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[Cheetah]

For me, it felt, as if there were fewer of these little snippets of extra story.

You're right. And the reason is simple: We ran out of time. We wanted to do more

And we also noticed the increase in scene setting times, and are unhappy with it. We're analyzing what exactly caused it. Everything points at the space suits to be super time-consuming to put on and take off, but we want to improve those times and return to Pre-EF23 setup times (ideally 5 minutes or below.)

It was for me hardly evident, mostly thanks to the cryo-pods, that the travel times within the solar system were rather slow... it was explained though, in the "PPS Production Updates" ... so these could be a perfect explanation for why a wound was healed between 2 scenes, because they were so far apart and the modern medicine could accelerate the healing properly, since it was "just a flesh wound"

If you're referring to Link getting shot ... that's actually a leftover from an earlier revision of the story that was scrapped. So you caught a classic continuity error

(To my defense, I did write a scene change audio segment explaining how fast compared to today, but how slow in general space travel still is Lyra explains it to her diary.)

Anyways, thanks for the feedback.

[Cheetah]

(Transplanting my PPS related answer from the other (locked) thread)

Just Cheetah needs to allow other ideas then his own to be done. One good way to achieve this would be a little price-event, drafts are sent in after the topic for the next con is revealed and the best draft wins a little price... and becomes next years paw-pet-show. It would keep the quality of the show up sky-high, as well as solve those problems with clear overworking and time limitations for thinking up new stories over and over again.

Actually, thinking up new stories over and over again makes you better at this

One of the reasons this show works is that we have the luxury of writing a story around the physical and timely constraints that are in our way, and create roles that exactly match the abilities of the actors in the team. We have to crank out a complete script that works within 5 months of weekend sessions, and then develop the play within 4 rehearsals. It takes a lot of experience to make that work.

If someone sent me a draft of sky-high quality, I would totally consider working on it.

But there's no guarantee a contributed script would be any better than what we do. Also, working with submitted scripts is a lot ... and I mean A LOT more difficult than it sounds. Also for the contributor. They'd have to be prepared to be rejected, and their work to be revised and rewritten, for example. Or live with the fact that a completely well written story could be unfavorable to the volunteers who'll have to play it for whatever reason.

People tend to jump on such an opportunity with a lot of unrealistic expectations, which is why I wouldn't want to make a contest that makes any promises in advance, for example.

Yeah, it's complicated

[Cifer]

If you're referring to Link getting shot ... that's actually a leftover from an earlier revision of the story that was scrapped. So you caught a classic continuity error

Just out of curiosity: Do you hand the finished script to someone who is not at all linked to its production to read over? That may help to catch stuff like that, but of course, you probably already do that.

(To my defense, I did write a scene change audio segment explaining how fast compared to today, but how slow in general space travel still is Lyra explains it to her diary.)

Yeah, I caught that one. To me, it said "We have no idea of scale, you have no idea of scale, let's settle for 'not immediately, but not a year later either'", which worked perfectly for the scene: It didn't try to go into unnecessary technobabbly detail, but it established the points we needed to know about.


By the way: Link being in a wheelchair (okay, a wheelchair IN SPACE!) was a nice touch of diversity. I liked it.

[Eisfuchs]

If you're referring to Link getting shot ... that's actually a leftover from an earlier revision of the story that was scrapped. So you caught a classic continuity error

Just out of curiosity: Do you hand the finished script to someone who is not at all linked to its production to read over? That may help to catch stuff like that, but of course, you probably already do that.

We have two editors that look at the script to improve the dialogue and point out flaws. I don't see Link being shot and then fine again as a big issue, however, as the time between them leaving Link's station and then entering Earth's orbit must have been weeks.

Of course, we could have explained this in the scene, but that would have made an already long show even longer, so we opted for the intermission that explained long travel times instead.

[Eisfuchs]

This years Pawpet was one of the 'weak' ones in my eyes sadly, and it could've been easily remedied.

That's easy to say. Come and join the team, make it happen :-)

- One puppeteer was visible fairly often, it seemed like there wasn't put as much care for staying hidden as usual.

I wonder how you identified one specific puppeteer. For me it was hard to tell people apart behind the stage, they all looked like black men with masks :-D

- This year the spoken lines were rather clear, it was easy to understand every character without problems, definitely a huge plus as we had other years as well
- Lighting and special effects, as well as the ideas behind those were really nice done.

Thank you!

As a second one, the Stillwaters had a very unbelievable and odd personality. Why would such lovely people start to sell weapons in the first place? They didn't seem like hard business-persons, it didn't fit them.

