Author: Ceris Thomas

Ceris is a creative person. She teaches by day - and finds as much creativity in her job as she can and by night, (and during every spare minute she has), she creates through directing/choreographing and performing plays, drawing, writing, podcasting and now, sewing puppets. She likes to help others find and nurture their creativity and she loves finding out about other people's path to their own creative projects.

Why everyone needs a workshop… at least I do.

What do you make? What is your creative outlet? Do you sew, knit, sculpt, paint, saw, hammer, garden, cook? Whatever you do, it takes tools, right? Probably lots of them and you need a place to store and sort those tools, don’t you? I know I do.

I make puppets. I sew. I try to draw and sketch. I’d like to paint and write more. But the space I need is a space for the puppet supplies and the tools and then a space to store the puppets when they are done.

2 puppets

My husband makes cannons. Yes, you read that right. He makes cannons. And yes, they work. They work for stage – they are safe cannons, they are light cannons, they are quite portable cannons, but nonetheless, they are cannons. He needs space and tools and storage for this.

wall of doom

Now, we are lucky. We have an almost century home with a partially finished basement. One entire room in this basement is dedicated to swords, guns and other weapons worthy of stage and screen because that is what my husband does. He trains others in how to stage convincing fights, battles, and death scenes. It’s great fun and the room is wonderful. It is almost always in a constant state of chaos due to the amount of projects he pursues  but it is still a wonderful space. He has another room where he can repair these items and lots of tools for building things. All of his tools actually have a home in this space – although it seems to me that they rarely, if ever, are in these homes. They constantly live in other rooms in my house as he doesn’t have a space to build these creations.

I have a Muppet/Puppet room. The idea is for it to be my office space and one day another space in the house (when finished) will be wear all the sewing supplies will live and I will then create in that space. But for right now I have a room with books about puppets and theatre and dance and music and my computer and my sewing machine and my fabrics and foam and googly eyes and feathers all reside. There’s a daybed in this room – and when it’s clear, the cat likes to sleep there. So, it’s kinda the cat’s room too.

Willow and friends

What I don’t have is a table to cut on, to pattern on, to design on, to lay out fabrics and imagine new creations. The closest I’ve got is my dining room table. And that’s often filled with bills, receipts and sometimes, dinner. And that’s why we recently constructed our collaborative creation in the dining/living room of our home. He needed to saw and screw and sculpt and I needed to draw and cut and sew and glue to create a giant puppet for an elementary school play. He’s wonderful and we are very proud of our creation – BUT… he’s taken over the main floor of our house. And all the tools and supplies necessary for his creation are in those rooms and not in their homes.

This is why, one day, I’d like to have a workshop. Large enough for the two of us to create together and to store all our supplies. Then maybe, we could eat regularly at the dining room table. I wonder what that’s like.

Collaborative Giant Puppet

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What makes the best….?

First in a series of opinion pieces about theatre personelle.

I’m always on the lookout for good people. Good people to work with on wonderful new productions. I enjoy it – the challenge of finding someone who I think, would be a great Performer, Costume Designer, Props Builder, whatever. Each role in the theatre production has inherent needs and a skill set that accompanies the role. Often, wonderful people will cross my path and I think, “Boy, he/she’d be a great Producer…” but if I ask them about it, they are frequently surprised or beg off and say… “Oh no, I could never do that. I’ve never done it before.” And I’m always thinking, “Well, then, how do you know you couldn’t do it?”

It can be a challenge to find new people who are willing to take on a behind the scenes responsibility and lately, I’ve had folks asking me, “What does it take to be a _________?” So, in pondering the question I thought I’d examine a few of the key roles on the production team – from my personal point of view.

Today, I’ll start with Producers.

Producers are tough, because no two are alike and no two see their roles the same. Some folks like be very hands off and others demand to be in the thick of the production. For me, a balance somewhere in between is the best. In my opinion, the best Producers are problem solvers and recruiters. Producers know people and enjoy meeting new people. They aren’t afraid to meet someone new and ask about their interests to find a way to get them involved in a production. Producers are good at finding the right person for a job and then empowering that person to do their best at it. They’ll find assistants and suppliers and cheap rentals and all on a tight timeline.

