09/30/11 – Wake Up Your Weird! – Lesher Arts Center for the Arts – Walnut Creek, CA

Show Description and performance history –“Wake up Your Weird” by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph

“Wake Up Your Weird” is a multimedia one person show that addresses bullying and self esteem issues and teaches kids how to navigate life creatively. The first act is a musical short story developed at the Ojai Playwright conference in 2009 and was further developed at the Eugene O’Neil Puppetry conference in 2011. It has received a Jim Henson Foundation Grant and was awarded an “UNIMA Citation of Excellence” for the version that was performed at the 2009 International Puppetry Conference. In 2010 it was featured at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. Leslie is excited to be bringing her premier performance to her home town at the Lesher Center for the Arts.

Act one is a 50 minute musical about 5 year old candy loving sock puppet named Lolly Lard pop who gets bullied out of a play date. Lolly deals with her hurt feelings by creating a story about a girl who takes her brain out of her head, puts it on a leash and lets her mind wander. This whimsical tale includes a Fairy Godmother, a giant green lizard and a flying grandma. Lolly learns the power of being herself and following her heart.

Act II is a 25-30 minute audience participation performance/workshop. Leslie demonstrates all of the elements from act I and talks about how the voice, the body and the imagination as the three magic ingredients to make your ideas come to life and “wake up your weird.”

The puppets: “Velvet Lambmore” is a 5’2’’ blue lamb puppet that sings Gospel and plays Lolly’s Fairy Godmother. “Slax” is a lizard made from a dryer hose and a pair of pants. That performs a spoken word piece about the power of being unique. “Granny Dot” is a 4’ full body puppet made of carved foam and wrinkly ballet tights. There are three puppets of the brain;”Doyle”.The first is a glowing brain on a helmet with light up eyes. The second is a brain on a leash and the third is a large carved foam brain. Two shadow pieces are featured in the show. Last but not least Lolly herself who is a simple sock puppet.

The “Thought Bubbles” are video segments of Lolly narrating the story. They are projected on stage while Leslie is changing into her puppets off stage. These videos are a look into the mind of a 5 year olds imagination and thoughts.

The goal for this play is to tour theaters and become active in the community. Leslie will be available to do workshops at local outreach facilities, schools, senior centers, art and theater programs, churches, etc upon request. Leslie’s personal mission to champion individuality through creativity.

“I wrote this play because I thought it was a whimsical way I could address some of the emotional issues young people are dealing with today and give them some creative tools to express themselves. I wanted to show kids how easy it is to access their imaginations. I think of “Wake up Your Weird” as a “show and tell.” The first act is the “show” and the second act is the “tell”, where I tell the audience how to do what they just saw on stage. I love the arts so much and this piece comes straight from my heart and allows me to share that love and connect with communities and and reach all ages. Theaters are a hub for humanity.”-Leslie Carrara-Rudolph.