Beyond the Sock Workshop

I just returned from the University of North Texas, where I attended the Beyond the Sock: Puppeteering for television and film workshop with the help of the grant I was awarded. The puppeteers who attended the workshop were divided into two groups of twelve. Each day in the morning, my group was in the performance part and in the afternoons we attended the puppet building part of the workshop. The performance part of the class was taught by Peter Linz and Noel MacNeal, both of which have years of experience performing together on multiple television shows and movies.  We began the workshop in a dance studio with mirrors on the wall saying our ABCs and numbers with just our bare hands, then we moved up to ping pong balls with an elastic strap. After that, we used the ping pong balls with a camera and monitor instead of mirrors. Then, we graduated up to practice puppets working with a monitor, working on entering and exiting the frame, and eye focus. On the second day, we moved over to the TV studio in the same building. In the studio, we worked with multiple monitors so that all the puppeteers could see what they were doing. We used all kinds of games and exercises to practice different aspects of puppeteering such as focus, lip sync, stillness, improvisation, and filling the frame.

Building Puppets

Chris Chappell with Pasha Romanowski at Beyond the Sock Workshop 2017

In the first day in the puppet building class, we worked on designing our characters based on one of two of the patterns, so we would have an idea of what the finished puppet would look like. The next day we began construction of our puppets.  We worked on them from Wednesday right down to the wire just before the final performance on Saturday night. It was an honor to learn different and new techniques from Pasha Romanowski of Projectpuppet.com. I was able to ask him some questions about different materials and some general questions I had about the business side of puppet building. I have been puppet building for several years, but I still learned a few new ways of doing things. His instruction and advice were very helpful.

Never stop learning!

The week went by so fast, but I feel like a gained a lot from the experience. This workshop will further both sides of my business. It has helped me become aware of things not to do while puppeteering as well as things to try to strive for. I also build custom puppets as part of my business. I design and build for clients from all over the United States. The things I picked up in the workshop will make me a better builder. Learning from people that have been in the profession for so long was something I will never forget. If I ever have a chance to go back, I probably will. I met so many amazing people from all around the country and even from other countries such as Canada (Arctic Circle), Sri Lanka, Israel, and more. It was also the first time I have ever had the chance to work with multiple puppeteers on film. I hope it will help my professional résumé to stand out when it comes time to audition for roles and get more work as a puppeteer.  I like puppet building as it allows me work from home, but puppeteering is where my heart is. See more pictures at www.facebook.com/chrischappell.fb And as always if you are in need of a custom puppet please check out the contact page here! http://www.chappellpuppets.com/contact-us/