Category: True Life Adventures
Puppet Up Down Under – April 27, 2014 – Adios Australia
The day started as most big travel days do for me, with a stress dream. Woke up about an hour earlier than I needed too, panicked that my alarm would not have gone off and I would be late for lobby call. I wasn’t. The cast met in the lobby as it was, sadly, time to head towards the airport and bring to a close our amazing Australian adventure. We said goodbye to our stage manager Stephen who had come to see us off and soon we were in a cab headed towards the airport.
Once we were all checked in at the Brisbane airport, most of us went around spending the last of our Australian money. I came away with only $2.30, which is pretty good. I’m keeping one dollar as sort of a reminder that I want to get back Down Under as soon as possible. (I’m actually looking at possibly going back later this year. We will see.)
The flight home was long, twelve and a half hours, but uneventful. I know I fell asleep twice, but it can’t say how long I was out for. Maybe an hour or so, perhaps only minutes. I did watch a bunch of movies on the flight. Saving Mr. Banks (liked it), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (decent), American Hustle (abysmal), Grudge Match (not good) and Mary Poppins (classic).
Before long, we were landing at Los Angeles International Airport. Home again. Our amazing Down Under puppet adventure was officially over.
The past five weeks have been spathe best times of my life. Incredible to get paid to go on to a foreign country and play make believe with puppets. We got to play at the Sydney Opera House! THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE! How many people get to say that.
Huge thanks to Melbourne International Comedy Festival for making it all possible. Susan of the Comedy Festival and her staff were truly amazing and could not have been better hosts. Not only did they give if first class treatment, they put on a heck of a festival. We loved the other shows we got to see as part of the festival and we wished we could have seen more.
Huge thanks to our crew. Stephen our stage manager, Bek our puppet wrangler and Andy our video tech. They hopped on board a very crazy, tech heavy show, made it their own and rocked it as if they had been there all along. And the crew at each venue was top notch. Especially the crew at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne who built us pieces we needed for the show. A great group of guys.
Huge thanks to the amazing fans who came out to see the shows. Each crowd was so into the show they made it so much fun to step on stage. The suggestions ranged from mild to really dirty and we delighted in trying to pay them all off.
Huge thanks to all the puppet people I got to hang with. Michael, Brett, the Hands & Gloves puppet group and the amazing Ingrid Elkner (who plays a mean ukelele). It was also great reconnecting with Lana Schwarcz who I hadn’t seen since 2011. Always love talking puppets with people passionate about puppetry.
And big thanks to the rest of the core Puppet Up crew. Allan, Colleen, Peggy and Ted, always so much fun to improvise with. So many memorable scenes. Brian who is, of course, and incredible improviser but also a heck of a roommate. Dan, who came up with a great song improv backing track and always has the right song for every scene. And, the big chief, Patrick, for making the run so fun and for trusting me to be part of it.
Lastly, to you, for reading these entries. Thanks for coming along for the ride. It was a heck of a time and I’m excited to see where it all leads in the future.
Until then…
PUPPET UP!
40
So here we are again.
It seems that it was just yesterday I was writing about losing weight before I went to Toronto. I gave myself 20 Days to lose 10 pounds before heading off on a Puppet Up Tour. I did that. I accomplished that goal. But then, I ate like a pig in Toronto and haven’t stopped since. I’m now the heaviest I’ve been since 2005 when I lost 80 lbs. luckily, I’ve not gone back up to what I was at before I lost the weight, but I’m working my way there.
And here I am, my 40th birthday looming and I can’t stop eating. Store I left for Australia, I actually had to go buy new shirts and pants because the ones I currently have are too tight. I don’t look at myself in the mirror anymore because I can’t stand to and I now abhor getting my picture taken.
So, simply, something has to change. I think the main reason I tend to eat without any conscience is because I lost 80lbs. I think, subconsciously, my Brian says, “Look, you lost 80lbs before, you can do it again. Easy.”
Thing is, it wasn’t easy. It took over a year of eating right and exercising. I do exercise daily, but it don’t eat right at all. So, I’m gaining weight. Needing new clothes. And, of course, I get depressed about how I look and that makes me want to eat more.
I worked out harder than normal in Australia, but I was also eating way too much. So, though I haven’t stepped on the scale since I’ve been back, I’m sure I’m even heavier.
So, here we go again. My birthday is May 20 and I would like to loose 10 pounds by then. Then I’d like to lose another 10 by June 20th. Just in time for the beach. Kidding, I hate the beach.
I’ve got to make this work. I’ve got to. It’s getting to the point where it not only won’t be easy to loose the weight , it’ll get close to impossible.
So, starting tomorrow, I will start planning out what I eat. I will use the Weight Watchers tracker that I’m paying for monthly and rarely loose. I will loose 10 pounds by my 40th Birthday. I will loose another 10 by June 20th. I have to. No excuses.
I will do this by focused eating and ramped up exercise. This does not mean starving myself as I have done in the past. I will really focus on working out daily and ramping those workouts up. I want to lose weight and get stronger. I don’t want to buy any more clothes that are one size up.
Another thing that has motivated me is that I’m trying out bombfell.com. They are a clothing service that sends you a box of clothes a month that are picked out just for you by a stylist. I want to start dressing better and I want to look better. These clothes cost a little more and, as such, I’ll have more focus on not wasting that money.
Okay, here goes everything.
