characters

Flingback Friday! Chuck Rooster in Oklahoma

Here is an article published in the Tulsa Tribune, starring yours truly. I was attending  the 50th American Puppetry Festival, Northeastern State University
, July 28 –   August 3, 1991
 Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The late Jim Malone was the Festival Director.

I am shown with one of my most beloved puppets,Chuck Rooster. He was made back in the days when I couldn’t sew, but I could design and pattern, so my doting late grandmother patiently did everything requiring a sewing machine while I drew patterns,gathered materials, showed Grandmother where this and that was attached,and placed the finishing touches on my puppets. Chuck was modeled after one of my favorite musicians, Tom Petty, and he performed a lip synch number to one of the rocker’s songs at a late-night do-anything performance known traditionally to puppetry festivals as “Potpourri Night”.

Tulsa1

The Secret Stash!

My husband and I are big fans of the show Comic Book Men. We recently went to visit his family in New Jersey, and our destination was not terribly far from Red Bank, where the store that is the home of the show is located. So, last Saturday, we piled ourselves and the mother-in-law into the car for a trek to The Secret Stash, workplace of Walt,Bryan,Mike and Ming.

Mike Zapcic was the only one out of the group in attendance that day; we will know to inquire first next time, to see if more of the guys will be working. Mike also pointed out that if people are coming specifically to visit Ming, he will break speed and sound records from wherever he is to get to the store.

Red Bank turned out to be a very pretty place, and it was a gorgeous day. We had wanted to really enjoy the city, but I think we were pushing Steve’s mom’s endurance as it was, so we made the most out of our time in the store! My main mission was to ask the guys about “My First Comic Book”–specifially, what they would recommend to a person who has not grown up on comic books but was now interested in taking the plunge into them. Specific questions were dealt with–do I prefer Marvel or DC, and I am definitely a Marvel gal. I also like Spiderman, having watched the cartoon after school, and getting to meet Spidey at Six Flags in the 70’s.

Mike, who normally is the quieter personality on the show, was an absolute powerhouse of conversation and one-liners while we were there, and went straight to a comic he thought I would enjoy as a beginner–Spiderman: Death of the Stacys. Yes, rather morbid startup material, but I read it all while we were on vacation and I really enjoyed the writing style.

 

Thanks for making our visit so special, Mike, and we hope to see you and the rest of the guys again next year!

Unleash the Penguins!

For a while now,I’ve wanted to create some all-purpose characters that could be used in storytimes, parties, walkaround entertainment, workshops, etc., but I could never quite settle on one type of puppet that could handle everything. While watching a clip of Muppetvision 3D, it finally came to me; penguins. The Muppet penguins have always cracked me up, and I sort of like the idea of having a small mob of characters only I can tell apart. So far I have plans to make four;that way several penguins can all have costumes on and ready to go, and friends and husband can operate them for a group scene if anything were to be filmed or for a live presentation of some sort and it would be great.

The first one made is Hester Jane; she made her debut yesterday reading a book of
“Rapunzel” to some kids at a preschool, and she was a huge hit in her long blond wig that she wore for the first half of the story.

Next up penguins are: Winifred,Neville, and Algernon.