#FeaturedFriend: Jennifer Vargas

Hey there,
We’re back this #ThrowbackThursday with another #FeaturedFriend! Last month we began a series of interviews with past artists who have come through the Outcast Café. We are delighted to catch you up on their journeys since parting ways and to share a few of their fond memories from their time with us. If you missed our first Featured Friend, Kelsey Hogan, you can check out her interview here.

This month is a special treat as we introduce Jennifer Vargas, one of our Ministering Angels from The Dick and The Rose NYFringe tour in 2012. We are pleased to welcome Jen back to the company this fall as MA (Ministering Angel- solo that is) in our workshop of Riley Ann Visits the Outcast Café. We invite you to enjoy Jennifer’s brilliance right along with us:

image1
The beautiful and talented Jennifer Vargas.

OC: Welcome back, Jenny! We’re so happy to have you in the rehearsal space again. Can you take us down memory lane? Tell us a little about your initial collaboration with Outcast Café:

JV: I was attending NYU Tisch for Drama and Barbara Allen was a clowning teacher of mine. It was my favorite class and I asked her if she knew of any other clowning opportunities in the city. Barbara later reached out to me about a show she was choreographing and she told Biggs about me. I auditioned for him and the rest, as they say, is history.
rehearsal020
Jen (front and center) leaps fearlessly into the Ministering Angel team in a pick-up rehearsal at NYFringe 2012.
OC: A history we remember fondly! It was such a joy to have you join the team. What was one of your favorite memories from the summer of 2012?
JV: I have so many! One of my favorites was just working with the Ministering Angels. I was the youngest of the four and I never felt like I was underestimated. We all took good care of each other. We also had a lot of fun behind the scenes (and beyond the drape).
Enjoying a cast dinner at The Elitzer Home (L to R: Tori Sheehan, Jennifer Vargas, Kelsey Hogan and Cindy Elitzer)
Jen (Center left) enjoys a beautiful company meal hosted by Cindy Elitzer (far right). Pictured: Tori Sheehan (far left) and Kelsey Hogan (center right).
OC: Indeed, we did. Getting to show you the Berkshires was a pleasure, and once we arrived on your turf, New York City, it was great for the non-NYC based members of the company to have someone who knew the ropes. We’d love to know what you’ve been working on since we last saw you. When you’re not workshopping in the Berkshires with us, we can still find you in New York, right?  
JV: Right. I just graduated from NYU Tisch with my BFA in Drama. I also wrote, performed, and directed my very own piece called An Afternoon Visit; or otherwise known as Pussy. Since then, I’ve officially moved to New York City and have been auditioning. I’m also in the process of writing a web-series, which will hopefully start filming in the next couple of months.
The Ministering Angels and Puppet Babies take part in Fringe NYC 2012's "get off your couch.." initiative
The Ministering Angels and Puppet Babies take part in Fringe NYC 2012’s “get off your couch..” initiative. Jenny and her babies sit top right of the couch.
OC: Wow! We are so proud of your hard work and accomplishments. We love collaborating with such a driven and creative artist. Are there any thoughts, feelings you want to share about diving into another show with us?
JV: I’m about to be a part of the cast for Riley Ann Visits…, which I am very excited for!! Every time I get in the room with the puppet babies, there are so many new characters to meet and stories to explore. I can’t wait to start working on the new coyote puppets and exploring the depth of the story of Riley Ann Visits The Outcast Café.
486592_507458395935741_2107788103_n
Jen and her babies appear in the bottom right corner of the drape during “Yoke of Oppression” rehearsal in Lee, MA.
And what an exploration it is becoming! We are now a week into our process out here in the peaceful and creatively nurturing Berkshire hills and are discovering lots of new information about our story as well as developing a heightened puppetry vocabulary. Stay tuned for more tidbits and pictures from our process soon! Go ahead and follow our Facebook, twitter, and instagram accounts for frequent updates.

