From: Christopher Hudert <heyhoot-AT-mindspring.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:17:47 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Adapting Grimm's Fairy Tales...


Wow, Pixie,

   Do you start your mountain climbing hobby with Mt Everest? Okay, 
maybe I'm seeing a mountain where there is only a mole hill, but this 
is potentially a huge hill to climb all at one time. Not that it can't 
be done, and in order to do it one must undertake the journey, but be 
careful about setting yourself up for failure. Not because failure is 
bad, but because it may cause you to abandon an otherwise fruitful 
endeavor. Expecting to accomplish all of these tasks successfully, 
right out of the gate, is a lot to ask. Many people take years to 
figure out that they should not be doing part A or B, but getting 
someone else to do that while they excel in part C, D, and E. We (and I 
do include myself in this collective) often tend to think we can or 
should do all of the parts ourselves. Not so.

   Now, that cautionary bit of opinion aside, on to the topic. By 
adapting a classic tale you have much of the scriptwriting work done 
for you, particularly if you stick close to the original story. The 
characters, conflicts (both between characters and obstacles within the 
story) and so on are already fairly set. Here's an approach:

1) Choose a story that says something to you, or reflects something you 
want to say. If you don't believe in your material, it is unlikely your 
audience will.
  2) Pare down the story to it's essential parts and characters. You can 
do this by combining or eliminating characters, particular minor ones, 
but take care to retain why they are there if it is important.
3) Remember that, in general, puppets DO better than they SAY. Lean 
more toward action than words. Yes, there can be dialog, but the 
puppets (like the story) have to go somewhere and do something or it 
often ends up just bla. bla, bla. But make sure the action is 
appropriate and necessary to the story. Extraneous action is often 
little better than extraneous words.
4) Incorporate levels. Levels of action, emotion, and intellect. Other 
levels too, but to keep it simple let's start with those.
5) Don't marry an idea, a script, or a character (at least not a 
character within a show). If it doesn't work, change it or get rid of 
it.

That's my basic 10 commandments. "Wait," you cry, "there are only 5!"  
I find that I often have to revisit and repeat 1 - 5 before I get to 
where the show needs to go. These commandments are, of course, only the 
bare bones beginning. A full course in script writing, story adapting, 
character development, etc. would take many long posts. For instance, 
we haven't even scratched the surface of how to make that classic story 
your own much less how to do so while retaining the original intent of 
the story.

    So which comes first, the puppets or the scripts? There is no 100% 
answer. For me, sometimes (very occasionally) a show gets built around 
a puppet, but more often than not the script (at least in rough form) 
comes before the puppets. I need to know who the characters are, who 
they REALLY are, before the puppets are built. It helps me to have a 
strong script skeleton (at least in strong concept) to build the 
puppets from. The energy flows back the other way too. Things that 
happen in the creation of the puppets, and in its performance, effect 
the end character.

   Well, that's a fairly brief primer. Hope it is helpful in you treck. 
The journey is filled with fun and challenges (as well as occasional 
pitfalls), but climaxing that summit is so rewarding. Grab your pick 
ax, back pack, gear, and get going. Don't forget to grab a Sherpa when 
you need one.

Christopher 

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