On Friday, September 30th, 2011, Leslie Carrara-Rupdolph’s Wake Up Your Weird opened at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnutt Creek, CA. I was the assistant puppeteer in Weird, in which Lolly Lardpop, a candy-obsessed five year old must deal with her feelings about being bullied out of a play-date.
Performances were:
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 7:15PM
Saturday, October 1, 2011, at 2:15PM
Saturday, October 1, 2011, at 7:15PM
Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 2:15PM
Credits:
Writer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Director – Michele Spears
Musical Director- Andy Howe
Video/Tech director/puppeteer- Grant Baciocco
Assistant puppeteer –Marsian De Lellis
From the invite:
Join Emmy–nominated Sesame Street puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph for the debut performance of Wake up Your Weird!
Meet Lolly Lardpop, a spunky 5 year old candy – loving sock puppet. When Lolly gets bullied out of a play date, she deals with her hurt feelings by weaving a magical tale about a girl and her brain Doyle, a fairy godmother, a giant green lizard, and a flying grandma! Through art,music, puppetry, and the help of the audience, Lolly discovers the power of being herself and learns how to follow her heart.
This multimedia one person show addresses bullying and self esteem issues and teaches kids how to navigate life creatively. The first act is a musical short story developed at the Ojai Playwright Conference in 2009 and was further developed at the Eugene O’Neill Puppetry Conference in 2011. It has received a Jim Henson Foundation grant and was awarded an UNIMA Citation of Excellence for the version, performed at the 2009 International Puppetry Conference.
“I wrote this play because I thought it was a whimsical way. I could address some of the emotional issues young people are dealing with today and give them some creative tools to express themselves. I wanted to show kids how easy it is to access their imaginations. I think of Wake up Your Weird as a “show and tell.” The first act is the “show” and the second act is the “tell”, where I tell the audience how to do what they just saw on stage. I love the arts so much and this piece comes straight from my heart and allows me to share that love and connect with communities and reach all ages. Theaters are a hub for humanity.” -Leslie Carrara-Rudolph.