From the workshop

[BillyRay]

I mentioned awhile back that I have a NOTLD puppet show that my crew & I have been rebuilding. I promised pics when I had something to show.

Now I do. Here's a couple zombie heads I've been "distressing" with assorted wounds. There's quite a bit of detail yet to do, but these'll give you folks an idea of the gruesome/cute design principle I'm working from:

What d'ya think?

[Yojimbo]

I mentioned awhile back that I have a NOTLD puppet show that my crew & I have been rebuilding. I promised pics when I had something to show.

Now I do. Here's a couple zombie heads I've been "distressing" with assorted wounds. There's quite a bit of detail yet to do, but these'll give you folks an idea of the gruesome/cute design principle I'm working from:

What d'ya think?
Saw the puppet show video you posted on the other thread. Pure Genius!

When are you going to take the company on the road? It would be nice to see this in person. Have you contacted Gary Streiner (organizer of the Evans City Living Dead Fest)? Perhaps your company ought to put on a performance at that event?

Good job, BillyRay!

[BillyRay]

Granted, It'd be pretty sweet to tour the thing around the country, but it'd be a logistical nightmare. We have 12+ puppeteers & crewpeople (most of us have Day Jobs, families and other assorted projects/responsibilities), a couple dozen puppets, several boxes of props, and some larger setpieces.

So it'd a U-Haul & a couple carloads of actors; plus hotel rooms, meals, etc. I'd have to charge a lot more per performance than I'd be comfortable doing at this point.

However, we'll be performing at ZombieCon X (here in Milwaukee) in early October, so come & see us there!

And, let's face it, everything winds up on the Intertubes, anyhow. So although you'll have to wait a bit, you'll eventually get a chance to see the puppets. It's like being an American Doctor Who fan. :D

[Yojimbo]

However, we'll be performing at ZombieCon X (here in Milwaukee) in early October, so come & see us there!


Understood about the logistical problems and the assorted issues that are inherent in taking your project on the road.

Unfortuantely, I have commited to flying cross country from Los Angeles to attend Gary Streiner's Living Dead Fest in PA at the end of Oct. so will not be able to attend the ZombieCon X (just cannot pass up the chance to meet Judy Ridley!) so I am going to have to miss your project.

Catching it online is always an option albeit not the same as a live performance. One of these days, though, I am going to have to come up and see your troupe perform.

[BillyRay]

Well, wait'll we get our next project, "RPG", up and running, heh heh heh...

[clanglee]

Well, wait'll we get our next project, "RPG", up and running, heh heh heh...

Is that RPG as in "Rocket Propelled Grenade" or "Role Playing Game?"

[BillyRay]

Ak-shully,
RPG stands for Roll! Puppet! Game!
Here's the "manifesto" I drew up for my people (Kinda long):

ROLL! PUPPET! GAME!
(RPG)

“The original interactive, Dungeons & Dragons – themed, improvisational puppet game show. Accept no substitutes.”

What is RPG?
RPG is the 'Next Big Idea' from the Angry Young Men, those wacky funsters that brought you the
Night of the Living Dead Puppet Show.

Remember how much fun you had playing Dungeons & Dragons in High School?
Of course not. You had a life.
But we didn't.
And now we have a show about it!
(With puppets!)

How's it played?
The audience follows a quartet of adventurers as they explore an ancient, monster-infested,
and extremely silly labyrinth.
The Fighter, Cleric, Magic-User, & Thief are guided along in their quest
by audience suggestions and the all-knowing Dungeon Master.

Waitaminute...Dungeon Master?
Just like in the classic game, the Dungeon Master (DM) serves as storyteller, host & referee.
He is the Keeper of the Dice and the Wheel of Encounters. (pat. pending)

This is all over the place. I gotta sit down.
Have a beer. I'll explain how it goes...

So you have these four characters, and they're really wacky, right?
And they're going through this dungeon.
Every time they “enter a room”, the DM (or a lovely assistant from the audience)
will give the Wheel of Encounters a spin.
It'll land on a Treasure, a Monster, or any number of other things that we haven't thought up (yet).

Treasure is generally some kind of Magic Weapon, Helmet, or Whatnot;
the effects of which are picked out of a (wizard) hat.
An audience member picks the effect, and the hat is filled from a combination of
audience pre-show submissions and our own stand-by ideas.

The magic item is usable only once, then it disappears.

When the Wheel lands on a specific Monster, the audience is polled as to the particular...idiosyncrasies of that Monster.
Zombie...Accountants! A Beholder...who's fond of Musical Theatre!
(It's all done with costume props.)
(and funny voices)
There's some banter between the Monsters & the Heroes.
Funny. Banter.

Then there's a Combat.

How's Combat work?
The DM rolls his 20-sided die, resulting in the number to “beat”.

An audience member comes to the front, where we have a putting green set up.
(with those cool rope lights along the sides, very Price is Right)
The volunteer rolls a giant, plush 20-sided die down the green, trying to beat the DM's number.

If they miss, they get a little bag of chocolate coins and sent back to their seat.
But if they win, they get to gain Experience.

Experience?
Essentially, one of the puppets breaks character & comes downstage for more funny banter.
(And maybe a Polaroid)

The whole Shebang reaches a climax after a half hour-or-so of this.
There's a Boss Monster (probably some kind of Dragon the first time through).
A battle is fought, the treasure is won,
There's some laughs, some tears, some lessons learned.

With Puppets.Yes, with puppets.
(It'll work best in a venue with a liquor license.)


