Process!
/by Drew Allison
The Puppeteers of America’s National Puppet Festival is right around the corner and I look forward to seeing performances, attending workshops, and catching up with colleagues and friends.
One of the most important takeaways from a festival for me is a re-charging of my creative batteries. The cafeteria conversations, late night discussions over a glass of wine, and strolling chats on the way to the next event comprise an important component of festival life.
These are the times when we can discuss process. It’s during these times we can discuss how we get from the start of a project to the fruition of a project; our unique approaches, timelines and steps. It’s a different process for each of us. I find discussing process with other puppeteers to be so fascinating and I always look forward to this opportunity.
Social Media has given us fantastic outlets for sharing process. I think of puppeteers like Ronnie Burkett, Hobey Ford, and others who are so generous when sharing their process photos and insights. Amazing!
I think of puppeteers like Heidi Rugg who started the Facebook group The Fettig Project, giving us a conduit to see how puppeteers design and create mechanisms to solve specific needs as they progress along their process timeline. Wonderful!
So, I’m packing up my process toolkit to use at the festival; what I think works and doesn’t work, different approaches for different projects. Dealing with clients and dealing with myself! Can’t wait to talk process at The National Puppet Festival next month!
Grey Seal Puppets process pics provided by Drew Allison:
