Evansville: Muppet Fan Party Wed. at the Showplace

Hey everyone...still trying to get the times from the theater..they are being slow...!! If you have a Muppet Whatnot, a puppet of your own...bring it to the movie!! I'd love to get a pic of all of us and our puppets! Who knows we may even have some kiddos wanting pics taken with the puppets too! See everyone there!

FINALLY...Muppet Movie Times are posted...and we wanna get in on the first showing which is at 11:05 am...we were gonna do a later show with a better crowd...but thought this would be a good opportunity to...possibly have a more personable approach...in case there are kiddos there...and we take our puppets!!

Oh man, I live in Petersburg and would love to come to this, wish I would have known about it sooner, never dreamed there would be one set up this close to home. Hope everyone has a good time.

Well...I guess I am the ONLY puppeteer in Evansville...but me and my daughter had a blast!

Here are a couple of pics from the theater

www.kevinbarnettdesignz.com/moppetzpics/threepuppets.JPG

www.kevinbarnettdesignz.com/moppetzpics/meandmybuddy.JPG

Sorry I missed it, I just joined the bord a few days ago. I live in Indianapolis, and would have drove out in suport, had found out sooner. Though my friend and I did one on our own in Nobiesville on the 23rd

That's cool...I didn't even think there were many puppeteers in this area...or at least doing what I do...I am trying to get out in the community...but it's so stinking hard! You would think with the Muppets new movie and the Being Elmo movie out, people would be more inclined to have more "puppet shows" or puppet perfromances...kind of frustrating...I'm open to ideas!

I just take mine to the local shopping mall and walk around for a while. It's a blast really. You get some looks from people who do get it, and a few will ask about it , so I just tell the truth that I’m a puppeteer and here to practice interacting with people. More often than not people (kid and adults) love it. People working at the mall are even getting to know me from being there so often.

One of the big things I worry about when I started was “creeping people out” with it, so when I started I had my female friend and her kids come to the mall with me. That way I wasn’t alone and if anything I was entertaining them. As more and more people reacted positively to it I start going buy myself. I just let the people approach me or if I see a parent pointing it out to their kids the puppet waves and says Hello. It’s great practice for me and help me to develop my improve skills and the personality of the puppets.

Another place that’s good to go is Conventions. There are all sorts of costumed characters (like us) who never grew up and love seeing the puppets. One of my close friends, which I met at a convention, is the reason I started fallowing my childhood dream of being a puppeteer.

It one of the great joys in my life really.

That's a good idea...I have been wanting to take my puppets and get their picture taken with Santa....how do you handle talking...I am not a ventriloquist...do you talk with the puppet to the kids?

Nether am I. One thing Jim Henson said that amazed me, but has proven true, is most of the time people will ignore you and talk strait to the puppet, and if they do as I tell them I’m a puppeteer on a ventriloquist and explain how most of the time I’d be hidden away somewhere, but with being out in public like this it I little hard.

Yeah...I tell people all the time I AM NOT a ventriloquist. Hard to do in public yes...but then I see like Kevin Clash in public with Elmo...and just think well if he can do it so can I...just hard.

Yea, I look at as educating the public about puppeteering.. With Jeff Dunham being so big right now, people are quicker to think ventriloquist, so I remember that going into it and don’t let it get to me. Right now I’m working on scripts for several You tube videos. Hopefully I’ll have some up soon, and then when people ask about it, I’ll just hand them a business card and tell them to check it out on line and see what it’s all about.

I do have to say Kevin is amazing. I had the chance to meet him at Dragon Con back in 07, long before I started puppeteering. I’ve only been doing this for a year and a half now. I wish I’d gotten to see “Being Elmo” I couldn’t find it in any of the theaters around here.

YOU MET KEVIN?!!!! I am so in the wrong part of the country. NOTHING ever happens around here. I am hopingg to move to Florida in Jauary. Moving to the Tampa/Clearwater area. This is the creative killing part of the country where I am at.

Yea met him at a Convention in Atlanta GA. It was by accident really. I overheard him talking in the hallway about being Splinter in Ninja Turtles, and ended up fallowing him back to his table. I was quite shocked to see the Elmo pictures, and even more so to find HE was Elmo, till then I figured Elmo was a woman, but as much as I’m sick of seeing Elmo, Kevin was wonderful.

I’m currently hoping to meet Stevin Whitmire. Rumor has it he’ll be at this convention in PA in June.
https://www.anthrocon.org/

MAN....lucky...