But Seriously...
Most of the humor of RPG is based on embracing/subverting the old stereotypes of fantasy literature, role-playing games, and the folks who love them.
The show's kept moving along by the personalities of the main cast:

The Fighter is an Orc - big, green, dumb and violent.
The Cleric is a Nun – a strict disciplinarian with a ruler and bountiful cleavage.
The Magic User is an Elven nebbish – glasses, droopy hat, Jerry Lewis voice.
And the Thief is a Cockney, homicidal “'Arfling” sock puppet.

The Dungeon Master is only nominally in control of the proceedings.
He's chunky, sarcastic, obsessive, & poorly groomed.

I see this as a show more easily tour-able than the NOTLD puppet show.
No real sets, few large props, mostly boxes of puppets and costume bits.

And wait'll we get to “Level 2”...

[BillyRay]

And here's a clown for you...

(It's getting apparent that I can't simply post the image from my computer. Am I missing something?)

[bassman]

Creepy, man. Ever thought about doing one of the signature zombies from romero's films? Maybe Bub, Airport Zombie, or the cemetary ghoul?

[BillyRay]

We've had a version of the Graveyrd Ghoul and the Hare Krisha (from Dawn) since the beginning. and I've got top men working on a Dr Tongue (from Day) that'll blink.

Top. Men.

Plus several of these zombies are built to take damage. Have you seen the video?

[bassman]

Cool....any pictures of those?

And no....I don't see a video.:confused:

[BillyRay]

Most of the zombie heads at this point, although rockin', are pretty generic.

So no pics.

Video from our first couple seasons is available on our website:

http://www.angryyoungmenltd.com

[AcesandEights]

Whoah! Puppets and D&D!?

That sounds delightfully high on the geek-o-meter and a lot of fun!



I miss D&D :(

[clanglee]

Ak-shully,
RPG stands for Roll! Puppet! Game!
Here's the "manifesto" I drew up for my people (Kinda long):

ROLL! PUPPET! GAME!
(RPG)

“The original interactive, Dungeons & Dragons – themed, improvisational puppet game show. Accept no substitutes.”

What is RPG?
RPG is the 'Next Big Idea' from the Angry Young Men, those wacky funsters that brought you the
Night of the Living Dead Puppet Show.

Remember how much fun you had playing Dungeons & Dragons in High School?
Of course not. You had a life.
But we didn't.
And now we have a show about it!
(With puppets!)

How's it played?
The audience follows a quartet of adventurers as they explore an ancient, monster-infested,
and extremely silly labyrinth.
The Fighter, Cleric, Magic-User, & Thief are guided along in their quest
by audience suggestions and the all-knowing Dungeon Master.

Waitaminute...Dungeon Master?
Just like in the classic game, the Dungeon Master (DM) serves as storyteller, host & referee.
He is the Keeper of the Dice and the Wheel of Encounters. (pat. pending)

This is all over the place. I gotta sit down.
Have a beer. I'll explain how it goes...

So you have these four characters, and they're really wacky, right?
And they're going through this dungeon.
Every time they “enter a room”, the DM (or a lovely assistant from the audience)
will give the Wheel of Encounters a spin.
It'll land on a Treasure, a Monster, or any number of other things that we haven't thought up (yet).

Treasure is generally some kind of Magic Weapon, Helmet, or Whatnot;
the effects of which are picked out of a (wizard) hat.
An audience member picks the effect, and the hat is filled from a combination of
audience pre-show submissions and our own stand-by ideas.

The magic item is usable only once, then it disappears.

When the Wheel lands on a specific Monster, the audience is polled as to the particular...idiosyncrasies of that Monster.
Zombie...Accountants! A Beholder...who's fond of Musical Theatre!
(It's all done with costume props.)
(and funny voices)
There's some banter between the Monsters & the Heroes.
Funny. Banter.

Then there's a Combat.

How's Combat work?
The DM rolls his 20-sided die, resulting in the number to “beat”.

An audience member comes to the front, where we have a putting green set up.
(with those cool rope lights along the sides, very Price is Right)
The volunteer rolls a giant, plush 20-sided die down the green, trying to beat the DM's number.

If they miss, they get a little bag of chocolate coins and sent back to their seat.
But if they win, they get to gain Experience.

Experience?
Essentially, one of the puppets breaks character & comes downstage for more funny banter.
(And maybe a Polaroid)

The whole Shebang reaches a climax after a half hour-or-so of this.
There's a Boss Monster (probably some kind of Dragon the first time through).
A battle is fought, the treasure is won,
There's some laughs, some tears, some lessons learned.

With Puppets.Yes, with puppets.
(It'll work best in a venue with a liquor license.)


But Seriously...
Most of the humor of RPG is based on embracing/subverting the old stereotypes of fantasy literature, role-playing games, and the folks who love them.
The show's kept moving along by the personalities of the main cast:

The Fighter is an Orc - big, green, dumb and violent.
The Cleric is a Nun – a strict disciplinarian with a ruler and bountiful cleavage.
The Magic User is an Elven nebbish – glasses, droopy hat, Jerry Lewis voice.
And the Thief is a Cockney, homicidal “'Arfling” sock puppet.

The Dungeon Master is only nominally in control of the proceedings.
He's chunky, sarcastic, obsessive, & poorly groomed.

I see this as a show more easily tour-able than the NOTLD puppet show.
No real sets, few large props, mostly boxes of puppets and costume bits.

And wait'll we get to “Level 2”...


Awesome, awesome, awesome!!!!

You sir are a god for that idea.

[major jay]

Video from our first couple seasons is available on our website:

http://www.angryyoungmenltd.com

You are one talented man Billy Ray.

[BillyRay]

I thank you for the acsension to godhood. It's about damn time. :D

But really, I just come up with these things. If I didn't have the crew I have (mad scientists, the lot of 'em) these projects wouldn't get any further than "You know what would be cool..."