PuppetFest Midwest - An overview of 6 days...

There was so much that happened in the six days (six days that felt like a month, they were so intense) - so, I’ll try to break the rest of the festival down into sections.

The Food:

During the festival, we got fed about 6 times a day. It was incredible how much food I ate in six days.

My week consisted of getting up about 6:30 to shower and join the rest of my new found family for breakfast in a real American canteen - just like you see in the movies. Then classes start at 8:30am until the next food break (morning tea) where I rejoined my puppet family to share stories of life, puppets, experiences and hopes and dreams. Then back to class until lunch - back in the canteen. After more food, conversations and more laughter than I’ve had in a lifetime - it’s time to back to class. Of course, just until the next food break of afternoon tea (as if you haven’t had enough food yet) and by this stage I know every person and their stories so well - I spend even more time laughing together and telling even more stories about hopes and dreams. But the best part is - these people know how to get your hopes and dreams - because simply, they’ve already got them. Then, after the last class session for the day, we break around 3:30-4pm for a small nap (or just digestion) and some afternoon activities until dinner time.

Food - so much food and merriment!

I honestly had to ask the canteen ladies every day at every meal time what all the meals were. Some things seemed so foreign to me, mostly because everything is coated in a strange yellow cheese and also because everything also had very different names. Tatters and Tatter-tots are something I’ll never forget - especially because the next day was followed by ‘Tatter-tot casserole’! And every meal - even breakfast - was served with a desert. Honestly - even with my determination of living like an American for a month and experiencing the ‘real’ American way - after a few days I found myself going to the salads bar more and more... But I must say I did enjoy it all - even if my waste-line suffered...

Then in the evenings after dinner - it was back to the theatre for more world-class puppetry and then partying at Pam’s Place with drinks, MORE food and so much laughter at your cheeks and belly would ache (from too much food as well as too much laughter).


The performances:

Suspended Animation - by The Huber Marionettes (Phillip Huber)

This was just amazing. Phillip made his puppets really come to life to the tiniest details and characteristics - his technique was really impeccable. So good - you nearly don’t want to even attempt to become a puppeteer - but at the same time is so inspiring your bones ache.



Finding Home - By Monica Leo

This performance was so full of such heart, I found
myself unable to recover with tears at the end. She told a story of her life growing up as a second generation German in rural Texas after the war. She told her story with such honesty and with humor about her family - a type you can only have when you share so much love. She used a type of pop-up books for her sets and found objects and finger puppets to tell her story.

Tangle of Tales - by Grey Seal Puppets (Drew Allison)

One of the funniest performances I’ve ever seen. His style was hand-puppets and moving mouth puppets. During his performance, he showcased a bunch of fairy tales that were linked with some
comical weird-object puppetry dance - highly entertaining. His comedy was so funny and got the crowd crying with laughter and the kids screaming and yelling along with enthusiasm. His show was definitely one of the highlights of my festival experience and it gave me such inspiration for my own shows!

Puss in Boots - by Paul Mesner Puppets

Paul had a team of puppeteers and was the only show at the festival not to do a solo show - which was very valuable for me to see. It was again extremely funny and with humor that was both for the adults and the kids. He had some fantastic rod-type puppets that were just a joy to watch (even some puppet nudity) - so much so - that I often was so entranced I couldn’t follow the plot line!


Randel McGee and Groark

This was fantastic. A ventriloquist where his puppet could not only talk while his puppeteer had his mouth closed - but could also play guitar. Groark has so much life and character and presence, that even as an adult I forgot that he was only a puppet. Truly incredible. The pair had such a loving rapport with each other - it was like a cheeky father and son pair.


The workshop:

Randel and Groark

At the festival, you have a choice of intensive workshops you can follow but you can take only one (e.g. puppet-building, marionette skills, puppet business skills, etc.). I took Randel McGee’s ventriloquism class. Why? I’m not entirely sure - it drew me in and was the main reason I applied for the scholarship to the festival. Mainly because I saw his videos online and thought his act was one of the most fantastic things I’d ever seen - and also because I’ve always been a performer on the stage, rather then behind a stage, so the idea of being on-stage with your puppet appeals to me.

