| Planet Friendly Art |
| Planet
Friendly Songs |
| Planet Friendly Writings |
| Planet
Friendly Events and Links |
| Store |
| Contact Us |
|
|
Be Guardians
of the Earth
|
Ecology Books, Poetry, Stories
Please contribute to this page
Puppetry and Writing
Did you know that puppetry is 90% writing? Without puppets having something to say or do they are just dolls or stuffed animals. It is for this reason that I found puppetry such an effective tool for working with kids, and particularly learning and behaviorally challenged kids and teens. The exact same principles that go into good writing, go into writing good puppet scripts. You can even get a spoon--stick some googly eyes on it and have it speak some lines--its a puppet! People are much more likely to listen to a puppet talking about ecology than their friend or teacher. It's because puppets are inherently funny. Your mind thinks it is funny that it will listen to a spoon with eyes or a blue puppet. So--get a spoon or a puppet and start writing planet friendly puppet scripts.
Penelope is a puppeteer, author, educator and singer song-writer. Contact
Penelope if you live in the Los Angeles/Orange County/Inland Empire and would
like
a puppet show for your festival, function, or school. Visit
Penelope's Puppet Page or call (909) 629-4003.
Puppet Shows available: Under the Blue Blue Sea, The
Rain is Coming (rain
forest musical puppet show), Dinosaur Dance, (ecology
and character), The
Grass is Green (farm animal), character. Be
Guardians of the Earth (variety animal). Each
of these are interactive shows--written by Penelope Torribio-with delightful
songs and where the audience become the puppeteers. Also available, Ruler
of the World, a marionette and shadow puppet show, written and performed
by Penelope Torribio.
The important message here is that good puppet plays and good ventriloquist skits is based on thinking and writing skills.
Reflections or Thought Poems
In teaching writing to children and teens I found that the more concrete the prompt, the easier to produce interesting writing and also the better the students retained information. I started using what I call Thought Poems or more precisely reflections. It would be most often a one page writing. It would contain a photograph, a painting, or even a formula. I would then have the students looks up the subject and say something true or thought to be true. Secondly, the student would write something the object made them think about, something from the past, somewhere they visited, any thoughts. Finally, if possible, they would end with a universal question or statement.
The Evolution of Bug Me
As an ecology artist I began taking pictures of bugs. When one thinks about it, these tiny little creatures are the basis of life. Without them our world could not exist. So I thought I would take the most beautiful bug photos I could take. I was booked for my first photo exhibit. I wonder if people would really look closely at a bunch of bug photo. Then, I thought of the thought poems and decided to write little reflections on the bug photographs. I wrote enough to make my first photography and reflections on bugs book-BUG ME!
The important thing here is that anyone can write a thought poem or reflection based on a photo or painting that helps people become aware that each of us have to be GUARDIANS OF THE EARTH. Visit the store to buy Penelope's "Einstein In My Garden, photos and reflections on bugs."
Coming soon,The Magic in You, Making Changes in the Neighborhood. Visit the Planet Friendly Artist page for more information.
Please contribute your poem, or story for consideration to guardiansoftheearth@mac.com
beguardiansoftheearth.com