Puppet Up Down Under 2014 – April 26, 2014 – Goodnight, Australia
Today was the day that I was dreading since we first arrived in Australia. It is, sadly, our final day here. But just because it was her last day, didn’t mean we were going to sit around and mope about it.
Peggy and I had talked about possibly going to a Koala sanctuary that is not too far from Brisbane. Ultimately, in the morning, we decided against it. We chose to spend a relaxing day in the vicinity around the hotel as opposed to trekking out to see more Koala’s.
Just about all of us met in the lobby around 11:00 AM and we walked along the riverside until we found a place to have brunch. It was fun having a meal with almost the whole crew. And added bonus, was looking out over the river as we had breakfast.
After we ate, I came back to the hotel and Brian and I took a walk to Queen Street. Queen Street ends in sort of a pedestrian the mall. There were lots of shops and Brian and I were looking for souvenirs to bring back home to the United States.
We spent several hours shopping and bought a lot of fun souvenirs to bring back. Probably the funniest thing I got was a gift for my dad and brother. I bought them each a coin purse made out of the kangaroo scrotum. Yes, you read that right. I wish I could be there to see their faces when they open them.
After baking our purchases, Brian and I headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before heading over to the theater. Brian fell asleep as I began the painful process of packing to go home. Not too long after that it was time to head to the theater. Our tech check went smoothly and soon it was just a waiting game until our final Australian show at the powerhouse Theatre in Brisbane.
And it was a fantastic show. Lots of great suggestions from the Brisbane the crowd. And a lot of the improv’s were just laugh out loud, hold your sides of funny. My jamboree song went the best it has gone. It is still not remotely near where I wanted to be. I was proud of one line and it though that was ace per of the moment not planned it all improv. I hope to eventually get the song and the rhymes all up to that level. But it is going to be a long time.
The rest of the show was absolutely outstanding. The Hot Dogs installed us septic tank. We played the game Name that STI. And we spent some time driving around looking for a carpark (parking lot). The talent show featured a monologue, circus wrestling, and an alien barbershop song about global warming.
Global Warming is real.
But I have a plan
When I use a condom
I’ll just use it again.
Such a fun show and a great show to go out on. A great way to wrap up our stay.
How else can I put this? I love Australia.
After the show the cast help pack the puppets. Always sad to put them away but hopefully we will see them soon.
After that, Peggy, Ted and I took the ferry back to to our hotel. The night was so nice it was a perfect way to cap off this last day. We stood on the front of the ferry as it sailed under the Story Bridge. Perfect evening.
Puppet Up Down Under 2014 – April 25, 2014 – Batting Average
Slept in a little this morning after not being able to fall asleep last night. Upon waking up I immediately hit the gym and ran on the treadmill. The gym is in a cinder block room in the middle of the parking garage in this hotel and it heats up fast. It is sort of like working out in a sauna, which is actually pretty great.
After showering I went over and visited with Brian a bit. After weeks sharing what was basically a two bedroom apartment, it’s weird now to be in two separate rooms. We had a nice chat and then I struck out to get some food.
It still makes me stop when I see a car drive by and see someone in what I think should be the drivers seat, have both hands on their cell phone. Then I quickly remind myself that that is actually the passenger seat. Brian and I were talking about how weird it is going to be to actually start driving again after months of not driving. It’s been really nice. Another thing that has been really nice is not having regular cell phone service. I enjoy not being at the beck and call of my cell phone. That’s something I may bring back to the States with me.
Anyway, I went out and grab some lunch and then just walked around for a bit. I passed by a hotel called the Empire Hotel. It is really unique on the outside and it has a waterfall running down the outside glass. The inside is even crazier. It looks really weird and I don’t know if I would want to stay there. But it’s definitely unique! Then I came back to the hotel room to relax a little bit and do some writing. Then it was call time so Brian, Dan and I hopped the taxi to the venue.
Patrick is fond of saying, “Improv is a batting average.” Meaning that not all improvs are going to be fantastic. Tonight was an off night for me. I feel like I was just spinning my wheels. My Jamboree son was just a disaster, couldn’t get a rhyme in at all. And it was especially painful because I could tell the audience really wanted to like it but they just couldn’t because the rhymes weren’t there and it just didn’t make sense. Then I. The rest of my improvs I was off. No characters, the voices I was doing changed halfway through scenes. I was just completely unfocused. My batting average dropped a lot tonight. At least I have I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face to buoy me a little bit. The crowd liked that one.
The show overall was great, no thanks to me. Solid,fun suggestions from the crowd again, seems like Brisbane prefers odd suggestions over dirty and we like that just fine. The Hot Dogs went sunbathing, we saw a scene about a burrito, learned the perils of being a hair dresser and out audience puppeteer applied for the job of a bridge painter. The Alien Barbershop suggestion was theme parks.
At the theme parks
Soda’s $10 a cup
You ride a bunch of rides
Then you throw up.
Meh. Didn’t help the batting a peerage at all.
After the show, I met a Brisbane puppeteer named Brett Hansen and his friend (sorry didn’t know the relationship there) Elissa. Always fun to talk about puppets and puppetry with someone who shares the passion. He has a show that’ll be going on in Brisbane later in May. Sorry I’ll miss it.
After the show we all met back at the hotel and we actually had a fun evening just chatting and laughing in Colleen and Peggy’s room. Soon it was after midnight and time to head to bed.
One more show. One more day. Can’t believe it is over. Sad to see it all end. Going to enjoy tomorrow as much as I can! Gonna get that batting average back up tomorrow night.