Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving, I am truly grateful for so much. Seas of Science was made possible by the generous donation of many people through Kickstarter. So today I'd like to give an enthusiastic THANK YOU! to all those who financially backed SOS:

Arlene Flynn
Mary Kruger
Angel Cardoza
Jodi Feldman
Bill Wolkoff
Hayli Heins Hay
Joseph Esther
Little Kenny
Ben Davila
Elysha Rom-Povolo
Shauna Fletcher-Fabio
Crystal Lee
Jessica Lasher
Wendy Templeton
Shannon O'Conner
Else Duff
Suzy Hutchins
Miro Gudelsky

You all rule!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sailing Onward

Friends - the show this weekend was an overwhelming success! Thank you to all who came out and supported us. We had a LOT of fun! I'll never forget all the happy smiling faces at these humble debut performances. There was magic in the air at the LADD Warehouse this weekend. Truly, a special experience.

Already my brain is full of ideas for the future. If you've followed this blog since it's inception, I cannot thank you enough for your kind encouragement and support. I started a little over a year ago with only an idea and a handful of drawings. I had no clue how to accomplish what seemed like the monumental task of putting on a show.

I won't lie: Putting all of our props and supplies away yesterday tugged at my heartstrings. Closing up those bins with The Black Thumb, Flowing Puppets, Clams, The Octopus Singer...all which did not exist a mere 3 months ago. Everything sits quietly tucked in a corner of my pal's storage room until I can find a theater willing to let us perform again. And perform we shall! After all that it took to build this show, and judging from the tremendous response after this weekend, we will find a place to do more shows soon. I don't think I would be allowed to stop now!

And now you can follow SOS on Facebook! Keep updated with photos and goings on of the cast and crew behind Seas of Science.

So for everything, I thank you again. I'm just one person in this merry band of misfits. It took a little from everyone to build this show.We all put a lot of heart in it and it really shined through.

Tickets Will Be Available At The Door

Yup! Doors open at 11:10am Saturday and Sunday and we will have tickets available at the door. You can also  purchase tickets online here to ensure yourself a seat.

Come on down and bring the kids!

KPCC piece on Seas of Science

Many thanks to Molly Peterson for this great piece on SOS for KPCC! The piece airs Friday morning and afternoon. Very exciting:


Also check out photosynthesis as KPCC's song of the week!

Thank you Molly!!

Some photos of the show!

My pal Marc Campos very generously shot some photos of SOS last night. They look so great! Here are a few from dress rehearsal.

Awesome!

Get Rad and Get Your Tickets!

Friends, I'm very excited to share with you some photos of set pieces, puppets and costumes for our performances. This show is going to look GOOD!

The amazingly talented Doug Tiano is putting the finishing touches on the Robot costume for Barry. Doug has worked his tail off for this production and I'm stoked with how everything looks.

Sergio was picked up from the Swazzle studios last week and he's all ready for his big debut!

My friend Zoe Hay came up with this brilliant idea for the forest backdrop. I think it turned out fantastic - very forest-y!

One last work session at the Derby Dolls warehouse gave us these portholes for the ship backdrop. Many thanks to Wendy Templeton for helping out!

And last but not least, a few changes were made to the Monster Butterfly costume so I made a mask which attaches to a motorcycle helmet. I think it turned out great!

All this and much MUCH more await you in the debut performances of Seas of Science. Click the link above to get your tickets today!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

It's all happening!

Buy tickets for the debut performances of Seas of Science HERE.

Spread the word!

Tell your friends, family, coworkers, teachers, neighbors, and anyone who wants to have some good fun! 

The Irresistibly Sweet Award, courtesy of Mr. Tiny

Mr. Tiny is a buddy of mine who writes the blog Wacky Tacky. He is a stellar friend and writer and THEE best dancer I know. Seriously, the man has moves that will blow your mind. I dig his blog for how creative it is and how much fun he has exploring So. Cal! He was kind enough to award Seas of Science with the Irresistibly Sweet award, which entails that (a) I tell you 7 little known facts about myself and (b) pass along the award to another blog that I adore.

Here are 7 fun and (maybe) little known facts about me:

7.) I learned most of the Spanish that I know from love songs like this
6.) My favorite movies are Martin and Orloff, Pootie Tang, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
5.) I have a long and rotating list of crushes
4.) My master's thesis from was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, Vol. 57, No. 5.
3.) In 2008 I was the Derby Dolls Most Effective Blocker, but I'm still not really sure how that one was figured out.
2.) I grew up in Orange County and may be the only kid ever to tire of going to Disneyland.
1.) I don't completely hate Paul Simon's Graceland if only for the fact that my parents listened to it on repeat during a road trip to the midwest when I was a kid.



