Profession Blogs: Puppetry

I know my last post was about not having a profession and all that, and it's true that I don't know what I'll do or get a job in...but I realize I do know what I'm passionate about. I'm not completely lost; there are some fields I know I could enjoy working in. And my first one, my dream-big-little-pig one, is puppetry.

Hopefully, unless you've been depraving yourself of true happiness since the late 60s, you've seen these guys before:

The Muppets! Jim Henson's foam-and-fur creations are familiar to millions around the world. Which brings me to a not-so-secret obsession: I want to be a puppeteer. I love acting, and I'm almost always part of the cast of a musical at Theatre Macon, but making money off of stage acting? It's a very competitive field, based almost 90% in New York City and LA, and nearly impossible to get regular jobs in. Not to mention the dramatics (naturally) of actors in the field, the back-stabbing and stealing parts, and crazy commitment and devotion. If you audition for a Broadway musical, you're giving up any social life, chance to go out, friends, or love life for a year and a half minimum (although you may have to sleep with the director, so there's that).

Anyway, I've always liked Jim Henson's Muppets and movies. I like the whimsicality and the hidden jokes (poke past all the flowers and glitter and unicorns in my brain and you'll find I'm rather cynical at heart. Under the cotton candy surface, I love a good dose of irony). And when I started volunteering at the Center For Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, something clicked. I know I want to work there. It's such a fun environment, and when I do the workshops with the kids they have, I just love it. I must have some mothering gene, because I feel most comfortable when I'm hanging out with kids ages 4-10. 

So...that's what I like doing. I'm following muppetshenson, a blog dedicated to current Muppets news and Jim Henson goings-on, and puppetmuse, which is a general blog dedicated to and run by real-life professional and amateur puppeteers working around the world. These will keep me up-to-date with all the news, including maybe openings and experiences, of the community (which surprisingly is not a small one!)

Thank you and goodnight. Raise your glass to all of us hopefully being employed out of college.

(P.S.: I can name all the ones in the picture (not nearly all of them- there are over 2900 if you include The Muppet Show, the Muppet movies, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and Jim's other projects. He had been making original puppets since he was a teenager.) From top left: Dr Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, the Swedish Chef, Statler, Sam the Eagle, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, Kermit, Waldorf, Janice, Animal, Pepe.)

My "Profession"????

Let me start this post off by saying I don't believe in growing up. I don't think anyone really does it, it's just make-believe nonsense to me, like the purity myth created by the patriarchy or Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Sure, I know some of the things I like doing, but a lot of them aren't "viable career options" because no one knows if I would be able to live off them.

Having a constant "job" to stay with forever is so scary to me. As a young adult and a child, it took me a long time stumbling through puberty to finally realize that the only constant is change. And then becoming an adult is this huge symbol for becoming steady or settling down or figuring everything out, somehow. Maybe in twenty years I'll have grown so sick of theatre I'll refuse to watch the Tony Awards. Maybe in five years. Maybe next month, I'll want to be a psychologist or a florist or a missionary. Those things have interested me, too. I'm drawn to anything interesting with bright colors that doesn't involve sitting in a cubicle.

I just want to learn. I want to find out things that I don't know, and see and do things that make my time in this place awesome, in the most literal sense of the word. Hike up a mountain, go to Europe, do a real cartwheel, find out why I dream what I do, help someone. That's my "professional goal". Maybe I'll figure something out soon, and maybe not. But either way I'm hoping for experiences.

Meet Me

I'm Emma. I am considerably short, fairly annoying, and extremely cute. I love glitter. I have a countdown to Halloween (doesn't everyone?). My Netflix account is my best friend; I watch a lot of NBC shows. If you ask to hang out, I will take that as coming over to my house where I will cook pasta while we watch Parks and Recreation. I like pleasure reading, and I'm usually in a show at Theatre Macon downtown. I'm majoring in Theatre, hope to get a BFA in Musical Theatre, and ultimately want to work with kids as a puppeteer, maybe on Sesame Street. Outer space is cool. I think I'm pretty fun. Several people have sarcastically asked me if I have been in a Disney movie. I believe this is because I try to see everything with sparkles in my eyes.  Regrettably, though, I have not had the opportunity. Also regrettably, and in the interest of honesty (no friendship can be built on half truths), I happen to be 17. And I'm quite impartial to David Bowie in 1986's Labyrinth. Nice to meet you!