Shows Flow

I have been visiting with good friends the past week, and sleeping in beds! My Coleman stove gets a break. It is a very different time when puppets take a back seat, and blogging too, I guess, while I paddle around on a kayak, swim at the beach, collect shells, and talk, talk, talk with friends. But the adventure continues, and I decided that I would do a show in my friend’s driveway. She lives in a neighborhood of waterfront homes, which to this Minnesotan is most unusual. Let’s just say that there is water and boats where the alleys would be. So the drill is that I draw up signs and then put up a few, (one duct-taped to a palm tree) and then display a poster board sign that fits on the easel I threw in the trailer at the last minute! That was a stroke of brilliance! So the easel and sign sits at the end of the driveway by the trailer, and hopefully, the buzz begins!

I figured this low-key marketing approach out at Ochlockonee River State Park on the panhandle of Florida where I did my first show to a small but mighty audience. I figured that a small sharing at my campsite did not really require permission of the ranger, and in this case the ranger actually came to the show to photograph the event to use it as a demonstration of the fun stuff that happens at her park. That show was fated to be: the park had the most relaxed atmosphere that encouraged me to get a show in motion. I had decided earlier that I would put on a show when it felt right. No pushing! It was a delight to do, and one woman named Laney giggled the whole time at Ollie’s antics.

The driveway show attracted a good audience of at least 25 folks including a number of children. Rodney the clown, a small hand puppet, made a last minute appearance since there were really small kids who might have been scared confronted with Ollie right away. Rodney warmed them up for the tall guy! It was a hot, sunny show, and how often do I get to fall into the water at the end of a show! Tomorrow I will be taking the trailer to downtown St. Petersburg to the open market to do some busking!