Episode 40

A jealous Penny steals a plant intended for Hermie that was delivered to the stage door, but she soon realizes that this is no ordinary plant!

Episode Breakdown:
-Cast:
Avery Jones: Narrator, Hermie, Hare, Zeke, Plant, Rory, Scooter, Turtle, Lexi
Alex Hubbard: Penny, Trixie, Jen the Hen, Calliope
Hannah Tarleton: Audrey 'O Malley
Hadley Gilpatrick: Squishy
Nick Garcia: Rock, Orange Cat, Bubba
Benjamin Johnston: Zora, Plant assist., Hermie assist., Bob the Rooster, Trixie
Becca Smith: Pink Meep

Calliope & Zora Intro/Outro: This is, by far, one of the strangest pairings of characters we've done to date. Originally, this episode had no Intro/Outro so we could focus on truly ripping off- ahem, spoofing "Little Shop of Horrors". But upon editing the show I discovered this episode was too short, and needed more material, so this wacky duo (who were already part of a Season 5 episode) found a new home.


How to be Hot: I'm starting to believe that these two can't give real advice on anything....

The Plant: In October of this year, I had the privilege of designing, building, and puppeteering Audrey II for Springer Opera House's production of "Little Shop of Horrors". The plant used in this episode was/is my prototype (protoplant?), used to convince myself, and Little Shop's producers, that I was capable of building this monster of a puppet. In fact, even the line drawing of the plant featured in this episode's credits was a piece of concept art used in developing the look for "Little Shop" I've always felt as though The Puppet Improv is, in a sense, my video journal. A lot of important moments, trips, and people have been featured in a way that's very special to me, and, hopefully entertaining to our audience. Even though we shot 95% of this episode before we even began production on "Little Shop", it still stands, in my mind, as a great reminder of the experience.


Calliope's Advice of the Day: We've heard Calliope reference "The Turtle of Wisdom" on several occasions, and we just thought it was some more of her delusional babbling. But, it turns out, that there is an actual turtle... whether he's wise or not is another issue entirely.

Joke of the Day: Yes, we stole Family Guy's joke, too.

Daily Dose of Cute: Okay, kid... we get it, you're cute.

Penny's Confessions: This segment doesn't have anything to do with Penny's story line in this episode, but this too was something used to extend the run-time of the episode

The Young and the Stupid: What's the worse thing Zeke could ever tell Trixie... or Angela... or Paige? This wasn't originally intended to be a YATS story line, but we were one plot short for this season's soap operas, so the idea was re-invented into what you see now.

So kids, what's the moral of this story?
Don't talk to the greenery, and that you don't always have to know how your show is going to end before you start. Where's the fun in that?

Avery Jones, Creative Director of The Puppet Improv

Series Wraps!

         

           Production on The Puppet Improv has officially wrapped. My feelings are mixed; to end the show that has been a MAJOR part of my life for over 3 years now is a big step, but I find myself at a point in my career where I can put all of my efforts behind bigger things. There, I can make a difference in family-friendly entertainment, as well as the enhancing the puppetry world with my own ideas and creativity.


Our original 50+ episodes have been re-edited for television broadcast, removing unneeded filler material, and making all 5 seasons of show uniform, both in content and quality. They are all currently available on our YouTube channel to entertain and inspire us and others in the future.



So many things I'd like to say, but I'll boil it down to just a few points:

I'd like to thank our group secondary and background puppeteers Hannah Tarleton, Lizzie Martin, Nick Garcia, Hadley Gilpatrick, Connor Gilpatrick, Benjamin Johnston, Becca Smith, and Meg Miller (to name a few)...  for their patience with me as a director and performer. Whether you just got to be a cat, goth kid, meep, or monkey in the background, right-hand for Sherlock, or if you had a speaking role you, all added SOO MUCH to the show! From the corny jokes to the random Meep action, the creative energy in the room was magic. I cannot express how exciting it was to be able to work with a group of characters in a scene rather than just 2 or 3 per shot, you were all awesome to work with... even you, Nick!

To my comedic partner-in-crime Alex Hubbard, who brought wild and weird heart to Penny, Dachshund, Trixie, Calliope, and Jen for over 3 years: Thank you for your focus and drive to get the show done! Without you, this show would not exist. Your timing, characters, and puppetry were all phenomenal assets to me and this series. Thank you.













A BIG thanks to Ron Anderson and Springer Opera House for allowing us to shoot in their facilities, and for providing a safe environment for us to create, perform, and laugh for a few hours a month!









  This doesn't mean the end of the characters by any means. The gang will live on as part of 'Hare's Special Show', 'Heath and the Checker Shoe Band', our live improv-based shows, classes and workshops through Springer Opera House, and a new series entitled 'Hey, Hermie!'.

To whomever may be reading this blog, thank YOU for taking the time to get to know our show!

Keep moving forward!

Avery Jones, Creative Director of The Puppet Improv

Episode 39

Episode Break-Down:

Cast:
Avery Jones: Lexi, Hermie, Sherlock Bones, Zeke, Henry, Rory, Scooter
Alex Hubbard: Trixie, Penny, Dachshund, Calliope, Jen the Hen
Hannah Tarleton: Audrey 'O Malley, Sherlock assist.
Connor Gilpatrick: Zora
With; Lizzie Martin, Nick Garcia

Lexi, Trixie, Audrey, Zora Intro/Outro:
After several seasons of working with a limited number of puppeteers and characters per shot and per episode, I cannot begin to tell you how fun it is to work with 4 characters at once, and what a great jumble of personalities! This group of gals will be back!

Penny's Confessions: There's just something wrong with a chick selling her brother's copy of Baby Beluga....

Sherlock and Dachshund: The New Collar: The Sherlock and Dachshund material is becoming some of the most natural bits to film, for some reason these two mutts are finally clicking with us as performers! Looks like Dachshund's finally getting some bling!

How to be Hot: Zeke in a dress, why didn't we do it sooner?

Calliope's Advice of the Day: Wait, what?

Poetry Time with Henry Monster: Poetry Time is a sketch that I've never been too fond of, Henry was developed to be the total opposite of Hermie, very book-ish, always polite, but since Henry's creation (over 3 years ago) Hermie's changed into a deeper, more complex character, who is, in fact, pretty book-ish and polite. At this point, the  only major difference between the two is the nasal quality in Henry's voice So, I have a method to find out if a sketch is really a good sketch: Put Penny in it. If Penny can't make it work, can it... See ya, Henry!

 The Young and the Stupid: I pulled double duty (haha, I said "duty"...) with Lexi and Zeke in this dramatic continuation of our REALLY weird soap opera, which is even funnier when Jen is involved... NOTE TO SELF: Use more of the chicken!

Daily Dose of Cute: HE'S SO FLUFFY I COULD DIE!

Joke of the Day: We steal- ahem... borrow jokes from everyone! This one came from an interview with Norm MacDonald on The Tonight Show... just thought you'd like to know.

Inspector, Detective: Private Eye: Our first proper IDPI sketch of the season!

A show without a real plot, but with some nice character development, fun... and Poetry Time... well, we could do worse!

Avery Jones, Creative Director of The Puppet Improv