The Hard Stuff October 19th 2024 4-5:30pm PDST/MST

$65.00
Type: Workshop

Wanna work hard 'til you get it right? This workshop is for you!


WHAT:  A workshop designed for monitor puppeteers who are ready to work beyond lip sync, eye focus, and centering yourself in the frame!  In this workshop we'll be coaching you to push your characters, your vocal performances, your acting skills, and your technical puppetry skills. 

We're going to challenge you to nail your performances and you're going to rise to the occasion!

This workshop requires a minimum of 5 performers, so gather your friends, tell your enemies, & let's push one another toward greatness!


WHEN: Saturday, October 19th from 4-5:30pm MST/PDST (Please confer with your favorite robot-computer for your local time zone and note that we do not observe daylight savings time in Arizona.) The zoom will open 15 minutes prior for self-led warm-ups, kibitzin', any camera/monitor fussin'. We will begin right at 4pm.

**A pdf will be emailed to you after checkout, which will contain the zoom link to the workshop from noreply@digital-downloads.com.  It should also be available by viewing your order after your purchase. From your receipt email, click "View Order" or "View Order and any available downloads," and be sure to check your spam folder for an email from noreply@digital-downloads.com.**

WHERE: Zoom! Which means ANYWHERE!

SKILLS REQUIRED: Holding your arm up for extended periods of time; watching your performance on a monitor as you are working; muting and un-muting yourself when requested; lip sync; speaking in front of a group (Please test your sound and video ahead of the workshop in your zoom settings menu); solid understanding of straight scan monitor performance; digging deep into your soul for a bucket of chicken nuggets. 

WHO IT'S FOR: This workshop is designed for adults who've been through our intermediate level workshops or equivalent and are ready to be pushed without kid gloves. You'll need to be responsible 

If you've got a teenager who may not reach our age requirement but likely reaches everything else, reach out to us & let's talk about their skills!


BRING TO THE WORKSHOP: 

  • Your printed A/B scenes that will be emailed to you with the link.
  • A moving-mouth puppet with excellent eye focus.
  • At least one puppet with two fully attached arm rods.
  • Your camera/monitor system should be standard practice. (If you don't know what this is, please take one of our less rigorous workshops!)
  • Please see the diagram for more details about your ideal set-up!
  • Please have your monitor set up prior to 

ABOOUT THE INSTRUCTORS:

Michael Schupbach has designed and built puppets for both children’s television programs and Tony Award-winning theatrical productions. He is a proud alumnus of Jim Henson’s Muppet Workshop and a co-founder of The Puppet Kitchen. He currently works as a puppet and animatronic designer and performance director for Neon.

Mr. Schupbach constructed and/or performed puppets for stage productions of Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway, Avenue Q, The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park, Imaginocean, and BRT’s The Little Prince at the New Victory Theater and subsequent national tour.  

His screen credits include The Oogiloves Big Balloon Adventure, The Disney Channel’s Emmy Nominated Johnny and the Sprites and Emmy Award-winning Bear in the Big Blue House, the Walt Disney World stage show Bear in the Big Blue House Live, Imagine Dragons Radioactive Music Video, The Godwin Groups Vacation Crustaceans Commercial Series, Hyperactive Content’s Fingerlings, IFC’s Greg the Bunny, PBS’ Sesame Street, Noggin’s interactive series Play with Me Sesame, and Universal Studios’ Sesame Street in 4-D. 

Michael has B.A. in Education with a concentration in Children’s Television from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and a somewhat less serious degree from The Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey’s Clown College.

Stacey Gordon is the owner of Puppet Pie and the  puppeteer behind Sesame Street's "Julia." Stacey is no stranger to learning challenges and works hard to ensure that learners of all types are able to understand and absorb the material using multiple techniques to speak to different learning styles. 

EXTRA/TECH DETAILS: One purchase is required for each person in attendance.
You do NOT need to be in the Phoenix area for this workshop, however you DO need a computer/device with a stable internet connection, a microphone and an external camera so you and your instructor can see and hear what you’re doing.