#FeaturedFriend : Kelsey Jayne Hogan

Howdy Fellow Outcasts,

As we move forward in our work this year and begin to stage the second play in our trilogy, Riley Ann Visits The Outcast Café, we wanted to give you readers a chance to check in with some of the amazing folks we had the privilege of working with on the several iterations of our first piece, The Dick and The Rose. 

To kick us off, here’s a few words from the radiant Kelsey Jayne Hogan:

223749_10150341633172324_3712934_n
Kelsey shares a laugh with Company members Dave Demke and Caley Milliken at the Gryphon Venues’ Opening Night party in Edinburgh 2011.

 

OC: Can you tell us a little about your initial collaboration with Outcast Café?
KJH: I remember getting an email from Biggs early into the new year.  I had loved working with Biggs in my freshman year improv class. He introduced me to so many new forms of theatre and I had never felt more expressive.  This opened my world. I had always been a bit reserved in auditions and life in general, Biggs was the opposite. Larger than life with an ability to express the deepest emotions. I admired him as an artist, professor, and person. When I learned he wanted to work with ME, I was shocked and looked forward to getting to work.
OC: Sounds exciting! What was it like, bringing to life the work of your mentor? How was the rehearsal process? And what was the Edinburgh Fringe like? 
It was hot, but magical in the Berkshires. That first summer with Gail, Emma, and Dylan as my fellow Ministering Angels was incredible. Being under a sticky sweaty parachute with puppets really does create a bond that can’t be broken easily (really the entire cast spent a lot of time under there and we loved each other in spite of our smells). There were days that felt like we were swimming through the air and I was excited to get to Edinburgh with its cooler forecast.
Layover in Heathrow with the gang (R to L: Kelsey Hogan, Dylan Wittrock, Emma Sims-Biggs and Ian Milliken)
Layover in Heathrow with the gang (R to L: Kelsey Hogan, Dylan Wittrock, Emma Sims-Biggs and Ian Milliken)

Traveling there was another adventure all together…I suppose this show was really entirely one huge adventure with millions of others taking place inside of it. A night spent in London’s Heathrow, an amazing flat, the pubic triangle, flirting with the coffee shop boy down the street, making friends with our venue managers, telling dead baby jokes to passersby, handing out hundreds of flyers, scotch lessons from my dad, ACDC karaoke, and performing a wildly fun, dark, and entertaining show…Edinburgh Fringe was a delight and ended way too soon.

312715_285071964841053_6185863_n
Kelsey and her puppet baby “Bob” work the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

OC: Indeed, it was. But we were lucky enough to have you with us again in 2012.

KJH: Yes, the following year I received another email from Biggs, we were going to New York. I was thrilled. The play had evolved and so had the cast and crew. I was reunited with my puppet (Bob) and introduced to our new ministering angels. It was a great evolution. We clicked again (I am convinced that parachute makes you friends for life). Bob (my puppet) often had a lot to say. One of my distinct memories was Biggs pulling me aside to tell me “You don’t even realize you are talking when you have your puppet with you, but you need to tell him to pull back a bit”. It was a realization that masks and puppets have a life of their own, it was what truly made me appreciate the art form. Bob did need to pull back and he did.

  We had a great time experiencing the  NY Artist lifestyle. We had a small apartment and I chose the smallest room (I could touch both walls at the same time). That summer the show really hit a stride, and we got to see other fantastic shows.Performing in the Cherry Lane Theater was an experience I will never forget.

