I have had the idea of creating a puppet themed performance, primarily for street performances and festivals for a couple of years now, and when a friend told me about the Cradle Coast Talent Search, to be held on the 9th of November... I jumped at the chance to try out my idea up on stage.
Having already been booked for a garden wedding on the same day, and having to learn a technically difficult piece of music for that... time very suddenly felt like it was running out on me.
I jumped right in to the creation process, with only a vague idea of how my grand idea would turn out, let alone how to construct the form and work out an act to go with it.
The face, I will admit was probably the most fun and rewarding part of the project, seeing it suddenly come together as I added wrinkles, skin colours, texture and of course the magic of the eyes!
Dealing with wire leads to all sorts of injuries! Being somewhat accident prone and being paranoid about cutting my fingers, I learnt very quickly to take safety measures and wore gloves for the duration.
One of Dad's hand raised companions, Rico, had been going through a rather cheeky stage over the
weeks leading up to the event, and took much pleasure in observing the rebirth of the second hand wooden ladder that'd been purchased from the tip shop. He maintained that superior expression throughout the course of the project... almost as if he were trying to convey we were
"Doing it wrong humans."
A few holes drilled here, new ropes there, and the paint spattered, dented, abused and supposedly useless old ladder was ready to begin a new life as a prop, adding to a crazy harpists quirky dreams of providing unique entertainment.
At this stage, the hardest part as the body began to take shape, was when I realised just how big a project it was. This made my determination dip a bit.
Doubts about how it would all turn out, and the difficulty I was having learning the piece for the wedding sapped my motivation.
And as usual, at such stages, my mum... the bouncer of ideas,
provided feedback and an objective opinion, adding her own creative and artistic thoughts to the mix, and I dare say the occasional boot in the backside, got the ball rolling again.
Taking one more step and finishing the head made such a difference!
Suddenly the un-named puppet master had a character!
That "It's ALIVE!" Frankenstein moment cleverly captured by my camera ready mother!
The day before the Talent Search was due to happen,
we had our first test run with the retractable dog leads as strings, hidden up the sleeves of the puppet, whom I had decided to name after the eccentric chap who built the harp. Geoffrey Winder.
So, with Puppet Winder's top hat and head attached, I whipped together a couple of tunes and a bit of a comical act, sorted out a puppet like costume and face paint!
The parents gave their suggestions and a few more alterations were made last minute.
On the morning of the 9th, having not considered the logistics of travel, I incredibly managed to fit harp, ladder, puppet, seat, costume bag and myself in the little Toyota Echo!
and so made my eager way to Ulverstone for the garden wedding.
Thankfully the weather behaved beautifully for the big day, and the setting was glorious
in a tea garden beside the sea.
Running (like the wedding) a little behind schedule, I arrived in Devonport at the Reece High School for my 4.40 sound check to discover the organisers were running 30 minutes late.
Taking a very grateful breather, I hurried to my ever accommodating sister to change into my costume and apply some paint to my rather reddened face.
Back stage with the other contestants preparing to go on, and the vibe was one of nervous anticipation, and a little dread mixed in. One really soaks up the atmosphere in such confined places and I was a great deal more nervous than normal, rushing to get on and start I made a few minor mistakes in setting up my props, thankfully none of which affected my performance and no one other than my parents in the crowd knew. Having finished my act, I enjoyed the rest of the evening with my parents and sister and, finally taking the opportunity to sample the wonderful food provided, and catch up with some long lost friends from childhood days, who were as ever so encouraging.
The TAFE Tourism and Events class who were the organisers of the Talent Search did an incredible job! calming nerves, organising all 21 competitors well before hand, and helping to set up annoyingly large props on stage.
Simply being relieved to have the day over and done with I was totally astounded when the winners were finally announced by the events MC from SeaFm,
and I received second place!
Having sat and watched the rest of the talent I couldn't believe it!
It just goes to show that an unique idea, wire and a ladder can touch, and spike peoples interest...
Looking forward to introducing Puppet Winder to the public sometime soon!
Keep an eye and an ear out for us on the streets as the festive season approaches.
Thank you so much to my incredibly supportive and creative and patient family,
Tiarna and the rest of the Cradle Coast Talent Search TAFE team,
DK Audio for sponsoring the event,
and of course Puppet Winder for pulling my strings with such precision... and for not falling apart.
