File puptcrit/puptcrit.0802, message 927


From: "Alan Cook" <alangregorycook-AT-msn.com>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:30:48 GMT
Subject: [Puptcrit] Puppetry Notation


Steve Widerman notes the busy backstage scene of puppet shows, which certainly jibes with my memory of the Krofft's "Le Poupees de Paris"---in New Orleans, for example, we were all asked to make notes of every step & every cue. I had to take a leave of absence for a week or two in order to attend the trial of a car thief in San Francsco (he stole my car and 8 years of puppet photos, which in many ways put me behind for 8 years (and in many ways I was simply unable to duplicate countless puppet photos). I still feel the loss of those pictures.

For "Les Poupees" I made detailed notes for my replacement to fill my part  which included such things as "duck under metal pipe" which prevented serious head injuries  The notes also made it possible to learn the show more quickly.

 In another location, there would have been many differences, So  the notes might have limited use elsewhere. The shape of backstage could vary, and obstacles would thus vary. Much of the notation covered what NOT to do, what to avoid or watch out for backstage.

Steve Widerman's recommendation for using video as note-taking makes sense, but in 1968 it was less commonly used.

ALAN COOK


-----Original Message-----
From: Widerman-AT-aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:51 PM
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Puppetry Notation

If you are composing a new work, a written notation may be of some limited  
use, but if you are trying to document an existing work it would never be  as 
useful or detailed as a video recording, Also, are you attempting to notate  
how a puppet should move or what the puppeteer is doing as well? I  think 
notating Puppetry gets complicated fairly quickly. Even the existing  dance notation 
is limited in its scope. Most dance companies rely on video  recordings. I 
sometimes find it helpful for puppeteers to act out their roles or  dance the 
choreography themselves before trying to make the puppet do  it.
 
I depend on archival videos of my productions as references for remounting  
them, and they are invaluable. Well marked scripts defining what each  
puppeteer is doing helps enormously, too. I usually ask puppeteers to mark their  
scripts extensively and I save those scripts. Screening a video of a previous  
production for a new puppeteer in the cast saves countless hours of  rehearsal. 
My one regret is that I never videotaped what was happening  backstage, so I 
often find myself wondering "how did we do  that?" 
 
I am sure I don't have to tell you that backstage of many puppet shows  is a 
lollapalooza version of what the audience is seeing. (And that's one  of my 
favorite aspects of proscenium Puppetry!) In the future I intend  to video both 
front and backstage.
 
     -Steven->
 
 
 
In a message dated 2/26/2008 6:08:02 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
puppetvision-AT-gmail.com writes:

I was  wondering if anyone on the list has ever developed (or even heard of)
a  good notation system when staging or choreographing puppetry? I know  such
systems exists for dance, but I am wondering about puppetry-specific  ones.

Thanks,

-  Andrew





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