Hitting the Town

Shows have been going very well! Here's a shot from backstage. At center is Rogue friend and Artistic Director of the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jon Ludwig. On the far right is our awesome stage manager Hayley. At left-ish is Serious Tyler.

In addition to Frogging 'em and Bellying 'em, we've been up to lots of mischief in the city of Atlanta. Ready for our slideshow? Here we go!

We've all been remarking on the beautiful architecture of Atlanta. Christina tries to climb one of the buildings in downtown. She's too far away, though.

We picked up MARTA passes so that we could use the miracle of public transit to zip about the city.

Wandering around, we found a mural that spoke to us. I told my friends to pose for the band press photo.

BBQ for dinner that night! At the top of Tyler's list was Daddy D's BBQ in downtown. It was amazing, even with the hot, wet, heat in the patio area.

That night we caught a midnight showing of Labyrinth. Shamefully, I had never before seen that movie in it's entirety. So inspiring. Thank you, Hayley, for seeing the giving film with us and giving us rides back to our hotel. You're fantastic!

When our hosts told us about Stone Mountain, we really had no choice but to make time for a visit. 825 feet tall and overlooking a vast green field, it's hard to put in words the experience of visiting the massive rock formation. In the face of the rock, you can see a huge carving of three important men of the Civil War on horseback: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Lt. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. How huge is the carving? They say that a 6-foot tall man can stand inside one of the horse's mouths. If this weren't enough, after sunset they put on a LASER SHOW on the face of the mountain with fireworks and massive projection mapping. I can honestly say I've never seen anything remotely like it.

We were joined by friendly folk from the Center and they treated us to a KFC picnic and jugs of sweet tea. Could it be that they treat all of their guest artists so graciously? I am delighted every day with how friendly and kind our new friends are to us.

What an amazing couple of days. Tomorrow, the plan is to scout out Athens, GA, birthplace of a lot of great music - R.E.M., The B-52's, Of Montreal, among others. I'll tell you all about it later.

The Future is Now

After our two performances today, Frog Belly performers Tyler, Christina, and Miles met up with Patty Petrey Dees, Distance Learning Program Director for the Center for Puppetry Arts. She conducted a web-based interview with our intrepid cast. I lurked in the corner with my camera.

My friends did a stellar job chatting about our little arts organization. I found myself getting more than a little nostalgic listening to them talk about the history of Rogue Artists Ensemble, from our brush with greatness with Mr. Punch to the puppets of Gogol Project to the lovely moments in our current show, D is for Dog. Listeners were able to ask us questions from their home computers (sometimes from computers as far away as Canada!). My favorite moment was when a participant asked our cast a question that her daughter had for the group. Oh, and Rat answered a few questions as well. Here you see Iyabo showing off a display of what participants in the webinar were able to view live:

Our conversation is now archived on the website so that you, too, can view it from the comfort of your own home! You have to create an account and download a java app, but I recommend that you do it. It's pretty wild to see how it all works. And according to one review of the webinar, Tyler, Christina, and Miles did a stellar job:

"Every person interviewed seemed to be not only extremely knowledgeable, but also very personable. The interviewer asked excellent questions relevant to what the participants were asking via the chat window. Each interviewee added unique insight and perspective to topics ranging from puppetry and theatre to arts and education."

Click here to check it out!

Our webinar session was followed by a grand tour of the Distance Learning facilities, which I have to say were very impressive indeed! Imagine being able to conduct a puppetry workshop or perform a show in your own office and broadcast your content to a far off school complete with interaction and 2-way video and audio. This is exactly what you can do at the Center for Puppetry Art's award-winning Distance Learning facility.

We were given a demo of the system and even though we were only communicating with the folks in the next room, it was super exciting to see how the program works and to imagine what the experience would be like for a school in another part of the country. This is an amazing way to bring the arts to those who live hundreds of miles away from quality programming, who may not be able to have these experiences any other way. As someone who has spent a good deal of time in a truck or a van taking Frog Belly to distant locales, my mind boggled a bit at the ingenuity of these remote presentations. Here you can see two monitors; one displaying a puppet demonstration from the next room, the other showing the feed being broadcast from our room - if you look closely, you can see me dorkily snapping the picture.

We Rogues have a productive obsession with technology. It was inspiring to see all the high-tech wizardry at the Center being put to use in the service of such a noble cause. Later on in our stay we will get an extended tour of the education program at the Center. I can't wait!

Thank you to Patty, Iyabo, Eve, and Park for the great tour. And thank you and for making us feel so welcome and at ease in your home base.

Frog Belly Rat Bone Reporting for Duty

It's official! Frog Belly has made his Southern debut and he was clearly the belle of the ball. I had the privilege of being able to see it all from my perch up in the booth. I nearly died when I saw a group of small children frantically jumping up and down to the rhythm of "Friends Forever." Our audiences were very respectful and always eager participate. I can tell that this is going to be a great run. Big ups to the Frog Belly cast for really giving it your all. Putting on your own show with lovely, talented folk in an air-conditioned theater... now that's the real treasure!

Tomorrow we do it all again and after the show, I believe it is our intention to find a body of water in which to swim. Cannonball!

We're Here!

Day Two of The Rogues Take Atlanta is coming to a close and we're just getting started. Yesterday we were met at the airport by Liz from the Center for Puppetry Arts. She was kind enough to let us hold the sign she brought with her. Today we met the fine, friendly technical staff at the Center and they couldn't have been more professional. It's nice to know that we are in good hands.

Tomorrow Frog Belly Rat Bone takes the stage for the very first time. I'm so excited to share our work with Atlanta. I hope that they enjoy us as much as we have been enjoying their food. Adventure, here we come!

Rogue's ship Frog Belly off to Atlanta

The Rogues have shipped the set, puppets and props for their upcoming run of The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone in Atlanta at the Center for Puppetry Arts.  It was a momentous occasion and a Cementland flower had even attached itself to the pallet we were shipping the set on. Thanks Tyler, Christina and Katie for all your help in getting the shipment ready!  Enjoy the photos below.

Tickets and Schedule

Ps. Just three more weeks left for D is for Dog - don't wait to get your tickets!