Uusually I don’t get caught up in ‘fads’ of the net, preferring not to do memes. But as I’ve got little time right now to post proper in-depth stuff, I thought I would do one meme which is on the topic of puppetry, but that I’ve never really thought about til now. I guess it’s because I’ve now got enough puppetry under my belt to actually have an opinion… And it should be mentioned that I do have a cross-genre interest in puppetry (hence my sort of wild-west approach to puppet making) that makes the below hard to define to just one puppet type. 

What characters do I hate (or at least dislike)

Although I don’t really have a pet hate, I generally dislike things that everyone else likes; to the point of saturating everything and everyone and no one would know that any other kind of puppetry existed. (I do that with movies, books, plays… don’t even get me started on Shakespeare) I pretty much dislike most Sesame St/Muppets characters for that reason, although if they weren’t everywhere I’d have much more affinity for them - I really do like Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Kermit. I am developing a dislike for many children’s TV incidental puppets, like anything on Hi5, which manage to be both lame and over-the-top at the same time. Incidental puppets seem to have little to no design, other than "hey, let’s have a puppet" and "it’s TV, so it must be bright and rainbow coloured"; and seem to have people operating them that should take some puppetry classes first… A discussion for another day might be on The Ferals, an Australian TV show in the 90s which featured many great and fun puppets; that put to shame the current crop of homogenous, and non-threatening, ‘G’-rated puppets-for-kids shows that are on now. The Ferals might go on the list below if it weren’t for the fact that in comparison with what I have listed, they’re not as fab.

What characters do I love

It goes without saying (if you know me I suppose) that I love love love Rygel and Pilot (in that order) from Farscape. In general, I’ll take Henson Creatures over Henson Muppets any day.

I think I also have to add Angel to the list (I would also add Diva, but there’s no one character that I’d single out, that’s more likely to be in a list of favourite shows) due to the pure fact that the character was so strong and the emotion so electric that I could not possibly leave it off a favourites list. I think one would have to watch it 10 times just to dissect it. 

What’s my favourite puppet show?

Since I mentioned it above, well I simply have to add a list here. Angel and Diva both go on that list, along with anything by Ronnie Burkett. I’m also adding the National Bunraku Theatre’s performance when they came to Melbourne several years ago. All of these I could watch a zillion times over and be happy (I have high standards when it comes to theatre!).

What’s my least favourite puppet show?

That would have to be a tie between Sleeping Beauty and something - can’t remember what - at my alma mater, Swinburne. It would have been a student show several years back (not my year thank goodness!). It’s either that or something so bad I’ve blocked it from memory 

What do I love building the most

To be honest, this is a tougher one than expected. I could just say shadow puppets off the bat, since starting them last year (and that would be true for the most part), but my most memorable puppets have been the most challenging - and not necessarily shadow puppets. My lego city was indeed one of those that I hold highest in esteem in that regards. Basically, I like building anything that stretches my problem solving skills, and stretches my creativity; I also like trying anything new or odd. But shadow puppets has to be my favourite of all, in terms of simplicity, ease, and fun. (Plus, I also seem to be better at them than everything else )

If I had to pick my favourite puppet that I’ve made, ever, then, well, I’d be screwed. I just have too many! But at least I can narrow it down to a genre.

What do I hate building the most

I absolutely should bite my tongue on this one. But actually, I honestly have to go with moppets. I find them increasinly getting on my nerves; and I have to admit that this is a new thing. Oh, they are challenging to make, and I found this at first, but the more I make them the more I come to realise maybe foam isn’t for me…

Of all my puppets, the worst one I ever made… I think the prize goes to my first one that I made solo. Whilst it looks pretty, if you hold it up for more than, say, 2 seconds, the limbs fall off. The very definition of a crappy puppet I’d say.

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