My performance in Little Shop of Horrors

[muppetfan89]

Back in may I was a puppeteer for Audrey II and it was a lot of fun. Very sweaty and a physically draining job, but fun. Here's a bit of my performance from the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoBsww4vbRI

I know I just posted a video of short film and I apoligize if I'm making too many threads about myself, I don't mean to come off as a show off.... I'd just thought I share my work, since I haven't been on here in a while.

btw, who else here has performed Audrey II?

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

btw, who else here has performed Audrey II?

Sort of, I auditioned to be the body of the plant in my school's production of Little Shop this past year and our director unexpectedly chose someone else. I was depressed as heck for like a month afterward (and bear in mind the cast list came out the Monday before Christmas, what a gift ) until the director very graciously let me take on pod 1. Everything went fine until the puppets came and I began to feel everyone treated the guy who was doing pods 3 and 4 as if he was the greatest puppeteer in the world and I was a nobody and got all depressed again for like two days, those two depressions really took a lot out on me (I considered backing out of my school's talent show because I thought people would think I was trying to be like that guy and I'd get booed off stage, I have an incredibly low self-esteem if you didn't notice) but once we got to **** week and everything was happy again for me. I mean, on closing night, I was among the many crying on stage during final bows (but I was one of the ones who you could clearly tell was sobbing). I loved that little puppet, though, I miss him a lot.

 

[muppetfan89]

I performed Pods 1 & 4, while the actor for Seymour did Pod 2 and someone else did Pod 3, becuase the drama teacher did want me to kill himself with doing three. I had fun. At times, I felt the same way you did. The pod 3 puppeteer as well as myself, were sometimes treated more like crew member than cast member. Although, I feel that in any production you shouldn't seperate cast and crew, they just be treated equally and be unified. It's too bad it's not always like that.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

I performed Pods 1 & 4, while the actor for Seymour did Pod 2 and someone else did Pod 3, becuase the drama teacher did want me to kill himself with doing three. I had fun. At times, I felt the same way you did. The pod 3 puppeteer as well as myself, were sometimes treated more like crew member than cast member. Although, I feel that in any production you shouldn't seperate cast and crew, they just be treated equally and be unified. It's too bad it's not always like that.

Interesting. At our school, we have a continual actor-techie war go on (don't believe me? Look up "Tech Fu" or "Hat Deflector" on YouTube) so the two of us were never deemed members of the crew. I'd still say of the 6 shows I've done in high school, Little Shop was the most rewarding experience even with the depressions I went through. But it's nice to see I'm not the only one who felt gloom during my production due to seeing someone else doing what's your thing and being embraced to death for it, if that's what your implying.

 

[muppetfan89]

Interesting. At our school, we have a continual actor-techie war go on (don't believe me? Look up "Tech Fu" or "Hat Deflector" on YouTube) so the two of us were never deemed members of the crew. I'd still say of the 6 shows I've done in high school, Little Shop was the most rewarding experience even with the depressions I went through. But it's nice to see I'm not the only one who felt gloom during my production due to seeing someone else doing what's your thing and being embraced to death for it, if that's what your implying.

yeah, because I felt people in the cast and crew just thought of us "only the guys who move a mouth up and down." That's what people don't understand about puppetry. A puppeteer is an actor too, but hidden. You have to give a performance, as well as deal physical demands that may come with the performance (i.e. Audrey II).

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

yeah, because I felt people in the cast and crew just thought of us "only the guys who move a mouth up and down." That's what people don't understand about puppetry. A puppeteer is an actor too, but hidden. You have to give a performance, as well as deal physical demands that may come with the performance (i.e. Audrey II).

YES, I'm a huge advocate of "A puppeteer is an actor". People don't understand that there is more to it than moving a mouth from behind a table (even if Audrey II really is, in all actuality, a large mouth that needs to be moved up and down). When I was talking to one of my friends about puppetry, he even asked "Does it require any real skill?" I had to explain to him what effort goes into it, but he understood once I told him.

Since my puppetry club was a huge dud at my school last year, I'm moving back into solo efforts and building together a troupe of puppet characters ala the Muppets and am going to work my way to a huge project at the end of senior year: a puppet adaptation/parody of Hamlet borrowing elements in tone from The Godfather (yes, you read that right and I'm serious about doing it, too). Definitely an ambitious project but enough with my ramblings, back to the thread!

 

[muppetfan89]

YES, I'm a huge advocate of "A puppeteer is an actor". People don't understand that there is more to it than moving a mouth from behind a table (even if Audrey II really is, in all actuality, a large mouth that needs to be moved up and down). When I was talking to one of my friends about puppetry, he even asked "Does it require any real skill?" I had to explain to him what effort goes into it, but he understood once I told him.

Since my puppetry club was a huge dud at my school last year, I'm moving back into solo efforts and building together a troupe of puppet characters ala the Muppets and am going to work my way to a huge project at the end of senior year: a puppet adaptation/parody of Hamlet borrowing elements in tone from The Godfather (yes, you read that right and I'm serious about doing it, too). Definitely an ambitious project but enough with my ramblings, back to the thread!

I know what you mean. Before I actually got the part, there was someone else who wanted it. The teacher was saying how we make "master puppeteers" out the performers. That same kid said, "What's so hard about moving a puppet. You just have to flap your hands up and down." I told him it's much more than that. You have to develop a skill for it. It's nothing like moving a sock puppet or some cheap hand puppet. It's a big deal. He insisted that it was nothing though. Oh well, I tried.

That's great that you tried to get others involved with puppetry, I wish I did that when I was in high school. Oh well. That's great project, is it going to be a film or play? I'd like to see it. I also do solo projects, but I'm in involved with film. Puppetry is more of an interest and hobby for me. It's not my career desire, but I enjoy doing it and hope to use it in my films, as well as my other interest such as animation.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

I know what you mean. Before I actually got the part, there was someone else who wanted it. The teacher was saying how we make "master puppeteers" out the performers. That same kid said, "What's so hard about moving a puppet. You just have to flap your hands up and down." I told him it's much more than that. You have to develop a skill for it. It's nothing like moving a sock puppet or some cheap hand puppet. It's a big deal. He insisted that it was nothing though. Oh well, I tried.

That's too bad. I've had a lot more luck with getting people to appreciate the art.

That's great that you tried to get others involved with puppetry, I wish I did that when I was in high school. Oh well. That's great project, is it going to be a film or play? I'd like to see it. I also do solo projects, but I'm in involved with film. Puppetry is more of an interest and hobby for me. It's not my career desire, but I enjoy doing it and hope to use it in my films, as well as my other interest such as animation.

The Hamlet/Godfather project is going a video. I'm hoping to make it the longest project (I'm picturing it to be just under 40 minutes). Much more theatrical and serious (with comic relief, of course) than the other more Muppet-like skits I'm planning to film with the assistance of my school's TV Studio in September. I just hope I can get this stuff done, the TV Studio here is infamous for it's lack of production here, we're hoping to change that.