Play to Discover

I became interested in puppetry at a very young age. Kukla, Fran & Ollie, Captain Kangaroo with Bunny Rabbit & Dancing Bear, Topo Gigio on the Ed Sullivan Show and of course Sesame Street. Although the latter came along at a time when I was probably too old to be included in their target audience. I watched it anyway. Let's face it. Who doesn't like Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and all the rest? Jim Henson & company made puppetry "cool" for the masses. I loved it! Puppetry is such an incredibly diverse art form. I'm intrigued that even the simplest object when manipulated in the right way, can be brought to life and touch an audience on an emotional level. My grandson had a stuffed giraffe he slept with. He used to carry it around everywhere. One day I started making giraffe "talk". He never actually "talked". I just made him appear cognizant of his surroundings and responded to questions and commands. We made sure "giraffe" played a part in all our activities. Whether painting a picture in the studio or riding a power wheels jeep round and round the yard, giraffe was always there. My granddaughter is the same way, playing with her dolls. Barbie, Winx, Monster High, Ever After High, All the Disney Princesses. You name it I think she's probably got it. The latest thing for her is Shopkins. Season 3 to be exact. She loves looking at and arranging those little figures. They are really cute. Anyway, my point is we sometimes find ourselves making a connection with objects. We like "things". Especially if they look neat and do cool stuff. I like to play with toys. Sometimes I even make my own. Lately I've been toying with the idea of creating a street performance featuring a skateboarding robot boy. It's what I like to call a work in progress. It turns out that while developing the routine I got invited to perform as part of the "Play to Discover, Discover to Play" Mobile Recreation Unit with the local Parks & Rec. Anyway long story short, I'm excited to say my little robot boy has his first gig tomorrow. Should be a pretty cool experience. I'm looking forward to getting out in the community and sharing all the things this little guy can do. However, skateboarding is known to be a dangerous sport. I'm concerned something could get broken. If it does, I'll need to have a backup plan. I'm thinking Monster Truck. I'll let you know how it goes. Until then you can check out what I'm up to by visiting my facebook page or YouTube channel. Lots of photos and videos on there. Give it "like". Leave a comment to let me know you were here. Thanks for stopping by. Russell