217606_507457422602505_591514493_n
Kelsey rocks the spoons again in our new four-man band (Ian Milliken, Evan Gambardella, Robert Biggs) for NYFringe 2012!
OC: Neither will we! You were such an important part of the experience both times around. It was a pleasure to work with you and we miss your enthusiastic and collaborative presence in the rehearsal room. You’ve had a big journey since we parted ways 3 years ago (!!). Could you tell us a little about what you’ve been up to?
KJH: Of course. A lot of time has passed since then. I truly miss it everyday. It was a time in my life that I was incredibly passionate and excited to get up every morning  to create something and be around and connect to other artists. Though I still perform here and there and write when I take the time for myself, I have now moved back to the west coast.
 After graduating from Emerson I moved to Washington D.C. and took a year long internship in devlopment and administration with Woolly Mammoth. It was great experience and I found a way to soothe my creative mind in an office by taking on event planning. After a year there I moved back west and took a job with Berkeley Rep handling donor relations and assiting with events.
I just had a one year anniversary with this job, something I have never had! It is exciting and terrifying. I enjoy what I do, love the company and my co-workers, though it can feel a little monotonous not working under a hole-filled parachute with a 7ft penis puppet…I’m moving up in the company and starting in September will be the special events manager which I am very proud of and grateful for. I tend not to plan my life ahead of time; that must be the artist, nomadic soul in me.
A Fantastic Puppetry Discovery (Kelsey Hogan)
Kelsey’s first encounter with the Puppet Babies (South Lee, MA 2011)
OC: We, too, know that traveling spirit very well;) Congratulations on all your hard work and many accomplishments over the past few years! We are so proud of you. Anything else you’d like to treat our readers to? Big life lessons? One more laugh? 
I do hope I can see Bob again…when you connect with a puppet it never really leaves you (and my non-puppeteer friends don’t get it). Having Biggs in my life, being a part of “The Dick and the Rose”, connecting with Tori, Caley, Dave, Ian, Ron, Dylan, Emma, Gail, Jenny, Jake, Evan, Barbara, Deborah (I know the list goes on, but for the sake of this sentence I’ll end it here) also will never really leave me. They pushed me to be better every day and make me who I am now. I don’t stay in a shell and won’t be reserved; my self-confidence has soared and I will be forever grateful for them.
The main lesson I learned is to take life by the 7ft. dick, if you will, and live your adventure.
XOXO
Kelsey
418788_507458252602422_755125972_n
Kelsey in action in The Dick and The Rose (with Gail Shalan).

 

 

Have you heard? We’re living in the Puppet Renaissance:

 

slider-image

While Biggs stumbled across puppetry as a device to solve a theatrical story-telling problem (drowning children onstage), object manipulation and animation has become a cornerstone of our work at Outcast Café. Our mission statement now includes: “Using tools that leave room for the imagination. Song, dance, puppets, masks, objects found and handmade, all serving the story. We are bare bones, traveling lightly, making more of less.” Therefore, upon receiving the May/June print edition of American Theatre Magazine we were delighted to come  across this article counting our puppets in good company.

Opening with commentary about our favorite cardboard man on a table (Moses from Blind Summit’s The Tablewhom we delightfully encountered at EdFringe 2011 and continuing to sight the relevance of puppetry as a dynamic storytelling tool, Scott T. Cummings articulates our shared sentiment; “If we will only listen, the reasoning goes, puppets have things to tell us about what it means to be a person and what it means to be an object”.

We learned a lot about our own local centers of puppetry as well as the international ones we may have been aware of before. But mostly, we were happy to know that we are by no means alone in our reanimation of ” what cultural anthropologist and folklorist Frank Proschan dubbed “performing objects”—puppets, masks, ritual and fetish objects, and other material things endowed with agency through display, manipulation, storytelling, or performance”.

Read the whole article here.

Coyote's big moment!
Filming “Coyote Girl” January 2015

Just in Case…

Hey everyone! We’ve been blowing up our blog, Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter accounts with a lot of wonderful and nostalgic images of the 2011 and 2012 The Dick and The Rose tours. Just in case you were curious about who’s in the pics, who made the puppets, set, choreography, etc…. We do have a page on dickandrose.com that features most of our previous collaborators. Check it out: 

Here’s to you Dicks and Roses! We love you!
486592_507458395935741_2107788103_n

Throwback to Summer Rehearsals…

After the most horrendous winter we’ve seen in a good long while, I think it’s FINALLY safe to say we’re officially approaching Summer. Next weekend we arrive at the Vernal Equinox and this muggy week beckons in a hot next few months. To celebrate the warmer days, here’s a collection of  our warm Summer Memories from the 2011 and 2012 rehearsals for The Dick and The Rose: 

 

