Heya JINX! How are you?

[Dagger Claws]

Hey Jinx, this is Marc. I noticed you were on and wanted to ask if you had any pictures of your puppet work that you created using the foam book and videos? I know that you mentioned your avitar had a picture, but do you have any larger ones and or different as well?

Take care.
Marc.

 

[Jinx]

Sorry about the delay...

Hey, Marc

Sorry I didn't get back to you right away...my computer is behaving rather strangely, and I've been working out some bugs so I didn't see your post.

Sadly, I do not have any other pictures available to me right now. My "real" camera broke, and my swanky new digital camera that I got for Christmas is not compatible with my old computer!

Did you get my email regarding the Foam videos on ebay? They are:

3 piece head video
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3168116698&category=11741

Nip & Tuck video
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3168116706&category=11741

The auctions end on Sunday afternoon, so you might want to get right to them!

Frank

 

[Dagger Claws]

Yes, I did get your email about the foam videos and book on Ebay, but the asking price was already set at $12 and there had already been about 6-7 bids, so I would have assumed that the bidding price would be at least $20 or more apiece, which I think is the actual price for each video. Thank you though for keeping me in mind. I wanted to know what kind of performance do you do with your puppets? Have you developed your own shows yet? I also noticed that you are a magician as well. How long have you been performing magic and have you been able to incorporate your magic and or puppetry into your stage performances at all?

I remember a puppeteer telling me that if you really wanted to do some good puppetry, you need to learn magic, because the two go hand in hand, you can learn how to improve the one from the other very well. Do you find your training as a magician has helped your puppetry at all?

Take care and I hope to hear from you soon,
Marc

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I remember a puppeteer telling me that if you really wanted to do some good puppetry, you need to learn magic, because the two go hand in hand, you can learn how to improve the one from the other very well. Do you find your training as a magician has helped your puppetry at all?

I'm not sure what Jinx thinks about this, but while some of the skills are extremely transferable you don't "have" to know magic to be good at puppetry, or vice versa. Once you get deeper in to puppetry and more serious about it the techniques and skills are pretty specialized. I'm sure the same is true for magic. I think I'm a decent enough puppeteer, but it would be presumptious of me to think I'd necessarily be a good magician just because I know puppetry.

There are some decent puppeteer/magicians though. Vents and magic seem to go together a lot especially.

What does everyone else think? Any puppeteer/magicians out there?

 

[Jinx]

Puppetry, Magic, Etc.

You know, I am constantly amazed at the associations people make about certain types of performers. When I mention to most folks that I am a magician or a puppeteer, they often say, "oh, the kids must love that!". I quickly tell them that while I do family shows, I don't do kids' shows. And usually I'm met with a blank stare in return.

I would say that the manual dexterity aspects of puppetry, juggling and magic are mutually beneficial, although if I did only one there would be no loss per se.

But what is an essential ingredient to these (and in fact ALL aspects of performance) is being a good ACTOR. "A magician is nothing more than an actor playing the role of a magician". (Robert Houdin) And when I teach workshops on puppet manipulation I frequently describe it as being a "translative" performance. By that I mean that I perform a role or character the same way that I would in a play, but I must translate my movements to the physionomy of the puppet. My thumb, for instance becomes the jaw, my wrist the neck, and even though they're not a part of my hand, I must KNOW where the eyes are at all times and where their focus is if I am to translate my movements into a believable characterization. That takes care of the physical side, but then I must be able to communicate emotion as well. The same way that I use my body and voice together as an actor, I must use my voice and just my hand to accomplish exactly the same goals.

Often magicians get all caught up in the mechanical aspects of how a trick "works", and a puppeteer gets caught up in his terribly cool puppet(s). The hardest lesson for me to teach to novice magicians, puppeteers, actors etc. is that when an audience, paying or not, gives us their kind attention, we owe them something for that. It all boils down to storytelling. That's the foundation. The tricks, the puppets, the props, they're only the tools that we use to tell our stories. Granted, the better we are at manipulating them the easier our task, but showmanship is EVERYTHING.

The Muppets are an excellent example of this. The stories they tell us have heart. They mean something. Sometimes all they mean is that its good to just sit and laugh. Hard. (Think of virtually any novelty song from The Muppet Show.) Sometimes they mean that if we just take the time to be nice to one another that just maybe we can change the world. (Fraggle Rock) At the end of the day, that's why we love these characters. Not because they may have a really cool eye-mechanism, but because they mean something.

