About this project
What we want to do
This is a very simple project. Renovation has invited Other Hand Productions to perform our production of Whatnot at the 2011 WorldCon in Reno this August. We'd like to go.
The only problem is that there's not enough money in the budget to make it affordable, which is where you come in.
WorldCon is the home of the Hugo awards, which are voted on by fans of science-fiction. So it seems completely appropriate to turn to the fans to help fund this production. Since puppetry is often considered the theater of the possible, much as science-fiction is the literature of the possible, it should be a great pairing.
Whatnot is a showcase of pieces featuring puppetry, masks, movement theatre, dance, and music. Individual images, phrases, or situations inspire the pieces; a xylophone missing its eighth note, masks created from tape recorders, a dog that becomes a flowering tree. The performance contains a collection of fascinating, funny, and sometimes poignant images that cannot be labeled or categorized but merely hinted at.
Also, we're all wearing white spandex bodysuits. If nothing else, this represents the opportunity to see the Vice President of SFWA in white spandex.
What we need
- To make this happen, we need to fly one of the performers out from New York. Jodi Eichelberger has starred on Broadway in Avenue Q and on television in shows such as Lazytown. He wrote much of the original show and is a founding member of the company.
- We need a week of rehearsal to get the show in shape again and add some new material for WorldCon
- There are new puppets to build and old puppets to repair.
- We need to get three puppeteers and a van full of puppets and equipment to Worldcon.
- A hotel room. While I'm planning on being at WorldCon regardless, I can't ask the other two performers to foot the bill for attending.
All told, we should just be able to do this for $4000. If we raise more, then we'll be able to do more with the puppetry.
How you can help
Besides the obvious donation, you can also help by spreading the word, offering us a rehearsal space, a van, or a hotel room. If you live in the Portland area and want to learn about puppet construction, there's always the opportunity to refurbish puppets.
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on May 31, 2011.
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"Trip, Trap, Tripping" is an unpublished story, which will be visible to you at any backing level. Even if we don't reach our funding goal, you get to read this short urban fantasy by Campbell-award winning author, Mary Robinette Kowal.
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Watch a rehearsal -- Any level of funding will be invited to watch us rehearse in either Portland, OR or at WorldCon in Reno. This won't be streaming, you do need to be present to watch.
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Autographed show poster (limited). This poster was designed by award-winning author and puppeteer Mary Robinette Kowal before she was married and has her listed with her maiden name.
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Puppet faces-- Using the European paper folding technique created by Albrecht Roser, I'll create one-of-a-kind paper puppet faces, like tiny masks.
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Signed copy of the Nebula-nominated novel Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal.
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Photo, Poster, and Puppet face -- You'll get all three of these items.
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Short story critique -- Award-winning author, Mary Robinette Kowal, will critique up to 7000 words of your short fiction.
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Reading Critique -- (only available at WorldCon) Want to take your readings to the next level? Have award-winning puppeteer Mary Robinette Kowal and Broadway actor Jodi Eichelberger critique your reading and coach you on improving your technique.
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"Kiss Me Twice" Signed and lettered limited edition -- This is my Hugo-nominated story. I will create 26 handbound, signed and lettered chapbooks.
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Pencil-necked weasel -- After Neil Gaiman was called a Pencil-necked weasel by a crazy politician, I made one. And I'll make one for you, too. You may specify the color: Brown, black, tan, white, pink, blue, yellow, orange.
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Lunch with the performers -- Join us at WorldCon for lunch and talk about everything from science fiction to Broadway to puppets.
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Tandem Paragliding trips -- soar above the earth with puppeteer Lance Woolen
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Shadow puppet show of your fiction -- Award-winning puppeteer Mary Robinette Kowal will design, build, and train you to perform a short shadow puppet show to accompany readings of your short story or novel.
Project By
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Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of Shades of Milk and Honey (Tor 2010). In 2008 she won the Campbell Award for Best New Writer and has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. Her stories have appeared in Strange Horizons, Asimov’s, and several Year’s Best anthologies as well as in her collection Scenting the Dark and Other Stories from Subterranean.
Mary, a professional puppeteer and voice actor, has performed for LazyTown (CBS), the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jim Henson Pictures and founded Other Hand Productions. Her designs have garnered two UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence, the highest award an American puppeteer can achieve. She also records fiction for authors such as Kage Baker, Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi.
She is the Vice President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Mary lives in Portland, OR with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters. Visit www.maryrobinettekowal.com.