I would like to pass along this award to my pal Crystal Lee and her blog Naked Cowgirl Vintage. Crystal is a true inspiration in the tone of her writing and how consistent she is with her blogging. I wish I could keep up! Her blog is such a friendly place and I love visiting it to see what fun adventures she has been up to.


Happy Blogging!

Almost one month away!

It is a very exciting time for Seas of Science - rehearsals are well under way, funding has been coming in through Kickstarter (thanks everyone!) and the production team is hard at work bringing the characters to life. We've also blocked both Acts 1 and 2 in the performance space at the Derby Dolls warehouse.

Act 1 takes place on the ship. It will have a backdrop like so:

The portholes will be cut out and able to open so that puppets and The Captain can peek through during the show.

Act2 takes place in the forest. Instead of making all new panels, we decided on making one center panel out of green fabric and dressing the side panels with foliage. They're supposed to look (more or less) like trees:

It's going to look so cute!

I've been fortunate to be joined in production by some fun and super talented folk. A few of the puppets are already done and costumes are coming together very quickly. Additionally, the Swazzle puppet company is working on the Sergio puppet, which should be done next week.

September is going to fly by! I'm looking forward to being busy with the show up until the performances in October. More updates and ticket info will be posted on this blog soon!

First Rehearsal, Donations, and More

Things are going awesome in the world of Seas of Science. Last Tuesday, the cast and production crew met for our first rehearsal, which went really well. There is a really great energy to the people involved with this show and I could not be more pleased with how it is all coming together.

Only 4 days into our Kickstarter and we're already almost to our minimum funding goal - unbelievable!  Click here to donate and to enjoy my video presentation of what SOS is going to be all about. I felt silly making this video and talking to the computer but hey, it's working! The donations are coming in and I am so so grateful. The money will really help this show look amazing. We have many things to build and create before the performance.

Next week will be another rehearsal at the Derby Dolls Warehouse. We are also ramping up the production of the sets, puppets and props. Exciting!

Get This Show On The Road

I'm more than stoked to say that the cast of Seas of Science has been assembled - hooray!

Rehearsals start August 16th and I'm totally looking forward to working with everyone.

Production is slated to start soon as well, we are gathering materials and finalizing a list of items to make.

Time to start workin'!!

Adventures In Fliering

I decided to make an adventure out of dropping off casting fliers for SOS. The weather has been so nice lately in Los Angeles that I thought I would go by bicycle. Here was my route:

I started in Koreatown (where I live) and made my first stop The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) at 9th and Grand Street in Downtown Los Angeles.

Maybe the flier would strike the interest of a costume enthusiast! You never know. I put up a flier in the cafeteria between ads for roommates and women's wear sales. 

I had an overdue library book so my next stop was the downtown Central Library at 5th and Fig.

View from the top floor of the Central Library

I returned my book, dropped off a flier, and headed through the 2nd street tunnel to the Bob Baker Marionette Theater at 2nd and Glendale.

This place is great. I've been to see the Halloween "Spooktacular" show and it is absolutely delightful.  I'm so happy that the Bob Baker Theater exists. Highly recommend visiting if you get the chance.

There wasn't a show going on, but the backdoor was ajar and a lady inside was nice enough to take my flier to put up.

My ride

Next, I biked north to Silverlake Boulevard where I stopped into the store YOLK.  I dropped off a flier and bought my friend a baby shower gift. 

I continued north on the west side of the Silverlake Reservoir. It was about noon by this time and absolutely gorgeous. Sunny with a nice breeze.

Silverlake Reservoir

This is where my bike route got tricky because I wanted to drop off a flier at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater on Franklin. Traffic was backed up and Franklin gets pretty narrow. When I got up to UCB I didn't feel much like leaving a flier. I got intimidated, UCB seems very cool to me. Also, I stole a DVD there one time a LONG time ago. I decided to keep biking.

Last stop for fliering was Rocket Video on La Brea. Rocket is run by my pal Jeff Miller who is graciously helping me out with the show. He also puts on fun events at Rocket like Match Game and movie nights.

By then I was STARVING! I walked down the street from Rocket to Susina Bakery where I got this ridiculously delicious piece of cake.

And ate it all before hopping on my bike and returning to Koreatown.

I totally enjoyed my adventure in fliering. Hoping you are able to get out and enjoy this weather too!

Now Casting for Seas of Science!

Friends! Casting for Seas of Science has begun! If you dig children’s theater and want to be a part of something totally new and original – email me! I will send you all the info you need. Feel free to pass along to anyone who may be interested. Thanks! 

We have a space!!