OK, I'll get off my box now!

 

[Dagger Claws]

Thank you both, Buck and Jinx, for your advice. What types of shows do you perform Jinx, both puppet wise and magic wise?

 

[Jinx]

Types of shows.

Boy, no simple answers here!

Magic-wise I primarily do a half-hour stand up act for conventions, banquets and the like. But I also do strolling close up magic, and I have a full illusion show. (In magician's lingo an illusion refers to the very large stage effects ie. sawing a woman in two, levitation, etc.) I used to be almost exclusively a magician as a performer, but in the last 8-9 years I've gotten so busy with other things that magic kind of took a back seat, although 2003 was a very busy magic year for me.

Puppets- I do a bit of everything. I have three times puppeteered Audrey II for Little Shop of Horrors--which is a gas! Really hard work, but when you've got such a strong story (see previous rant!) its a great experience, especially if you've got a talented cast. I also enjoy doing presentations with my puppets in conjunction with live actors. For a recent show I did there is scripted a narrator and a bear as a co-narrator. Well, no one wanted to be the bear, so I looked at the script and it lent itself beautifully to one of my puppets, Garth Monster. Great comedy oppoprtunities, and lots of chances for "color commentary" as well. But I must say that 55 continuous minutes with a puppet over your head gets a bit tiring!

I've also done some video presentations, with puppets narrating films, doing commercials and the like.

I'm also on a quest to erradicate lousy puppetry from the children's ministry at my church. It really yanks my chain to see just how poor puppet shows tend to be for A) kids and B) the church.

As if that's not enough, I sing in a vocal quartet, I usually sing in a professional opera chorus (they actually pay me to sing in italian!), as well as performing in numerous theatre productions, plays and musicals, which I sometimes direct as well. Next week I begin as musical director for a production of Godspell.

But, hey, it keeps me off the streets!

 

[Dagger Claws]

WOW! Jinx you have an AMAZING talent! You do so much and a little bit of everything! What is the theatre community like where you're from in Montanna? Did you go to school for your theatre training, your vocal training? I'm just blown away by what you can do.

Thank you for your response,
Marc

 

[Jinx]

The Theatreical Life...

Well, I am happy to report that theatre is very much alive and well in Montana. I frequently divide my time between four theatre companies and an opera company, leaving about 16 other local companies that I have not had the pleasure of working with. I tend to gravitate towards musicals and comedies, as that's where my strengths are, although I most certainly will not shy away from the heavier dramatic stuff either. But primarily I devote my skills to more of the entertainment fare, and less to the edgier, avant garde forms.

My training has come mostly from simply doing, doing, doing. (And paying attention, of course!) I have studied voice formally for the past ten years, which I count among the smartest things I have ever done in my life. I have been very fortunate to work with some very talented directors, who have helped me to nurture my talents. Without their guidance, I'm sure I'd be nothing. But really I think that more than anything else, it is simply the passion to give something to an audience that drives me to do the work that I do. The first 26 years sure have been exciting, and I can't wait to see what I can learn next!

 

[HandySam]

Well, I am happy to report that theatre is very much alive and well in Montana. I frequently divide my time between four theatre companies and an opera company, leaving about 16 other local companies that I have not had the pleasure of working with. I tend to gravitate towards musicals and comedies, as that's where my strengths are, although I most certainly will not shy away from the heavier dramatic stuff either. But primarily I devote my skills to more of the entertainment fare, and less to the edgier, avant garde forms.

My training has come mostly from simply doing, doing, doing. (And paying attention, of course!) I have studied voice formally for the past ten years, which I count among the smartest things I have ever done in my life. I have been very fortunate to work with some very talented directors, who have helped me to nurture my talents. Without their guidance, I'm sure I'd be nothing. But really I think that more than anything else, it is simply the passion to give something to an audience that drives me to do the work that I do. The first 26 years sure have been exciting, and I can't wait to see what I can learn next!

Thats a pretty sturdy soapbox you have there take a bow JINX. Well, I AM much impressed. I'm gonna seriously gross you out here but im just a novice at puppetry. (still trying to figure out why I never thought to get into this LOOOOONG ago) I'm not trying to build Rome in a day but would love to learn puppetry, magic, and vent. to bring some livelihood into the message we teach our Sunday School kids and Jr. Youth. I've gotten tired of watching these children get lulled to sleep while being lectured to for an hour. Our adults have much more lively services than our children. (gotta do something about that )