#inspiringfellows: April

This month we are very excited to feature some local #inspiringfellows coming out of Boston University’s BFA Theatre Arts program this Spring. Scaramouche Jones—performed by Kelsie Hogue, directed by Amelia Cain and adapted as a team for their cumulative theses—played last weekend at Boston University’s “Jewels 1” Miller Studio Theatre 352 at the College of Fine Arts on 855 Commonwealth Ave. 
Scaramouche

Scaramouche Jones originally came to be as a one-man show devised by British actor, writer, and dramaturg: Justin Butcher. He created this whimsical, biographical clown’s tale for the Old Vic Theatre and, with the aid of the late great Pete Postlethwaite, brought it to many astounded audiences, including our friends in Edinburgh about ten years ago (Source: Amelia Cain).

Evoking the beloved “Raucous. Bawdy. Lyrical. True.” tagline assigned to The Dick and The Rose, our #inspiringfellows took Butcher’s piece as inspiration and adapted it into a dynamic, heart-wrenching, evocative piece of one-hour entertainment true to everything that we at the Outcast Café love about theatre. Every element of the production offered a detailed and elegant articulation of a world that only served the story of the self-ordained “Pierrot” known to us as Scaramouche Jones.

Hogue— masked as a Big Tent Pierrot—plays one of her original compositions.
Hogue— masked as a Big Tent Pierrot—plays one of her original compositions.

The tale spans the entire 20th century from Scaramouche’s birth in 1899 to the day of his death upon which we meet. From the delightful pre-show of two Commedia-style lovers (decked out in ambiguous, artfully stained, early-20th century garb) chasing each other about the lobby (complete with big tent Admit One tickets and an active popcorn machine, inspiring a complete sensory experience) to the marvelously draped cloth and soft hanging circus bulbs, suggesting a tent above a hodge-podge of wooden chairs and antique trunks, we are doused immediately in a Sepia-toned atmosphere of the past.

Scaramouche Jones in his whimsical surroundings.
Scaramouche Jones in his whimsical surroundings.

The well-articulated aesthetic held true throughout the piece, but never in a distracting way, only in pure service of the play. All of the carefully placed, and incredible creative,  decisions—presumably lead by Ms. Cain—did nothing but tell the most honest of stories. Cain ‘s brilliant team must also be commended. Not a single talent goes to waste. Precise lighting (senior lighting student Andy Auyong), aforementioned gorgeous and illustrative costumes (senior costume student Emma Connelly), an inspiring set (sophomore design student Fiona Kearns) and the incredible ensemble support of two eager freshman (Kyra Tantao and Jake Cohen) breathe the utmost life into their required Stage Craft assignment: the dynamo driving Scaramouche Jones plays on the strongest of foundations.

A brief example of the stunning lighting designed by Mr. Auyong
A brief example of the stunning lighting designed by Mr. Auyong

This brilliant and most brave of Fools is the unparalleled Kelsie Hogue. Not only did Hogue compose and write over seven original songs for the piece, and performs them live on multiple instruments (you know how we feel about that kind of a thing), but she deftly, and fearlessly, takes on the role of Scaramouche himself. Delighting us, engaging us, amusing us, breaking our hearts sometimes, Hogue had no reservations about owning the most powerful element of live theatre: the relationship to the audience. She told the story with clarity, wisdom, and open ears to a very receptive opening-night house. Hogue plays with just the slightest air of self-awareness that doesn’t detract but rather wisely acknowledges the house she plays for (a raucous body of fellow students, for the most part), as well as her own age and gender twist on the piece almost in an act of full disclosure so that we may immerse ourselves in the story free from irrelevant distractions.

Hogue utilizing mime and a simplistic set to command her audience.
Hogue utilizing mime and a simplistic set to command her audience.
Hogue plays an original song on a toy piano.
Hogue plays an original song on a toy piano.