Producers solve problems. Non-stop. They solve everyone’s problems. Money problems, personelle problems, scheduling problems, construction problems, Diva problems – you name it, they have the confidence to deal with a difficult situation and not take it personally. They can smooth ruffled feathers and talk a beleagured director off the proverbial ledge. They can get all the actors, crew and peripheral people to come together in one place, at one time, for that commemorative photo and convince them that submitting their bio on time is of utmost importance.

TheProducers21

Producers also know where and when to shine the light on excellence. Their pride should rest in the success of others: The Director’s success in acheiving the vision of the show, the Set Designer’s success in building or creating something new, the Costumer’s success in staying in budget while creating the show stopping gown, the actor’s accolades from the audience… All of this the Producer is willing and proud to promote – for the overall benefit of the show.

If you are an office manager, if you’ve worked in human resources, if you enjoy seeing others do well and helping them acheive their goals and if you can do all this while balancing a budget and keeping smiles on faces – then YOU are a potential Producer.

I’ve worked with some great Producers – but I know there are more of you out there. What’s stopping you?

Don’t YOU Wanna Be a Producer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQyHdgvd1yo

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5, 6, 7, 8!

The beginning of the rehearsal process is filled with trepidation and not just for the actors. The creative team have a lot of questions that they have to answer and they’ve got to be ready for all manner of problems with the script, the score, the rehearsal space – whatever… but hopefully they’ve got a handle on it all and have begun their plans, right? Of course they have.

They’ve copied their scripts, they’ve got the scores, (or at least they are on order), the set is sketched out and costumes are being measured and the choreography is… well… in the choreographers head.

That’s right, there’s generally no guide for the choreographer. No score, no script, no nothing. Except those words in the script that say… [they dance], or in the case of a Shakespeare… [they fight]

So, where does it all come from? And how can you be sure it’s gonna be good? Where’s the inspiration? How is it written out, taught, rehearsed, remembered? Well, sometimes all that’s a tall order to fill.

Just the other week, I began giving some choreography to a group of actors and before I’d begun a step, one of them said, (not too quietly either), “Oh, no, not another jazz square…” Well, the following step was NOT going to be a jazz square, but that little statement epitomizes the challenge of choreography. If an actor’s line in a script is silly or a note is difficult to sing, it isn’t the Director or Music Director’s doing. Sure, the actor can discuss it with them, and perhaps a solution can be found, or sense can be made of it, but if the actor doesn’t like the choreography, well, generally that came directly from the choreographer. Sure, some shows have film versions and some choreographers will lift directly from that source, but generally, I find, they like to create anew, and it can be a pretty daunting task. There’s nothing in the script to guide them – save for the odd stage direction. The only thing they’ve got is the music and often there isn’t a complete version of that. If there IS a complete recording, that can be a godsend. Otherwise it’s just the score, but some choreographers don’t read music and that will make it even more challenging.

It’s always fun to surprise people with something fun and inventive – your cast, your crew, your audience and your colleagues. I know how to read choreography and if I I’m surprised or thrilled by something on a stage, then that means I had an entertaining read at that performance. I’m always striving to provide the same for my colleagues who choreograph – and that means as few jazz squares as possible. And if you don’t know what a jazz square is… well then, you’ve probably never done a musical.

So, now… I’ve got to go find some inspiration for a dance number – again. With NO jazz squares.

Dance a Cachucha – Gondoliers Choreography MTP 2009

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Rainbows are miracles

I hate my drive to work.

I don’t think that’s a secret. I love what I do – teaching is great, but any commute to work that is in excess of 20 minutes is too much for me. It is part of the reason we left the big city for London, Ontario – we didn’t like the commute and since it isn’t something I chose, per se, I find it difficult and exhausting.

Today was particularly challenging. The roads were icy, the traffic was wanting to go brisk and it was quite windy. Now, in order to afford this commute, I had to exchange my beautiful Cool Vanilla PT Cruiser, (which I adored), for a deisel smart car. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like the smart, but it’s no Cruiser and it’s certainly not Cool Vanilla AND in the wind on an open road, it does get batted around a bit. So, this morning was a little tough. Makes it even harder to enjoy the drive.

