Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 11:56:52 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Our Mistakes


 
On Saturday, January 14, 2006, at 11:23AM, <Jimsan777-AT-aol.com> wrote:

>Some of our performance mistakes have been incorporated   into the 
>show..especially the good ones!   Jim Gamble

I whole heartly agree. One of the funniest shows of Pinocchio I saw was when the company was operating a form of sicilian rod puppet and basically Pinocchio threw a leg. The improve dialogue between the puppeteer operating Pinocchio and the puppeteer/actor playing Geppetto was priceless and had both the kids and the adults laughing in the aisles. They corrected the problem and went on with the show. 

The biggest thing I learned over the years is to not let anything throw you. Strings will break. Puppet Rods will do the darnest things. Overhead projectors will blow bulbs at the most inopportune times. Roll with the punches and continue the show. Only if there is a real hazard to the performers or the audience do you just stop the show. Happened to me a couple of times during my career both as a puppeteer and as a stage manager. Worst had to be a sword that broke in the middle of a fight during Romeo and Juliet and went into one of the actors. That was a drop everything and get him to a hospital pronto moment.

Kathleen
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