Each note of her performance leads us through a maze of honest emotion.  We uproariously laugh at her masquerade as a lascivious Italian prince serenading us with an operatic aria whilst pretending to rub his one-eyed snake into the first row of the audience. She recounts Scaramouche’s haunting days as a gravedigger in Nazi Germany, using her majestical guitar as a callused shovel, and then singing an overture of “I’ll make you laugh until you cry” with such purity (and lack of selfish sentimentality) as to induce a shocking catharsis. She encompasses all the “fear and delight” of the ” 50 years {it took} to make the clown, and {the} 50 years {there were} to be the clown”.

"I'll make you laugh until you cry."
“I’ll make you laugh until you cry.”

Join us in celebrating our April #inspiringfellows by keeping up with these up and coming stars on twitter and browse their websites here:

Amelia: Twitter or http://www.ameliacain.com

Kelsie:Twitter or http://www.bu.edu/cfa/incite/hogue.html

Hogue and Cain expressing all their "fear and delight". Bravo, ladies!
Hogue and Cain expressing all their “fear and delight”. Bravo, ladies!

 

Fondly Remembering “Flyering”

Courtesy of one of our original Ministering Angels, Dylan Wittrock, we are happy to send you on a journey down memory lane. Here is a compilation video of our promotional efforts on the Royal Mile at Edinburgh Fringe 2011, shout out to Bob and Mickey for all their hard work:

Blast From The Past

Hey readers,

Outcast Café is hard at work on our future projects. Our team is spread far and wide right now (and so is our film Coyote Girl) before we come together again early this Spring to start work on the next installment of Robert Biggs’ original works. We can’t wait to tell you more about are plans for the Spring of 2015, but first lets all go back to some past adventures in a little image throwback. Enjoy!