To make it more bearable, I listen to… what else? Muppets. This helps, for the most part. Today, with the ice and the wind though, I was finding it a little tough to concentrate on Kermie and the gang, until in the distance – on my route and directly in my line of sight… a rainbow appeared. A vertical rainbow that seemed to be rising out of the road and approximately located over my destination. Now, I certainly didn’t try to take a photo while driving, (even though I wanted to do so), but it looked something like this one found on flickr…

rainbowmorningmist

That helped immensely. I couldn’t really believe my eyes at first because it was so faint and I figured I was wishing it into being, but during the commute it became brighter and more focused until I was about 10 or so minutes from my destination, and by this time parallel with it and of course the sun was brighter and higher… then it vanished. I so wanted it to be bathing my school in glorious light, but perhaps that’s too much to ask. However, I will say that today, I was very, very grateful for that particular rainbow phenomenon.

(do doo dee doo do)

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The Stages of Theatre – Part 2

So, auditions are complete and rehearsals are beginning. All that trepidation, all those questions that pile up at every rehearsal, “what’s my character?” “what will the set be like?” “when will we be learning this number/blocking that scene?” “who’s looking after this?!?!” It never ends and it never ceases to amaze.

By a few weeks in to rehearsals, hopefully, you are hitting your stride. As a cast or crew member, you’ve found your place in the production, there’s a vibe going through the rehearsals and things are humming along. It really is one of the best parts, isn’t it? The process – the creation… hopefully one of the main reasons you’ve taken on the project. Otherwise why not go make something else, right?

We are still in the beginning of our theatre year – the “Dark Monday” of our theatrical run and a pile of great shows are just, or almost about to, burst onto the London scene. It’s impossible to fit them all in to your schedule, (even though some with Beat Magazing and the Brickendens give it a good go!), but it sure is exciting to be part of the whole creative potpourri.

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The stages of Theatre – Part 1

Working in Theatre, in any form, is so rewarding.  But often people who don’t do theatre will ask exactly why I will put in so many hours on something that is, generally, volunteer. They don’t see that a 2 hour performance with some applause or tears is worth all the effort. And they are quite correct. It is far more than that. The hours of effort along the way are, in fact, the real reward.

As we are heading into “award season”, the metaphorical end of our entertainment year, I happen to be starting two productions and be in development for another. I’m not sure these events have lined up exactly this way before now. It is interesting to think about the beginning and the end simultaneously. Whilst in auditions for OKTC’s Little Mermaid and LCP’s Sullivan and Gilbert, I’m thinking about how much I like this stage. All the promise and potential. All the new discoveries just waiting around the corner. I’m anticipating all the questions we’ll have and the answers we will struggle to find. I’m anticipating the laughter and yes, probably even a few tears – mostly of joy, (we hope).

Next week are the Beat DISH Awards and one week later the Brickenden’s – London’s official end to the theatrical season. And while it’s great to look back and celebrate, I find I’m excited to ask folks – “So, what’s your next project?”

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Retrospective…

It is a custom at the end of one year and the start of the next to look back on things. Make a review of sorts of your efforts, accomplishments and plans for the future. 2012 was a big year and we are hoping that 2013 will just keep on with the amazing.

Some wonderful things happened this year. First and foremost of importance for this website is that it came into being. Summer of 2012 was the incarnation of The Lovers, the Dreamers and You. There are lots of contributors to this event, but of major importance is the work of Grant Baciocco, (http://www.mrgrant.com/) on the Henson Company podcast, (http://henson.com/podcast.php) and Steve Swanson with his work on The MuppetCast, (http://muppetcast.com/WordPress/).  Listening to these two gentlemen opened the world to us at TLTDAY and we thought, why not?

Of other importance was all the Muppet-ness and related puppet wonderful-ness that took place this year. Again, there was lots that contributed to that success, but here we’ll mention www.muppetcentral.com, www.toughpigs.com, and http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.ca/

These sites are invaluable for finding out what is going on in the world of our felt and fabric friends. They aren’t the only sources, of course, but they are a super place to start.

