Hello all!! Buxton Here! Sorry I haven’t posted before on here, It wouldn’t come as a massive shock if you knew me however. Because not only am I an absolute newbie to the voguish and convenient brain salad that is the blog, me and my fellow cast members have been working our little sock puppets off (see what I did there) on Streetlight Theatre’s inaugural production “Avenue Q”
Now I could sit here (lie actually, but who’s checking) and run through the big Andrew Buxton modus operandi of acting. Which, extensive as it is, just wont cut the proverbial mustard for this sort of show. Not in the sense that acting isn’t important, it most certainly is, its just eight of the cast members are puppets! I have acted in many different kinds of productions but for this venture you have to channel your humanity, thoughts and feelings through the strategically placed mound of foam and fabric on your arm and Imbue it with qualities shown by non-inanimate beings!
“Easy” I Hear you say….. Well I don’t, as you are reading this after I have written it, it would be ridiculous that I would hear it, unless im stood behind you now………………..
Im not.
In addition to all of the puppetry and acting we also have to be mindful not to over animate ourselves or the audiences eyes will be drawn from the puppet to our gorgeous features. Yes, you read that right, in Avenue Q the puppeteers are in plain sight. No hiding behind desks or in bins for us! Well, not during the show. This free movement of the actors and therefore puppets is a rather interesting quirk to the show, it gives puppet characters an element of freedom that they are not usually accustomed to. In turn this makes them more lifelike!
Puppets, puppets, puppets look at me going on, its not all about them is it, I suppose it is however, in addition to the large puppet cast we also have three non puppet (also known as human) characters. Gary Coleman (Yes, That Gary Coleman), Christmas Eve (Go With It) and Brian. Acting these parts are just as tricky as they cannot touch, acknowledge or address anyone but themselves and the puppets. Natural instinct is to address the human so its harder than it sounds, trust me! There has been many a time a human character has slapped me instead of the puppet. Never at rehearsal though….. Weird.
I have enjoyed the challenge of a show such as this and relished the opportunity to learn a new skill. We received the rehearsal puppets just the other week and its been a real blast. Arm hurts a little though, its not as easy as it sounds hoisting a person on your arm for an hour at a time!
All in all it is an fun show to be a part of, I hope everyone who comes to the Avenue will have as much of a good time as Streetlight has had of performing it!
Signing off , For Now!!
Your very own Princeton
Buxton
So yesterday, we got a visit from some very fury and spongy friends: the SHOW PUPPETS! After a very long day in the van collecting them, (including a bit of a breakdown before we left the collection!), the cast got to meet their puppet counterparts for the first time. There were a few tears shed at just how brilliant they are! Designed and produced by QPuppets and Paul Jomain, the West End designer for Avenue Q, they are quite frankly the most accurate and best puppets for Q! Over the next few days, we’ll be bringing you a bigger look at the puppets including a video trailer, more photos and more! For now though, below are a few photos from rehearsals yesterday!
Streetlight Theatre Arts 