Great News! The president and founder of the LA Derby Dolls has agreed to let us put on Seas of Science at the DD Warehouse! Here's an interior shot of the space we'll be using:

And a backstage/storage area:

You can check out more pictures of the warehouse itself HERE.

A little back story on how this came about: I skated with the LA Derby Dolls for about 5 years. It was a lot of fun, I made a lot of really good friends I keep in close company to this day.  I hung up my skates in 2009, happy with the experiences I had and having dodged any serious injury. In thinking of possible spaces to put on Seas of Science it dawned on me - what about the warehouse? Couldn't hurt to ask, so I gave a phone call the Derby Dolls founder and she graciously said yes! Thumbs up/green light/A-ok/yes-you-can-do-that-here. I think this will be a great fit. LADD is always putting on fun stuff like the recent Twenty Wonder Event and free community health fairs.  I've set a goal of putting on the production in the warehouse over the weekend of October 8-9th. 


Thanks LADD!!
   

Lobster Buddy

Admittedly, I say Buddy a lot. But I can't help when I look at this little guy to think "BUDDY!"

Ta-Da!

Made out of cardboard and acrylic paint. Claws are attached via brass brads. Last thing to do is go to the craft store and buy a few wooden sticks to glue behind him for support (and to the claws to make them move around).

Claws Down

 Claws Up!

 From a drawing

To an object!


Give me an S!

 O!

 S!

Update on BvsR

For all you Banana Vs. Robot fans – GOOD NEWS! More episodes are in the works! We are scheduled to resume filming this Sunday. I am happy to report that in the downtime between challenges, Robot has been enjoying life in newly wedded bliss while Banana has spent this springtime being gleefully distracted. 

Please enjoy this teaser for our upcoming challenges:

Time to Build

As a lover of To-Do lists, here is my List Of Stuff To Build:

Sergio

Barry

Sergio’s Station

Ship’s computer

Cleveland Portal (which brings Marisol to the word of SOS)

Bookshelves for the Captain to peek through

Jungle Set

Clam Chorus Line

Octopus Singer

Squid Stick Puppet

Lobster Stick Puppet

Photosynthesis T-Shirts (for an audience participation activity)

“Plant” outfit for volunteers (again, for an audience participation activity)

Fern Suit (a suit for one of the characters)

I enjoyed the heck out of making the confetti cannon and the Monster Butterfly. The next item I’ve decided to work on is the Lobster Stick Puppet. Here is a preliminary drawing:

Nothing fancy. More cardboard and acrylic paint. The Lobster Stick Puppet is part of the backup band on the ship, who are all marine creatures (see this blog post for more detail). I liked the finger puppet idea, but it would be hard to tell what it is from far away. This puppet, although static, would be more visible. And look how cute he is!

I think he shall be named Buddy.

Monster Butterfly

The nature of my job as a field geologist is such that I have blocks of time that are brutally busy and then down time between projects. I had some downtime today so I decided to make one of the puppets/characters for the first installment of S.O.S. - THE MONSTER BUTTERFLY! 

There's a part in the first episode that Marisol get's chased around the stage by a beastly giant butterfly after snooping too close to a smaller, cute butterfly (painted as a decoy on the big butterfly's wing). Like I've mentioned before here: kids crack up over chasing. I've been wanting to make this thing for a while so I started with a drawing:

Then I went to the art supply store and bought a bunch of paint, brushes, an exacto knife, brass brads to make the hinge for the jaw, and duct tape. I had some nice big slabs of cardboard from when I recently ordered a new futon couch so I used that and started painting!

I've never really painted before. I can see why people find it so relaxing.

Ta Da! I think it turned out great! It's HUGE and hilarious. In the above pictures it's laid over my full sized bed. The colors turned out nice and I'm glad I bought the florescent orange (for this and future uses). I think I'm going to have to rig it so the puppeteer is wearing the wings part like a sandwich board and can use both hands to open and close the mouth.

I had some fun making the monster butterfly today:

CONFETTI CANNON!

I'll admit that I am very pleased with myself for making a confetti cannon for use in the first episode of SOS. I figured that besides the part I wrote into the script that requires a confetti cannon, a confetti cannon would be useful in all sorts of metaphorical situations like to show rain or sunshine or whatever. Or maybe just to blast confetti on someone as a gag. I followed the instructions here, with some modifications. I didn't quite understand why the need for a coupler - now I think I get it. Mine has a larger turn valve which I think makes the confetti shoot out less forcefully had I used a smaller ball valve. But that's ok, it's still pretty awesome. Here are some visuals:

Not very big, a little larger than a shoe.

 You close the ball valve and pressurize the end chamber with a regular bike pump

CONFETTI!

I suppose tossing confetti would work equally well, but why just toss confetti when you can FIRE it out of a cannon??