All of these adventures have contributed to a wonderful year and possibilities for the future that we can only wonder at. And wonder we will. We look forward to reporting the adventures back to you through the blog and the podcast. Right now, we are just thankful for the adventure and for YOU who have joined us.

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Theatre Etiquette for Parents

This time of year there are lots of concerts, recitals and fun events to attend with your family and with that, plenty of chances to show your young ones the best way to behave as members of the audience. It’s a chance to dress up a bit, see something special and enjoy time together, but lets not leave our etiquette at home. Here’s a few tips….

If this is a first visit to a theatre, or if your visits are rare, tell your little ones a bit of what they can expect. The theatre will be dark, lots and lots of people will be there, we have seats waiting for us and we must look for those seats, exciting things will happen on the stage and such. Explain that it isn’t the same as television or DVDs – the people on the stage can actually hear you and they can be distracted by the audience, so we need to show some respect for their hard work. These people are more real (well, they are really right here in front of you), and you might even know some of them, so be sure to pay attention so you can see your friends on that stage!

As much as your little one might need a nibble every hour or so, the theatre (live theatre at least) is not a place for snacks. We might take popcorn into the movies, but generally live theatres leave the food outside. There are lots of reasons for this. Some are to limit distractions of people chewing beside you (generally, there’s no THX sound in a live show to drown out your munching), but many are to limit the mess left in the theatre. Consider that in many theatres the Front of House staff is staffed by volunteers. They are there to help you to your seats and keep you safe in the event of an emergency, they don’t really want to clean up after your meals in the space.

Memories are great, of course, but capturing them on film, (whether moving or still), during the show is pretty tacky. If you really must have some record of the event, then why not offer to be that parent who films it for everyone – make copies after the fact, or if you aren’t technically savvy, track down and hire someone who knows what they are doing to record it for you. Then, sit in your seat and enjoy the show. If you want a photo to commemorate the event, take it after – WITH your family in the shot. There’s nothing worse than a performance where the audience is as fully active with the flashes of cameras as the light show on the stage. Besides, unless you have a super high tech, low light, zoom lens camera with incredible stabilizing functions, you’ll never get as good a shot as the professional hired by the company. Never. It’s just not worth bothering your neighbours at the show. So, put the camera/cameraphone away.

Above all else, make the event fun. Enjoy the show. Ask your kids what they liked. See if they can tell you why. Help them to become critical audience members, so they enjoy the theatre and begin to develop a taste for it. And maybe next year, take them to more than one thing. Don’t save it up just for Christmas. The theatre is year round.

See you in the audience!

 

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Nerdist and Inspirationalist

Being a nerd used to be a bad thing. It isn’t anymore. The question now is, how do you share your nerd-iness?

The Nerdist Channel, (www.nerdist.com) has exploded in the last few years with celebrations of all things nerdy. Comics, theatre, music, gaming, Muppets, – you name it and they’ll celebrate it. And that’s wonderful.

I find the celebration of something you are passionate about always leads to something good. Maybe not right away, but if you are a dedicated nerd, then that dedication will pay off. Your audience, whomever they may be, will appreciate your passion, your attention to detail. It’s a great thing.

So, what are you a nerd about? Doesn’t really matter, does it? So long as you share it.

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What a difference a year makes.

I went out for groceries and such today, and the whole time I was running errands, I simply wanted to be at home making puppets. Me, making puppets. I wouldn’t have been doing that a year ago. This time last year, The Muppets was in theatres and I was enjoying sharing it with friends and family.  I was reading about them online, finding out more about muppetcentral.com, toughpigs.com, muppetmindset.blogspot.ca and I didn’t even know that The MuppetCast existed yet. One year later and I have multiple puppets that I’ve made, I’ve helped others to bring their own puppets into the world, I’ve appeared on The MuppetCast and interviewed Steve Swanson for my own podcast. I’ve seen the Muppets perform live in New York and Montreal and I’ve seen a performance of Stuffed and Unstrung.  I’ve also visited The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta and the PuppetsUp Festival in Almonte. Quite an adventure in one year. I wonder, what will this next year bring?

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