The Stillwaters are a Military family. Meredith later left the Military to move into the arms industry, to make sure Earth was able to protect itself against any outside threat, should it arise at some point. She never imagined that one of her products actually was going to be used against Earth itself.

Another one which was fairly noticeable was Link Kabanshee getting shot without ever having even a minor impact on the play, back at the ship he was... fine, just like that. Bringing him into the hospital because of a shot-wound and snatching the data during that time would've made more sense then pushing a huge ice-cone into his rump - even if it was a fun one

Explained by the long time it takes to travel. Getting him to a hospital after being shot would be weeks too late. We imagine that in this age of technology, the ship is equipped with a way to treat wounds efficiently, since the crew probably spends months on the ship without access to medical facilities.

All in all for the story, it seemed like nobody even put up the time to proof-read it for plot holes, or people became tired after a while and simply said 'fuck it' sadly. Since the problems were such fundamental ones it seemed like this for me.

Not sure if these problems were really fundamental or just not explained well enough by us.

Thank you for your feedback!

[Cifer]

Another one which was fairly noticeable was Link Kabanshee getting shot without ever having even a minor impact on the play, back at the ship he was... fine, just like that. Bringing him into the hospital because of a shot-wound and snatching the data during that time would've made more sense then pushing a huge ice-cone into his rump - even if it was a fun one

Explained by the long time it takes to travel. Getting him to a hospital after being shot would be weeks too late. We imagine that in this age of technology, the ship is equipped with a way to treat wounds efficiently, since the crew probably spends months on the ship without access to medical facilities.

I can understand that, but what was the point of him being shot in the first place, narratively speaking? The way it was presented at the climax of the scene, it looked like it would become important - a heroic sacrifice, a lingering injury taking him out of the action, something he'll want to take revenge for? But it just never turned up again.

[Eisfuchs]

I can understand that, but what was the point of him being shot in the first place, narratively speaking? The way it was presented at the climax of the scene, it looked like it would become important - a heroic sacrifice, a lingering injury taking him out of the action, something he'll want to take revenge for? But it just never turned up again.

The actual wounding was part of a plot line that was removed later on. But it turned out to be a good reason for us to take Link with us to Earth, because he could not evacuate with the rest of his staff (BRIAAAAAN!), and he became more important for us than we initially meant him to be.

[Cifer]

BRIAAAAAAN! was the best part of the show anyway. 

[Kulze]

This years Pawpet was one of the 'weak' ones in my eyes sadly, and it could've been easily remedied.

That's easy to say. Come and join the team, make it happen :-)

Sadly I live ~600 km away from your places, so that's a time and money problem on my side :p Otherwise I would be glad to help out, the Pawpetshow is great, and you can see there's a lot of work put into it. Even those 'weak' years I'm speaking about are decent shows, just, the strong ones stand out so much more.

I wonder how you identified one specific puppeteer. For me it was hard to tell people apart behind the stage, they all looked like black men with masks :-D

Because his face was visible several times shortly :p That's something new I've seen. The black masses at for instance the space scene fitted well, they were barely visible. It just stood out this year compared to the others.

People tend to jump on such an opportunity with a lot of unrealistic expectations, which is why I wouldn't want to make a contest that makes any promises in advance, for example.

Yes, that's sadly true. I'm sure there's a way to alleviate that though. It just needs to be the base idea, and we got a few absolutely awesome story writers out there. A disclaimer about send in stories only being adapted in part or rewritten entirely would probably help with that, with credits for the respective writer often being enough. It's basically a win-win situation. Someone with a good idea gets a short time in the limelight, probably putting a bit of attention on their work which might be their way of bringing food in basically. So that could work still.
Also, the main reason I wrote the idea is to alleviate some of the pressure on the crew. While the PPS is a massive undertaking, and has many volunteers, it's basically still understaffed for a 1 year project, so any way to ease the burden on you guys is always good. For a volunteer-only project the PPS is still one of the highest quality things I've ever seen, so keep up the great work

Back to drafts in itself though. Even with 'failing' ones, I would say the individual ideas amassed from them - even if it's only small parts - could help along with working out the show quicker, leaving you more time to actually focus on perfecting it. On the other hand, it would surely be quite the undertaking to organize a well thought out way to 'separate the wheat from the chaff' so to speak without stepping on peoples toes along the way.

[Eisfuchs]

Sadly I live ~600 km away from your places, so that's a time and money problem on my side :p Otherwise I would be glad to help out[...]

