My son was Wembly
So this weekend had special events trump our normal weekend routine. On Saturday we went to Dickens on the Strand. We wanted to support the island after Ike, and we hadn't been to Dickens in almost a decade. The event was smaller than I expected, but still quite fun. We all got to play dress-up. I was sorely tempted to wear my Keaton hat, but settled on wearing my tallest top-hat. I don't get to wear that as often as I'd like.
Lots of simply brilliant costumes were on hand. There were also an alarming number of cowboys and pirates. (I have nothing against cowboys per se, but as a kid I had no interest in Westerns or pirate movies.)
The performers were top notch. Upon arriving we caught the tail end of a sword swallowing act. He did the balloon swallowing bit with an inflated long balloon. Unfortunately he happened to pick a pink balloon. He headed off any inappropriate comments by telling all the jokes he could safely tell himself before sliding the long pink thing down his throat. He got the whole thing into his mouth, wiggled his neck to show the balloon was still inflated, and then popped it in his mouth and swallowed the latex. I LOVED that bit when the Flaming Idiots' Walter would do it. This guy was really talented, but could work on his patter a bit.
We also caught a flea circus. I LOVE flea circuses, so this was an extra special treat for me. I went through a phase of reading and studying about them. They combine the art of close magic with puppetry, comedy, and a profound sense of the absurd. This guy was top notch too! His patter and demeanor evoked that of Ricky Jay. He was bearded and had some padding to, which helped evoke he master magician. His finale involved getting a woman from the audience to catch a flea launched from a tiny cannon. She was given a catcher's mit for this purpose.
On Sunday we had to skip !Bagels @ Jason's Deli so we could catch Karen Prell at the MFA. (She was Red Fraggle on Fraggle Rock.) She presented some great old PSAs, a rain forest themed short from the obscure "Jim Henson Hour" show, and two episodes of Fraggle Rock. Watching with a crowd was fun. FInn and I usually clap along with theme song, but this audience needed a little encouragement to clap along too. This all reminded me how keenly I wish some the "Jim Henson Hour" stuff was available on DVD (along with "Muppets Tonight"). I also need to gripe at HIT Entertainment for delaying the release of the last season of "Fraggle Rock" while they sell a box set for X-Mas. Ms. Prell was really generous with her time. The QnA had a few great questions about the show production process. She explained table reads, the different scales of puppets, green-screen, and the complex mechanics of getting Fraggles to play in the water. Ms. Prell also had people come up on stage from the audience to demonstrate how different performers had to work together to create single characters. She had a bunch of kids come up and attempt to recreate the opening credits bit where the characters introduce themselves in a rapid-fire staccato of syllables. Finn was picked to "Wembly" at just the right moment. So he 'performed' as Wembley in front of a packed audience, and performed with Kren Prell as Red Fraggle! I had a serious moment of extreme pride.
If all that wasn't enough, we had a few people over for dinner as well. Catching up with the parts of our motley gang who I don't se so often is always a treat. It reminds me how much I live inside my house and how I need to get out and explore more. Breaking with traditional weekend plans was liberating, but I also missed out on the reassuring rhythm of habit and tradition.
Lots of simply brilliant costumes were on hand. There were also an alarming number of cowboys and pirates. (I have nothing against cowboys per se, but as a kid I had no interest in Westerns or pirate movies.)
The performers were top notch. Upon arriving we caught the tail end of a sword swallowing act. He did the balloon swallowing bit with an inflated long balloon. Unfortunately he happened to pick a pink balloon. He headed off any inappropriate comments by telling all the jokes he could safely tell himself before sliding the long pink thing down his throat. He got the whole thing into his mouth, wiggled his neck to show the balloon was still inflated, and then popped it in his mouth and swallowed the latex. I LOVED that bit when the Flaming Idiots' Walter would do it. This guy was really talented, but could work on his patter a bit.
We also caught a flea circus. I LOVE flea circuses, so this was an extra special treat for me. I went through a phase of reading and studying about them. They combine the art of close magic with puppetry, comedy, and a profound sense of the absurd. This guy was top notch too! His patter and demeanor evoked that of Ricky Jay. He was bearded and had some padding to, which helped evoke he master magician. His finale involved getting a woman from the audience to catch a flea launched from a tiny cannon. She was given a catcher's mit for this purpose.
On Sunday we had to skip !Bagels @ Jason's Deli so we could catch Karen Prell at the MFA. (She was Red Fraggle on Fraggle Rock.) She presented some great old PSAs, a rain forest themed short from the obscure "Jim Henson Hour" show, and two episodes of Fraggle Rock. Watching with a crowd was fun. FInn and I usually clap along with theme song, but this audience needed a little encouragement to clap along too. This all reminded me how keenly I wish some the "Jim Henson Hour" stuff was available on DVD (along with "Muppets Tonight"). I also need to gripe at HIT Entertainment for delaying the release of the last season of "Fraggle Rock" while they sell a box set for X-Mas. Ms. Prell was really generous with her time. The QnA had a few great questions about the show production process. She explained table reads, the different scales of puppets, green-screen, and the complex mechanics of getting Fraggles to play in the water. Ms. Prell also had people come up on stage from the audience to demonstrate how different performers had to work together to create single characters. She had a bunch of kids come up and attempt to recreate the opening credits bit where the characters introduce themselves in a rapid-fire staccato of syllables. Finn was picked to "Wembly" at just the right moment. So he 'performed' as Wembley in front of a packed audience, and performed with Kren Prell as Red Fraggle! I had a serious moment of extreme pride.
If all that wasn't enough, we had a few people over for dinner as well. Catching up with the parts of our motley gang who I don't se so often is always a treat. It reminds me how much I live inside my house and how I need to get out and explore more. Breaking with traditional weekend plans was liberating, but I also missed out on the reassuring rhythm of habit and tradition.