I brought Bodie Troll! Well, technically, Bodie met me in
New York. Let me explain...
A year and a half ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to
have a Bodie Troll puppet built. I'm friends with several very talented puppet
builders, and one whom I'd always wanted to work with was James Wojtal. James
has a history of working with the Jim Henson Company, and continually has his
hands in both the building and performing of puppets for various productions
today. James and I briefly discussed it, agreed to make it happen one day, and
we both sat on the idea while other projects took priority.
While at San Diego Comic Con this past July, the idea came
back to me in a big way. My friend Kelly had recently dyed her hair a bright
orange, and we both agreed that she could make a great Cholly (Bodie's best
friend from the comics)...
A major promotional opportunity was forming. I
immediately wrote James, asking if he was still game for creating a Bodie puppet,
and in time for New York Comic Con. He agreed without hesitation. I did a geeky
little fanboy dance of jubilation, and set to making some designs for James to work
off of.
This is the turn-around model sheet I provided James
with.
And these are some progression pics that James sent me of
the Bodie build.
James ended up bring Bodie right to my hotel room on my
first night in New York. I'd only seen the progress pics of Bodie, so I had no
idea what was in store. My confidence in James' skills was well founded,
because what was in store was AWESOME!!!
James is not only a fantastic puppet builder, but an amazing
guy whom I'm thrilled to call my friend. Here he is at the con, posing with
Bodie, me and Kelly, who walked the con floor dressed as Cholly and with Bodie
in her arms.
As I expected, people were entranced with the little guy and his
best friend, and soon, loads of people came to my table to find out more about
them. The Bodie comic is now in large circulation amongst my East Coast fan
base, thanks to James, Kelly and Bodie!
One of several cool encounters I had was with Dave Hulteen
and Jerome Green, fellow Muppet fans and creators of the puppet web series,
"The Bang and Bump Show". We three had been online pals for years,
and now, with all our fuzzy creations in tow, we had a big ol' puppet play date
in the middle of artist alley!
I also took Bodie out into the streets of New York. With
Sesame Street and so many other puppet productions being recorded in the city,
one more puppet wasn't going to necessarily stand out. That said, Bodie had
some nice reactions from people. We took Bodie to Good Morning America's
studio, where we tried to get him and Cholly (Kelly) on TV. We actually got in
the door before security realized we weren't cleared to be there, and they
politely showed us the way back out. A highlight from that moment was having
security feign concern while talking into their headset, saying, "We have
a suspicious looking lady and a monkey..."
On our last morning of the show, we got up early and took
Bodie over to Rockefeller Center, and attempted to get him on camera there. No
such luck, though we did get some nice shots around the area, and with another
security guard.
But the coolest Bodie moment of the whole weekend was on the
last day of the con, when a very special visitor came to my table. Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, who performs Abby Cadabby on "Sesame Street", had
heard about the Bodie puppet on the first day of the con, and brought Abby by
to meet him on Sunday! As we popped our characters onto our arms, we
immediately started improvising through our characters about everything from
fairy farts to dirty roots--it was pure puppet bliss!
Ever the professional puppeteer, Leslie hunkered down out of
shot so that Abby would be in the forefront. I was too giddy, and stuck my
goofy mug into the shot each time! The best part was how Leslie helped me pose
Bodie for the camera--I was being directed by one of the best and most popular
puppeteers of the last twenty years! I was performing with the Muppets!
Childhood dream #2 fulfilled! SQUEE!!!
Leslie and I had a wonderful conversation outside of the
characters, and I gave her this piece that I drew for her. It was just so
amazing to connect with her, and I was teary eyed when she left. I can barely
talk about it now without getting choked up--but they're tears of absolute joy!
There were plenty of other fantastic memories from that
weekend that are better documented by friends--great meals, midnight trips to
30 Rock, subway rides and angry cab drivers...but that whole trip was just one
big golden memory, of wish fulfillment achieved, of new opportunities being
born, and of friendships being forged and cherished. Thank you to those who
shared it with me then, and who share it with me now through these words.
Love to all!
--Jay
1 comment:
That is so cool! I am very happy for you!
Post a Comment