Puppet Up Down Under 2014 – April 4, 2014 – TV
This morning we were up early for an appearance on Australian TV. The show, Studio 10, is a little like the The View and the gag was that the puppets were filling in for the regular four hosts for this one segment. It was Brian, Colleen, Peggy and myself. Along with Patrick, Julianna and Rosie, who is our amazing Comedy a Festival liaison, we hopped a cab down to the television station.
After some waiting around in the green room and general discussion on what exactly the puppets would be discussing on the show, we were led to the studio to film the segment. The whole thing lasted two minutes and was, seemingly, well received. You can watch the segment by CLICKING HERE. It’s always fun to do these kind of press things and I will always say year to doing them.
After getting back to the hotel, the lot of us went to grab breakfast at a place called Mad Spuds Cafe. Brian and I both had the Irish Breakfast. It consisted of two eggs, sausage, baked beans, hash browns, soda bread, toast and black and white pudding. That sounds like a lot but the portions were actually small. The only thing regular sized were the eggs. For example, the hash browns were just about the same diameter as a fifty cent piece. It was all very good.
Afterwards, we hung out in the hotel a bit. I did another load of laundry because after Sunday morning it’s back to the washer/dryer from hell back in Melbourne.
Brian, Dan and I took the bus down to the theatre and i was sure to make good use of the googly eyes in my pocket.
We arrived early so we got to explore the Opera House gift shop. Picked up a gift or two, then it was time to get to the theatre for soundcheck. We found out that a puppetry group from Sydney (sort of their version of the LA Guild Puppetry) would be coming to the show and we would be doing a brief meet and greet after the show. That also indicated to us that we should step up the puppetry game tonight.
The show was great. And the crowd was absolutely amazing. The suggestions were off the charts too! We saw a scene in a sewer where Colleen’s character was stuck in a pipe, the Hot Dogs acted out the crucifixion, we saw Tom Cruise on Oprah in an alternate history where he was the most normal person there and a 50s Manners Movies about the dangers of breaking wind on a space station.
I, once again, got to do the Alien Barbershop and fared a little better tonight with the topic of Spinach:
Oh I love spinach,
You really can’t beat it.
I only wish
I could get my fucking kids to eat it.
From top to bottom, just an amazing show. And after the show it was super fun meeting the fine people from the Puppetry group. Paul, Katherine, Wez and the others (I’m horrible with remembering names, I’m so sorry). It was fun to discuss the goings on in the puppetry community in Sydney.
After that, Brian, Dan and I bussed back to the area we are staying at and had a nice Thai food dinner. After that we had a writer’s meeting for a new series we are going to shoot. I can’t say much more but you can bet your butts it’ll be good.
All in all, another amazing day living the dream.
Puppet Up Down Under 2014 – April 3, 2014 – I Want a Wombat
Today started with an early rise. Well, earlier than normal as a few of us were headed to the Featherdale Wildlife Park which is about 40 minutes outside of Sydney by train. Brian and I met Peggy, her daughter Anna Rose and Julianna in the lobby at 8:00 AM and by a little after 9:00 AM, we were standing at the front gate of Featherdale.
Featherdale is an amazing place where you can get amazingly close to some amazing animals! We saw koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, dingos, a crocodile, and just a whole slew of amazing animals. My favorite was the wombats. They just look so funny.
I pet a koala. They are soft. Sarah, the koala keeper, brought a baby out for Uncle Interloper to see. It was so great to see a baby that close. Sarah then showed Uncle Interloper a Diamond Python, which was fun as well. We also saw some Dingos. They look just like dogs, but these dogs were lazy.
It was a really fun day checking out all the animals there and I highly recommend the trip to anyone who is visiting Australia. After leaving Featherdale, we hopped back on the train and were soon back in Sydney. Back at the hotel we relaxed for a bit before having to head to the Opera House for another show.
Brian and I had decided to try and take the bus instead of walking but we missed it by minutes. So, we walked. It’s a nice walk, but it is forty minutes so it was a haul. We vowed to take the bus back afterwards for sure.
We had a brief meeting before tech today where Patrick informed us that he was going mix things up. People who were in certain improvs would be switched to other improvs. This is always exciting for us because it makes things new and keeps things fresh. And it worked!
Tonight’s show was really loose and fun. There were some hilarious scenes. We learned about the dangers of being Justin Beiber, that Captain Cook was dyslexic, we heard the story of The Day Mary was Committed To The Asylum and the Hot Dogs went to a West baptist Church Rally.
I did Alien Barbershop again, but it wasn’t my best effort. The suggestion was ‘Vomit On Command.’ All I could come up with is
I don’t need a finger
Or a drink in a flask
If you’d like to see me vomit
All you have to do is ask.
Ugh. I’m sure there was something better there, but damned if I could find it. As Patrick says, “Improv is a batting average. They can’t all be winners.” Oh well, something to work on for tomorrow night.
After the show, instead of hanging out we did take the bus back to the hotel. Then it was just relaxing. We have a live TV appearance tomorrow so we have to be up early. No late night partying.
And so, with that, I’ll leave you with a picture of a wombat.
I want a wombat.