The cast of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Tour of "The Dick and The Rose" hang out in the Gryphon Venues' lobby in Edinburgh, Scotland
The cast of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Tour of “The Dick and The Rose” hang out in the Gryphon Venues’ lobby in Edinburgh, Scotland
Our first Sleeper, Dave Demke, from "The Dick and The Rose" premiere production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011
Our first Sleeper, Dave Demke, from “The Dick and The Rose” premiere production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011
Actors Kelsey Hogan and Gail Shalan ( plus babies) in the Puppet Baby Funeral March from our preview of "The Dick and The Rose" at Shakespeare and Company in Lee, MA 2011
Actors Kelsey Hogan and Gail Shalan ( plus babies) in the Puppet Baby Funeral March from our preview of “The Dick and The Rose” at Shakespeare and Company in Lee, MA 2011
"The Dick and the Rose" Edinburgh 2011 tour's musical trio (Dylan Wittrock, Ian Milliken, and Robert Biggs) entertain at the Gryphon Venue's opening party.
“The Dick and the Rose” Edinburgh 2011 tour’s musical trio (Dylan Wittrock, Ian Milliken, and Robert Biggs) entertain at the Gryphon Venue’s opening party.
Our cast and producer celebrate in style at the Gryphon Venues Opening Party  (feat. Dylan Wittrock, Emma Sims-Biggs, Deborah Sims, Caley Milliken, Kelsey Hogan).
Our cast and producer celebrate in style at the Gryphon Venues Opening Party (feat. Dylan Wittrock, Emma Sims-Biggs, Deborah Sims, Caley Milliken, Kelsey Hogan).
Musical Director and Ministering Angel, Ian Milliken, plays around with Mickey in rehearsal for the 2011 Edinburgh Tour of "The Dick and The Rose"
Musical Director and Ministering Angel, Ian Milliken, plays around with Mickey in rehearsal for the 2011 Edinburgh Tour of “The Dick and The Rose”
Bob the puppet baby makes friends during rehearsal in 2011
Bob the puppet baby makes friends during rehearsal in 2011
Actors Emma Sims-Biggs and Gail Shalan celebrate the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Tour at the Gryphon Venues Wrap Party (also feat. Jax Seager of Gryphon Venues)
Actors Emma Sims-Biggs and Gail Shalan celebrate the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Tour at the Gryphon Venues Wrap Party (also feat. Jax Seager of Gryphon Venues)
The poster for "One Year's Crop", our original documentary film featuring artistic director Robert Biggs' journey from his upbringing on a small town farm in Westfield, IL to his hand spun theatre and film company in Lee, MA
The poster for “One Year’s Crop”, our original documentary film featuring artistic director Robert Biggs’ journey from his upbringing on a small town farm in Westfield, IL to his hand spun theatre and film company in Lee, MA
Our 2012 NYC Fringe Tour Sleeper, Ron Botting, holds up baby Noah at the end of our Berkshire preview in Lee, MA
Our 2012 NYC Fringe Tour Sleeper, Ron Botting, holds up baby Noah at the end of our Berkshire preview in Lee, MA
Ministering Angels Gail Shalan and Evan Gambardella share some puppet love on the streets of lower Manhattan during our 2012 NYC Fringe tour of "The Dick and the Rose"
Ministering Angels Gail Shalan and Evan Gambardella share some puppet love on the streets of lower Manhattan during our 2012 NYC Fringe tour of “The Dick and the Rose”
The Ministering Angels  and Puppet Babies take part in Fringe NYC 2012's "get off your couch.." initiative
The Ministering Angels and Puppet Babies take part in Fringe NYC 2012’s “your couch is making you small…” initiative
Choreographer and Movement Director Barbara Allen meets us for a pick up rehearsal in NYC. She discusses The Tango with actors Caley Milliken (Circus Girl) and Sleeper (Ron Botting).
Choreographer and Movement Director Barbara Allen meets us for a pick up rehearsal in NYC. She discusses The Tango with actors Caley Milliken (Circus Girl) and Sleeper (Ron Botting).
Actors Gail Shalan and Kelsey Hogan throw a tantrum with the other puppet babies during our Berkshire Preview for the 2012 NYC Fringe Tour of "The Dick and The Rose"
Actors Gail Shalan and Kelsey Hogan throw a tantrum with the other puppet babies during our Berkshire Preview for the 2012 NYC Fringe Tour of “The Dick and The Rose”
Actor Gail Shalan trains with puppet master Tom Lee in the traditional Bunraku form of puppetry in Brooklyn, NY April 2013
Actor Gail Shalan trains with puppet master Tom Lee in the traditional Bunraku form of puppetry in Brooklyn, NY April 2013
Actors Robert Biggs and Gail Shalan rehearse the Workshop sharing of "Coyote Girl" for our sharing at The Bookstore in Lenox, MA
Actors Robert Biggs and Gail Shalan rehearse the Workshop sharing of “Coyote Girl” for our sharing at The Bookstore in Lenox, MA
A first iteration of Coyote for the upcoming short "Coyote Girl" and upcoming play "Riley Ann Visits the Outcast Cafe"
A first iteration of Coyote for the upcoming short “Coyote Girl” and upcoming play “Riley Ann Visits the Outcast Cafe”
A second iteration of Coyote from the upcoming short "Coyote Girl" and play "Riley Ann Visits the Outcast Cafe"
A second iteration of Coyote from the upcoming short “Coyote Girl” and play “Riley Ann Visits the Outcast Cafe”
Our current iteration of Coyote learning his lines.
Our current iteration of Coyote learning his lines.

Puppets in Edinburgh: The Royal Mile and Beyond

As promised on our previous blog post about Gail’s adventures with puppets, here is the second installment of the journey, Edinburgh:

285440_262480683766848_3544830_n

 

If you’ve ever had the fortune of attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival you know what a glorious shit-show the Royal Mile is during the month of August (Side note: this chaos goes on for a bit longer than you’d think as in typical Scottish fashion, “the lang Scots mile” [Tam O’Shanter, Robert Burns] stretches approximately 12% further than what we know as a mile in the good ol’ US of A).

