a label on it and leave it at that. But in truth, I have no idea what I am. I write. I perform. I make films. I make simple puppets. I make people laugh. I find venues and produce. I explore. I pretend I can do things and then I fail. I fail a lot. A LOT!!! That's the one thing I completely succeed at.  But that's cool, caus I try to embrace the clown, and embracing failure is a big part of that. I am also really good at procrastinating and avoiding. Which, if you are astute, you will see I have done that really well, and completely not answered this question at all. I should have been a politician.

M: Any memorable failures you’d like to share?

LS: Hmmm... I think we've had a couple of pieces go longer than five minutes, and that was tough. I don't feel comfortable to name names or even describe these shows, but sometimes new pieces (which is what they are for the slams) can drag on a bit - the fat needs to be cut from them.  If there is one thing I have really learned from Pam Arciero (and by gosh there were many many things learned from that Hawaiian goddess) it's that things really have to be too short to suck.  So I think in the future, we really stick to that 5-minute rule. If it doesn't fit in 5 minutes, it doesn't go on. It makes the artist really think about what absolutely needs to be in there. Although sometimes that still gets ignored....

M: What is the funniest, freakiest, edgiest, or weirdest slam piece you have seen?

LS: Hmmm.... I think I was pretty impressed seeing Spencer Lott in Atlanta. His piece made no sense whatsoever and I *loved* that. Liz Hara is also my hero. Awesome! And Honey Goodenough's marionette just killed me.

M: Why do you think Puppet Slams are important?

LS: At the last slam, I made a new piece called Sir Dancealot, especially for the Dance theme. I NEVER would have created him otherwise - as I never would have thought to explore a dance-based character.  Sir Dancealot is now my new favorite piece.  I love him. This would never have come about without the slam.  I was worried that people wouldn't have the time to create things outside their usual work.  But they have flocked to this.  They MAKE the time, and it's a fun event. And did I mention completely shambolic?  The slams seem almost random, although they are, of course, completely planned. They also serve to unite the community in the non-judgmental creation and viewing of new work. 

M: Would you say in Melbourne that you are part of a slam circuit?

LS: Unfortunately, Australia is huge, with no cities between the cities like you guys have in the USA or in Europe/UK. Our closest cities are a day's drive away at least, and we have only just started the slams here in Melbourne. We'd LOVE to do national tours, but funding is scarce. It's something for the future, for sure. The only way I think I personally could go on a slam tour would be in the US. Another hint.

M: What are some misconceptions about the Australian puppet scene?

LS: ..that we have some of the most dangerous puppet wildlife in the world.. ..that all the puppets here will kill you.. ..that's a complete myth and misconception. You only have to worry about the redback - They can hide under your chair and bite you when you least expect it. But they're easy to spot with their red backs, and the arm attached to the puppet, so you shouldn't be scared to travel here.

M: Thanks for the travel advisory.. Any other misconceptions?

LS: Other misconceptions - that it's a raging and huge scene.  It's not.  I wish it was, but it's not. It's tiny. It's also difficult to find training in - our one puppet training facility at the Victorian College of the Arts was discontinued due to some reshuffling at the university, and there is a real need for good training. .  . Also, Aussies will tell you about Drop Bear puppets and how they are dangerous for a laugh. Don't believe them. A Drop Bear puppet is a Koala Puppet. They're just taking the piss.

M: You've been warned!

April Open Calls for Performance

April Puppet Slam Network Open Calls for Submissions include National Puppet Slam #Atlanta, Strung Out Puppet Cabaret #Cincinnati, PUNCH #NYC, and Puppet Rampage #FtLauderdale

NATIONAL PUPPET SLAM  #Atlanta 

Submission: April 8th / Performances: August 3rd-5th

Contact Beau Brown

 The mission of the National Puppet Slam is to recognize excellence in the art of short form puppet theatre. The featured pieces were nominated by their respective slams and then curated by The Puppet Slam Network and the Center for Puppetry Arts. As the largest non-profit organization in the country dedicated to puppetry, the Center for Puppetry Arts is invested in supporting and showcasing the next generation of puppeteers. These performances showcase the beauty, ingenuity, and hilarity of Puppet Slams from all across the country. 

DOLLY WIGGLER CABARET  #Calgary 

Submission: Open / Performance: May 5th

Contact office@animatedobjects.ca

The International Festival of Animated Objects announces a spring Dolly Wiggler Cabaret featuring short mask and puppetry performances for an adult audience at a secret location. Artists wishing to perform send a note to office@animatedobjects.ca, and we'll contact you with the details.

CAFÉ CONCRET #Montreal

Submission Open / Performance: May 7th 

Contact: cafeconcret@gmail.com 

Café Concret, a Montreal-based cabaret of experimental puppetry and performing objects, is seeking proposals for short performance pieces. Café Concret is a bilingual community event for puppeteers, musicians and other artists interested in animating objects. The event is not-for-profit and artists will be paid a modest fee. Curators are looking for experimental object based performances under 15 minutes. Acts could be excerpts or complete pieces, new or works-in-progress. Please include the following information in your proposal, plus any other information you think is important: Name and contact info, Brief description, Length, Technical needs, and documentation of your piece (or past work) in the form of photo or video.

STRUNG OUT PUPPET CABARET #Cincinnati
Submission: April 15th / Performances: June 2nd & 3rd
Contact: Irina Niculescu  

Mad Slams announces Strung Out Puppet Cabaret, a puppet slam debuting on June 2nd & 3rd at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. They are looking for short form puppetry acts for adults that feature a great diversity of puppet forms: rod puppets, humanettes, shadows, toy theatre, marionettes, animated objects, puppets combined with performing arts, films etc. Upload a video of your piece and send a weblink to inniculescu@gmail.com Requirements: Acts must be 7 min or less with a set up must that can be completed in under a minute. Assistance provided with travel expenses, lodging for up to 4 nights, passes to the Cincinnati Fringe, CD audio/projector and screen for films

PUNCH #NYC #BROOKLYN
Submission: Open / Performances:  June, August & Decembercontact Gretchen Van Lente Try out new material or that piece you did for class (in front of people who aren't your classmates). Get feedback on a piece that needs some work. Show a short piece developed for Puppet Playlist, at the Puppet Lab or at the O’Neill Puppetry Conference to a whole new audience! Schmooze and drink with other people who like puppets. Get an equal split of the door (guaranteed $40 at least).
 

PUPPET RAMPAGE # FT Lauderdale
Submission: April 18th (Audition) / Performance: May 26thContact: Jean MinuchinCall for Puppeteers! We have a new puppet slam coming up in Fort Lauderdale. Jim Hammond and Jean Minuchin are co-producing a slam on May 26th at World and Eye Arts Center. Looking for short form puppet theater for adults. Calling all storytellers, visual artists, performance art folks and of course puppeteers who want to try out. Try-outs are on Wednesday April 18th at 6PM. RSVP on Facebook.

PUPPET MELTDOWN #Chicago

Submission: June 1st / Performance: July 19th

Contact:  Mary Kate or Kat Pleviak at (630) 790-1337 

We are currently looking for a wide range of short puppet pieces to showcase at this evening of performances no longer than 10 minutes and geared towards an adult audience. So if you have something hilarious, outrageous, naughty, poignant, absurd or unusual that you would like to perform, please visit our website www.seabeastpuppetry.com to download an application.

Please contact the Puppet Slam Network if you have an open call you would like posted