I live ~ 500 km away from our rehearsal location (that's 3 rehearsals x 1000 km) and ~450km away from Cheetah's place (4 or 5 weekends of script writing and feedback meetings x 900 km). We have other staff members who have to go even farther, crossing country borders even. It's one of the things you have to be ready to do when you have a volunteer project that is not based on people around you but on a more or less Europe-wide community. So come and make change happen 

[ANTIcarrot]

EF 24 Pawpet show - Juno Rising

Well it wouldn’t feel like a proper pawpet show if I didn't spend way too much time writing a review. Hmm. I wonder how far I can get in limerick form?


In the far future of planet Earth
Of resources, there are a dearth
A young racoon reporter
Has people trying to cut her life shorter
After undergoing a metaphoric rebirth

She soon finds a ship full of death
Full of corpses who were cut short of breath
She finds a fox and a chicken
As the plot seems to thicken
And a third character who’s much short of mirth

On the bridge there are survivors to find
They find four, oh but wait, never mind
For the rat is a killer
Well suited to a thriller
But goes down when he’s struck from behind

They arrive at a broken down station
Which has pretentions to being a nation
They lack wall paper paste
Have bureaucratic waste
So the protagonists are stuck for the duration

By luck of a meeting contrived
They get past the guard and inside
They meet an old friend
And their risks seem to end
Then “BOMB!” and of peace they’re deprived

Their ship is carrying a warhead
Sent by someone who wants them all dead
To help the rat wants a deal
But when for asylum he appeals
A idiot shoots him in the head

Hang on a sec, you might muse
You might be a little confused
If their engines use antimatter
Wouldn't it have been better
For the rat to just pull out a fuse

But if the engines use regular fusion
Then this just adds to the confusion
Because antimatter breaking free
Someplace it shouldn't be
Should merit a UN investigation

In fact why use an atomic munition
Given Juno’s broken down situation
Why bother with a mine
Just let them die on the vine
And avoid risk of recrimination

But forget asking how, why, and where
The script thinks that you shouldn’t care
“It’s just a McGuffin
And our knowledge we’re bluffin’
So it’s okay if the corners don’t square”

This play’s true centre and star
Is a snow leopard who has mental scars
With abuse she was trapped
Then her boyfriend kidnapped
But she escaped and now is Juno’s new tsar.

As to the plot’s central theme
Tis telling delusion from dream
For as we slowly learn
As the plot slowly turns
Not all is as real as it seems

And maybe also it’s nasty to trick
For persuasion to the truth you should stick
If you try to manipulate
You might earn some hate
And your arse a snow leopard may kick

So tsar, coon, and fox go to Earth
The planet that gave them all birth
Their computer needs a hack
But at the garage they are attacked
And crew size goes up by one berth

Skipping over some of the filler
The truth can be a mood killer
The trail has gone cold
Opening painful wounds old
And Sina buying from a distiller

The leopard’s parents want her cold dead
Something she has repeatedly said
But while they sound like two heals
Not a bit of it’s real,
And it’s all just bullshit in her head

The forgiveness did feel a bit phony
After decades of harsh acrimony
When they finally meet
All hate just flees fleet
Like an episode of My Little Pony

Oh and here is an amazing surprise
Save your IQ exceeds your shoe size
The nuclear killer
The cat brought it with her
Somehow, she thought this was wise

But no version of this plan would end well
Doom for Juno for sure it would spell
Ground, sky, or orbit,
Or if the UN just finds it
The free territories get thrown into hell

Sina has risked Fox’s child and wife
Does he berate her for rolling such dice?
“It’s just a McGuffin
And our knowledge we’re bluffin’
So it’s okay if the corners don’t square”

What of the millions of lives
That could be snuffed out by gamma ray knives?
“It’s just a McGuffin
And our knowledge we’re bluffin’
So it’s okay if the corners don’t square”

And wouldn’t this just help the mining company
Who wants to crush the territories free?
“It’s just a McGuffin
And our knowledge we’re bluffin’
So it’s okay if the corners don’t square”

A mystery box can add to appeal
Of your story and give the audience feels
It’s an old writer’s trick
But the characters should stick
To reacting like it’s every bit real

Was Sina a rebel or terrorist?
A question we can’t put to rest
You may give her absolution
But my nation’s solution
Would likely not be ‘to arrest’

As someone who is quite British
I feel this year’s play lacked finish
It had technique magnifique
And many an SFX trick
But for me it didn’t quite astonish

The music I guess was okay
But had no moments of emotional sway
It was written and performed
And though I don’t mean to pour scorn
It’s not something for which I would pay

Though I don’t really want to complain
In fact the idea feels very profane
This wasn’t your peak
Though I’d happily seek
More stories in a similar vein

To the creators of DOPE we owe thanks
And now it is time to talk rank!
Not as bad as 11
Not as good as 1-7
And once again I will say ‘Dank’

[Eisfuchs]

Thank you for this amusing read