Poupak's Parisian Life in New York

… But they were all worth it as they were great experiences - I take chances; I move forward.  I hope I’ll continue to make mistakes and grow as long as I live.  When I make mistakes, I beat myself over the head for a long time, but I know that I would have kicked myself even harder if I hadn’t tried.  Because if we don’t try, we won’t know.

Living with the feeling of unconquered fear, and the regret of not having tried is worst than making mistakes.

I felt like sharing this tonight.

womenimproviserstrust:

Miss Piggy is definitely a strong woman in comedy and a feminist icon.  Kerry’s post below is an interesting view of a small show that honestly, I am happy I didn’t see because it would have bothered the hell out of me.  Kerry puts it best and I have highlighted the parts of her comments that really appealed to me.

kmcg:

Okay, so I love the Muppets, and so I’m glad they’re back, conceptually at least. A world filled with goofiness and silliness is a better world, and no one does goofy and silly as well as the Muppets. The movie was pretty good, although nowhere as good as the original three, “The Muppet Movie,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” or “The Great Muppet Caper.” But still, it was enjoyable and it brought those beloved characters back into our lives.

They’re a little different, though. I mean, I know there are some things that they can’t do anything about. I cringe a little when I hear Kermit talk, the voice is just not quite right- it’s pretty close and they can’t do anything about Jim Henson being gone. It’s better that the voice be a little bit off but his legacy live on than for it all to disappear, right?

But there are certain things that are different that I am a little worried about. Miss Piggy, specifically. I’m afraid they’re dumbing her down and turning her into someone’s idea of a typical naggy woman, rather than the powerhouse she used to be. 

Specifically, this thought came about when I was watching the Oscar pre-pre show on Sunday, and they were preparing for a duet between Kermit and some guy from Glee, and they asked Kermit where Miss Piggy was. “Shopping- with my credit card. Eeeg.” Kermit replied.

Wait a second. “Doesn’t Miss Piggy have her own credit card?” I thought. “If not, why? She’s been a successful performer all these years, maybe she isn’t the one in charge, like Kermit, but she’s been the second biggest star of the Muppets since the seventies, why does she have to depend on him financially?”

Okay, sure, I know she’s not a real person. She’s not a person at all, she’s a pig and a puppet. An intellectual property. But what was always appealing about Miss Piggy was how much she just kicked ass and went for what she wanted, even pushing for it. She invited herself along on the road trip in “The Muppet Movie,” and then arranged herself a date with Kermit, she didn’t wait for him to ask her out. Then, when they were kidnapped and it was becoming clear that no one else was going to save them, Piggy revealed her hidden strength and saved them herself. She was a strong and independent woman, together with Kermit because she loved him, not because she needed him for financial support.

So to have her portrayed as simply another nagging lady who is there for access to Kermit’s financial accounts is off putting for me. Sure, Piggy loved glamour, and I’m sure she would be out buying dresses and shoes if she had some time off in LA, but I’m pretty sure she would do it with her own cash, and if anyone tried to imply otherwise she would beat the crap out of them. I know that she’ll have to change to be comfortable in the twenty first century, but I still want her to have the bad ass spirit of fight that was born in her in the seventies. Feminist icons: Gloria Steinem, Pam Grier and Miss Piggy.

This was just a passing comment in a long and totally unnecessary show (I did say it was the pre-pre show right?) and I don’t think they’re doing this on purpose, the comment just rankled me. I mean, I’m not a man, and no one is constantly asking to borrow my credit card, so maybe I just can’t relate (Men out there, can I borrow your credit cards?) but I think it’s a very stereotypical, easy and sitcom-ish way to portray her. The bad sitcoms, with the fat guys with the hot wives.

 I wish she’d showed up, and said something snide to Kermit about his implication, but she didn’t. Kermit sang “The Rainbow Connection” with that dude from Glee, or at least I assumed they did, because I finished my workout and left the gym, so I stopped watching. But I hope they keep an eye on this, because that’s always been the appeal of Miss Piggy, that she’s always been a total lady, but she’s always been totally independent.

Kick ass, Piggy.

 

I haven’t written about any particular show of mine in a while BUT I just did two shows last night that I HAVE TO talk about.