Performing with Suzie

On the first day of the workshop, I honestly have to say I felt a little overwhelmed - and we hadn’t even picked up our puppet yet! I had no idea ventriloquism was so complicated! It’s almost like learning a whole other language as you not only have to try to keep your mouth closed when you speak - but you also have to replace certain sounds with other sounds that are similar so that you to keep your mouth still. Like replacing a ‘b’ sound with a ‘d’ sound, e.g. no longer ‘bag’ but ‘dag’. But after a few days I started to get the hang of it. It also helped that after the first day of classes we were no longer allowed to speak in class normally and could only speak in ventriloquise, which was quite amusing when visitors would come into our class from time to time.

Groark, Randel, and his wife Marsha

The most important thing I learnt in Randel’s class was about the interaction you must make with your puppet, i.e. you are no longer one person - you are two and you have to think for two. We also spent time in developing our puppet characters, puppet performance techniques and professionalism, script writing and also just lots and lots of insight into Randel’s 30 years of experience performing with his puppet Groark and the amazing support of his wife.

By the end of the 4-day (all day each day) workshop, I had put a 3-4 min skit together to be performed with my puppet, Suzie the Dinosaur. Randel had mentored me with my performance techniques and gave me directions of how to be on-stage, polished my script writing and my interaction with Suzie and even helped me with my comedy skills. With some practice in class and in my downtimes between classes - I did start to feel a little confident at the end. Although I knew I still had so much to learn - I was confident with what I had achieved in order to pursue my new found skills on my own. I must say, it also greatly helped that we were all ‘forced’ to perform our little skits on-stage, in front of the entire festival for both the highly experienced and the total beginners like myself.

My ventriloquism class:
Suzie & Me, Groark & Randel, Mikey & Jenna, Jenny & Carol

I think I was more nervous then I was walking by myself down the streets of Downtown L.A. - but I did it and I conquered. And to my surprise - everyone was laughing. And not laughing at me - but laughing at all my jokes in all the right places and loudly too! I couldn’t believe it! I’d have to add - this was the most supportive bunch of people I’d ever met (besides my parents of course) so I think a lot of it was in support for me as then seen how far I’d come. But even still - I couldn’t have been prouder.

Pam’s Place:

I think Pam’s Place made the festival for me. It was the perfect place to unwind from the heavy studying and eating all day and form strong friendships and connections with some amazing people that I know I will have for the rest of my life.

Pam’s Place is a shop front that was hired and transformed into a cafe/bar setting, complete with fairy lights and a small stage for impromptu performances and round tables and chairs that were ready for festival spirit to be enjoyed in. Apparently, in previous years, it actually was a cafe called ‘the Wild Onion’ - but Pam, who owned the cafe had sold it this year and hence “Pam’s Place”.

Every night was filled with so much merriment and laughter - your ears could bleed. Every night, typically, you’d find me at the table dubbed “the loud and rambunctious ones”, where we played games and drank until the very wee hours of the morning.

The funny part was that you’d imagine this being a group of people in their 20s - however - this you would assume wrong. For I being 25, was the youngest there and our table would vary from my age group to people, dare I say, their 60s or 70s? It was fantastic.

At this festival - age doesn’t come into the game at all. Also this is because most the people look much younger then they really are - so I don’t even want to begin to imagine how old some of the biggest party-goers were, but just hope that will be me one day.
Early in the evening (when I say early, I’m talking 9-10pm), there were 5min, open-mic type performances that were for anybody who was daring enough at the festival (which honestly is everyone). So the performances ranged in skill, experience and talent - but each one was equally praised and supported.

As I didn’t yet feel confident enough to perform a puppet-act (even though the performances here were ONLY puppet acts), I ended up performing a song of my own (see video below). This was so praised, more than I have ever been at any performance in Australia - and I’ve done my fair share of performances.

This was different - their praise and beautiful comments were so from the heart with so much honesty - it was incredibly overwhelming. But for me, it was also so special - since these people had shared and given me so much, it felt so good to return the favour and to my joy, it was more than appreciated. So much so - I had to return and perform another song the next night.