Puppet Up Down Under 2014 – April 2, 2014 – Sydney Opera House Show 2
Woke up to another beautiful Sydney morning. The weather reminds me a lot of the weather in Florida. Very tropical. Very nice.
First thing, I made my way down towards to the gym to run on the treadmill a bit and lift some weights. I’m totally buff now.
After a shower, I hung out a bit with Brian in out apartment, with Dan visiting every now and then. Around noon, the three of us took a walk to get some lunch. I was in the mood for a sandwich, but after scoping out the place I thought looked like a deli, we decided on Thai food.
Keeping with my tradition of trying one new type of food on each of these tours, I gave Thai food a try. I believe I may have had it once before, but it left no lasting impression on me, so I tried it again. I enjoyed it this time around. I wouldn’t say it is now my absolute favorite kind of food, but it wasn’t bad. Also, now, if Thai food is the destination for a group of people, I’ll be fine knowing there’ll be stuff for me to eat.
After lunch I did some laundry and caught up on some email. Just generally chilled out before it was time to head to the Opera House.
Brian and I walked to the Opera House and it was cool to get our first, good look at it in the daytime. Yesterday, we arrived and just went straight into the theatre for tech. Today, Brian and I got down there early enough to walk around the entire Opera House. It’s pretty impressive. Built in 1954, it has 6 performance spaces and it’s really just completely impressive on the inside. I helped Uncle Interloper film some vines and take a few pictures. Then it was off inside to run our pre-show tech.
Tech went smoothly and soon it was time to suit up in black and commence to Puppeting Up. On this tour we’ve been doing 70 minute shows with no intermission and it’s a fun way to do the shows. Things seem to transition pretty easily from one thing to the next.
Tonight’s show was a blast, as they all have been. We visited an all girls school, the Roman Empire, told the story of Hansel & Regretel! The suggestion for the Alien Barbershop was unique. It was simply….They’re real. Just that. They’re real. So here was my rhyme…
My girlfriend’s breasts,
Are size triple D.
I know they’re fake,
Bit their real to me.
Think it came out pretty good. They crowd was great and it was another fun show. So lucky I get to do this.
After the show, we went to the Opera Bar which is outside on the harbor. It’s just really amazing that we get to do a show in this landmark of a building and then sit outside and admire it while we have dinner. So lucky.
After a bit we walked back to the hotel to tuck in for the night. Excited for tomorrow as we are going to Featherdale. It’s a wildlife sanctuary. With Kangaroos and Koalas. Uncle Interloper is very excited to meet them!
Puppet Up Down Under 2014 – April 1, 2014 – Sydney Opera House
As I mentioned yesterday, the wireless internet in this hotel leaves a lot to be desired. I’m fact, the best internet we have found is standing in front of the hotel on the street and picking up the wifi from the cafe across the street. So, this morning, after standing on the street and checking my mail, I hit the gym.
Logged thirty minutes on the treadmill and did some other exercises as well, then it was back up to the room because I was doing a radio interview about our shows here in Sydney. The interview went well and they said they would pass along a copy. If they do, I’ll post a link to it here.
After showering, I headed out to find something to eat. A lot of fun little shops and restaurants in the area where we are,Munich I’m told is Surrey Hill. I decided upon a turkey sandwich at a little place called tops. It was pretty good. I avoided the gelato shop where Colleen and her sister were getting a scoop. Though their pecan gelato has me intrigued. Maybe at some other point.
Got back to the hotel and Brian was in the process of getting our room changed, mainly because of the internet. Brian is doing several jobs while he is here and needs access to the internet at a moments notice. One of the benefits of being his roommate, I’d imagine.
I can’t tell you how cool it was to drive up to Sydney Opera House knowing we’d be performing there tonight. It’s pretty impressive close up and the surrounding harbor is just amazing. We only got seconds to look outside as we were whisked into the theatre to begin tech rehearsal. This place is pretty spectacular on the inside as well. They have a green room that is not just a green room, it’s a whole cafeteria. Pretty fantastic. No pictures allowed in there or I would have snapped one.
Our tech rehearsal went right up to showtime, as it often does when we move into a new venue, and at 7:30 PM the first ever Puppet Up! Uncensored show began at the Sydney Opera House. And what a show it was! From top to bottom it was a lot of fun and that had to do in part with the absolutely fantastic audience! From the top of the show to the end they were just there to have fun and, in turn, we had a blast!
From a zoo on the moon, to Lady Gaga at the great fire of London, to annoying people who snort every second word to Snow White and the Seven Perverts, it was just a blast of a show. And, of course, the Alien Barbershop:
Oh Global Warming
People dismiss it on a whim
Oh I hope
That those mother fuckers can swim.
A show for the record books.
After the show we hung out at the Opera Bar which is outside on the water and it was the perfect night for it. The sky was super clear, saw the Southern Cross for the first time, pretty amazing. Then we walked across Sydney back to our hotel. Just a perfect night all around.
So fortunate that I get to do it all over again tomorrow.
“When you see the southern cross for the first time,
You understand now why you came this way.
‘Cause the truth you might be running from is so small,
But it’s as big as the promise, the promise of the coming day.” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