The first one was my last New Team Harold class show.  It was Betsy Stover’sfirst Advance Study class and she was open to experimenting with new ideas.  She started by making us work very closely on our object work - which made us all pretty good at it, I have to stay.  The class also instantly clicked - it was magical.  We got on the same page immediately and from the first class, and developed group mind right away.  It doesn’t always happen that way - I have taken a number of classes, including Advance Study ones, and this was the only one class where the magic happened.  It was incredible to experience.  We knew from the start that no matter what our choices, the entire class, THE ENTIRE CLASS, had our back and would “yes, and” us and play with us to move the action forward.

As the weeks went by, we attended some of each others shows, and hung out, but not even THAT often… still, it helped us build even more group mind.  In scenes where Betsy asked us to choose a secret prop, we often had the same or similar ideas for example.  At some point, Betsy asked us to try to do silentHarolds.  I have been wanting to experiment with this for a LONG time!  I had even begged Kirk to do it with me - I wanted to call it “Harold Lloyd prov” (without facial hair, Kirk looks a lot like Harold Lloyd) and dress in 1920s costumes and play silent scenes.  I was more than thrilled.  I was in the first scene of the first group that got up to try it - I was THAT excited.  I think we managed to build a game - it forced us to make strong and very obvious choices right from the top of the scene.  It was incredible!  Our second show was a silent Harold to the magical music of Frank Spitznagel.  I felt like we were in a silent movie!! And I LOVE silent era movies!

Last night, we had our last class show, which means that I will not see those nerds on a weekly basis any more.  Some of us will continue to have a practice group together though, so there’s that.  Betsy always encourages us to do each others beats, and I think it really adds a level of strength and professionalism to the show that you don’t often see on stage right now.  It also forces the back line to pay close attention to what is happening on stage and crystallize the game for a second and third beats.

Our show last night was incredibly fun! Rocco and I did a horse race scene - very physical, very much fun!  For the second beat, Brian, Brian and Abby went out for a walking race.  The entire show was pretty physical and just a joy to perform with a group of people with whom you KNOW you’re on the same page, who will never judge your choices as a “mistake” and will embrace them and accept them as gifts.  We had each others backs - and it showed!  We had a small audience, but they complimented us as we got our of the room, and we all felt pretty good about it.  I love those people!

Then, at 10, I headed to the Magnet Theater for We Might Just Kiss: A Female Improv Event.  Megan Gray, the artistic director of the Magnet hosts this show every month.  Her energy is unbelievably positive and communicative!!  Many of the ladies didn’t know each other - so I was a little apprehensive when we got on stage.  Megan had us play the name game, and do a pass the face, and then warm up scenes. And then it happened for a second time in the evening: instant group mind.  It was magical! Every choice was a gift, every character a genius, and every scene a success!  I think that, given the laughs, we had a really great show for the audience.  I can tell you that we had a lot of fun actually playing together.  Twenty minutes before the show, we didn’t know each other.  An hour and a half later, we felt like best friends.  

As Kirk would say, “Improv is easy” especially when you play with players “with open hands” (that’s Christina Gausas’s expression).

-saturdaynightlive:

• BEST PICTURE: The Artist
• BEST DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
• BEST ACTOR: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
• BEST ACTRESS: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Octavia Spencer (The Help)
• BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
• BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Alexander Payne, Jim Rash and Nat Faxon (The Descendants)
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: A Separation
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: Undefeated
• BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Rango
• BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
• BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC & LYRICS - Bret McKenzie - “Man Or Muppet” (The Muppets)
• BEST EDITING: Angus Wall & Kirk Baxter (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
• BEST ART DIRECTION: Hugo
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Hugo
• BEST COSTUME DESIGN: The Artist
• BEST MAKE-UP: The Iron Lady
• BEST SOUND EDITING: Hugo
• BEST SOUND MIXING: Hugo
• BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Hugo
• BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT:The Shore
• BEST ANIMATED SHORT: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
• BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Saving Face

What makes me happy about this: The Artist and A Separation.

What I would have wanted to see to be even MORE happy: Berenice Bejo rewarded somehow, also more Bridesmaids and Drive nods.