305445_285072178174365_828329_n

312715_285071964841053_6185863_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The Royal Mile photo credit ESB )  (Kelsey Hogan and Bob working the Mile, photo credit ESB)

There are people EVERYWHERE: some tourists, some theatre fanatics, some poor locals who didn’t manage to join the annual mass exodus, but mostly performers of all shapes and sizes pushing the crap out of their Fringe shows on the many passers by. It’s a fantastic place to go if you came for the Festival and the measly brochure detailing hundreds of shows with a brief paragraph and tiny image is not offering you enough vivid detail to make an educated decision, or you came to see the sweet little city, but stayed on for a few too many days and have run out of things to do, or if you want to see some previews of what you might buy tickets to like the fabulous La Putyka Circus pulling out their stops on stilts, or discover new favorite bands like The Buffalo Skinners, or you just want to shop around for vested, bearded, talented cuties most likely possessing a delightful accent and then blog about it .

 

303862_285072208174362_3330453_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(A fellow puppet on the Mile, photo cred. ESB)

312535_285072088174374_770470_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The Buffalo Skinners, photo cred. ESB)

310396_285072031507713_4220921_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(A Royal Mile Extravaganza, photo cred. ESB)

 

The Royal Mile during Fringe is a lot of things, most specifically chaos, and being asked to busk on the streets in the misty, often rainy, Scottish weather to garner attention for your show can feel like a thankless effort…

304137_285071911507725_4475980_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Defeat feat. Dylan Wittrock and Kelsey Hogan, photo cred. ESB)

… until you get a puppet.

313037_285072144841035_7937082_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Mickey on the Mile, photo cred. ESB)

Once we put the puppets on, swarms of people turned heads, stopped to listen, or even have a conversation with Mimi or Mickey or Bob, our little puppet babies. Children were dragging their parents over and we were explaining on repeat that there were elements of the show (such as a 15 ft. long Dick puppet)

185489_262480383766878_4964087_n

281214_262480450433538_4681839_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

225732_262480810433502_3409162_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Some of our flyers we gave out on The Mile, design by Outcast Cafe and ESB)

 

which may not be appropriate for their four-year old, which still didn’t deter the adorable little girl in a polka dot dress who made friends with Bob and came to visit daily with her grandmother. The work became play, and it was a lot easier to stop feeling like an annoying, nagging asshole, when it wasn’t you who was doing the nagging, but a little, loveable piece of foam and cloth on your hand.

297048_285083038173279_8339813_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Babies love Bob, photo credit ESB )

 

These little buddies not only became the highlight of the show for many, but also became one of our main draws and the some of the hardest workers in our company. I remember the sense of inspired delight when the babies would “pop!” through the drape and ripples of laughter would occur, or later they would meet their short ends when drowned to death, and some would be moved to tears. What had started as a solution to a delicate aspect of our storytelling ended up becoming much more in bringing us a whole new audience, a different sense of charm and reality, and a harking back to ancient themes of storytelling and play, as we tend to do at the Outcast Café.

We belonged to a new club, the unofficial Puppet Club, which would turn out to be one of our best assets in marketing but also a great new exposure to some like-minded artists using like-minded “tools” of storytelling. We saw many fascinating, entertaining, sometimes ridiculous, sometimes incredibly dramatic and moving new works during our month at the festival. The use of music, poetry, dance, projection, and circus arts were all inspiring and provocatively employed. But what stuck with me most, the shows I still talk about, were the ones that belonged to the Club, the ones which utilized the transportable magic of puppetry.

I remember a rainy afternoon in Edinburgh, when most of the cast and crew put on our wellies, or whatever else we were keeping dry with, on and marched down to a vacant lot behind a brick building to discover a rag-tag gypsy tent unfolding off a rickety trailer. Upon entering, we discovered the very stuff of enchanted fairie-folk tales children (and us whimsical adults) only dream of: many rows of closely fitted benches arrayed with multicolored pillow cushions facing a spectacular little stage on which we witnessed the most magical puppet play, Little Matter by The River People. It was an epic coming of age/ morality tale full of whimsy and warnings, and was told primarily by handcrafted pieces of wood, fabric, paper, and other tidbits; secondly by a bunch of talented musically inclined riverpeople

 

 

 

 

 

(Our Hero in Little Matter, source www.threeweeks.co.uk)

 

This was not our only puppet foray at the Fringe. Some of our other favorites were the amazing performances by Blind Summit and Cirk La Putyka.

