I have had the fortune of working with The Old Trout Puppet Workshop for the past 4 weeks on their show The Tooth Fairy which opened last week at the Vertigo Theatre Y-Stage.  I have had so much fun working in this collaborative setting.  It has challenged my ideas on how movement can be utilized and interpreted in many ways on stage.  Pete Balkwill, our director on this process, as well as an original member of the OPW, refers to this on stage movement as the “ballet” of the show.  You begin to move and sense the other puppeteers, as well as the puppets, on stage with you the same way you would being a core member in any ballet company.  Their is a constant dance on stage.  It’s a sort of epic adagio exercise.

I began working on this project while simultaneously opening Lhasa: Land of the Gods, which was my first ever aerial theatre performance.  The performance was an exploration of integrating circus aerial with live music, theatre and dance.  It was a resounding success as well as an incredible learning opportunity.  It was the first time I had really created and produced my own show.  I’m looking forward to having the chance to use circus aerials in my work again in the future, although I’m not sure I will use the same performance structure.  Sometimes, simplicity is best…  I would like to thank everyone who came out to support the show, as well as FFWD and the Calgary Herald for helping me get the word out.

Because things have been so busy I just finished putting together the video from SaB’s 3rd workshop on Puppets.  You can check out the video on our workshop page or by following the link bellow.  Thank you to everyone who attended the workshop.  Your creative energies were a gift to be around.

Léda

#3 Swallow-a-Bicycle Workshop Series: Puppet Theater