In Blind Summit’s The Table we watched several pieces of well-sculpted cardboard transform into the crotchety, grumbly, 24” tall little man who promised to perform “the last 12 hours of Moses’s life on top of a table.”1980-0064-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Our Friend from The Table, source http://trampenau.co.uk)

 

In Cirk La Putyka’s La Putyka, puppetry played as an element in this circus extravaganza, when a beautiful woman in a red dress, waltzed romantically (and drunkenly) with this “man” here:cirk-la-putyka

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Drunken Waltz from La Putyka, source http://www.sideshow-circusmagazine.com)

 

Throughout the witnessing of these mesmerizing instances of story telling, I continued to be surprised by how “real” it all felt. I was stunned by the fact that I felt more connected to the inanimate objects most of the time, than I did the very humans who interacted with or manipulated them. It was in Edinburgh that I first discovered my passionate belief in puppets and forever wanted a membership to the Club.
418788_507458252602422_755125972_n

(Moved to Tears feat. Gail Shalan, Kelsey Hogan, and the Babies, photo credit ESB)

 

                                                                                   Written by company member Gail Shalan

My First Foray With Puppets: A Throwback

 

312333_285083058173277_228382010510049_1401751_7283394_n

(Mimi and Me in rehearsal in S. Lee, MA, photo credit Emma Sims-Biggs)

Three years ago, rehearsals began for The Dick and The Rose. I showed up for rehearsal in an old church in Lee, MA with the promise of puppets and was greeted by a bag full of white socks and a bin of magic markers. We were told to put the sock over our hand, hold it so that we could make it talk, and look for the face; then draw what we discovered onto the sock. This felt goofy, fun, juvenile, and ultimately, to quote one of my favorite acting professors, a little “fake-it-till-ya-make-it” in nature.

What then proceeded was a phenomenal discovery of the delicate and magical manipulation that happens both from within and from somewhere completely outside of oneself to bring an inanimate object to a free, vibrant and animated life. The only other times in my life I could equate this experience to, were studying the liberating art of mask during my training at LAMDA and BU, and to the early days of play in my imaginative child hood. It was a time when my playmates consisted of about fifteen Beanie Babies who fully functioned with illustrative personalities for an audience of two; my patient little brothers.

The plush creatures’ personalities were so distinct, that for years, I never forgot the cadence of a voice, the history of emotional moments in their little lives; I definitely had many a conversation with them, even when no one was there to listen. And, undoubtedly, this lasted a little longer for me that for most, after all, I still do it, but it was a universal experience, something children all over the world for years, and years, and years had experienced.

 

298540_285082931506623_228382010510049_1401745_2682119_n

 (Mimi meets a fellow baby, photo credit ESB)

So, after allowing the inhibition and judgment of being a socialized adult to pass, we listened, looked, and allowed creative inspiration to flow through us; for the “puppets” to show us their hidden voices, thoughts, and personalities. Then, after paying close attention to the sock at hand (literally), our “puppets” were allowed to interact with the other puppets on other players’ hands.

Eventually, our fabulous puppet designer, Jim Day, brought in about six different hand designed puppet babies, that each came in three iterations of themselves at different ages, which sat inside of themselves like little nesting Matrushka dolls. We ceremoniously revealed the babes to ourselves and the rest of the company and allowed these pieces of hodge-podge fabric, foam, and thread to introduce “themselves” to us.264725_254336767914573_5046766_n

(The first time I met Mimi, and her larger iteration, Francine, photo credit ESB)

 

These little pieces of magic stayed with us every day through rehearsals in the hall, at our previews to Shakespeare and Co. and The Topia Arts Center, and eventually were road warriors stuffed in a suitcase on their way to Scotland. They then functioned as our primary source of audience heckling for the duration of our month in Edinburgh. But the story of Scotland is a whole other tale for another day. As is the continuous presence of puppets in my life and in the growing lives of the many stories told by the Outcast Café.

 

                                                                                                                             written by company member Gail Shalan