Our Particularly Obstinate Obstacle-A-Thon Recap!

July 26, 2016August 1, 2016marlenefrances 2 Comments

Howdy Partners!

Marlene is here for her first post of the 2016 season to give you a (hopefully) thrilling recap of our Particularly Obstinate Obstacle-A-Thon!

On Sunday, July 24th, the Peripatetic Players and some of their most ardent supports made their way to the grassy knolls of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. Thumper found a lovely spot under some trees, and the rest of the gang began to help her set-up.

Here is our final list of obstacles:

High Five
Power Flower Crown
Rope Swing
Over the Log and Through the Bog
Verbal Essay
Charades
Meek Sneak
Madame D’s Interpretive Dance
Smiler’s Fish Toss
3-Legged Droid Race
Fruit Neck Pass
70 Seconds of Heaventy
Fly a TIE Fighter
60-second Birdhouse
Kazoo
Skarkline
Costume Grand Prix
Slow-Mo Tour de Scroll
Flaming Ring of Peaches
Picture O’ Picture (booth) Finish!

13654324_638734122947896_7716761247946157850_n

Some of our participants warming up.

Following a flurry of last-minute slaloms for the TIEFighter Race, we were on our marks, and ready to go!

Our first batch of participants included Guy Hank, Percival Perkins, Tina Ballerina, and Julie D..

Here we see our contestants at Obstacle #2: (Flower) Power Crown. Terms of Success for this obstacle were to successfully create and wear your own unique (flower) power crown (obstacle designed by Princess Gwen).

Heat One: Obstacle Two!

Guy Hank is pictured here creating a 60-Second Birdhouse, complete with perch and feeding trough.

13667903_10210465621022293_273025673299173294_o

Photo by Tim Guydish.

Guy Hank and Tina Ballerina are successfully avoiding the asteroids in the TIEFighter Race.

13701200_10210465669263499_1510451307014182740_o

Photo by Tim Guydish.

Percival Perkins has over taken the lead in the Slow-Mo Costume Race!

13767241_10210465698184222_917107680029902139_o

Photo by Tim Guydish.

But was quickly over taken as Guy Hank jumped through the Flaming Ring of Peaches!

13767356_10210465706744436_8158682014723891445_o

Photo by Tim Guydish.

AND THAT WAS ONLY THE FIRST HEAT!

Our second heat saw Thumper finally running the course, Meekins, Princess Gwen, and Kristen M.

Look at the concentration while our participants attempt to make a 60 Second Birdhouse!

concentrate, grasshoppers…

We even had some amazing audience participation this heat:

gasp, yay, ooh/ahh, yay, boo!

Our personal favorite obstacle, Skarkline, is pictured here in all it’s glory:

Terms of Success: Successfully Skarkline.

And then, finally, the finale for heat two!

There must be at least one meta-moment in all SPPP things.

Hooray Obstaclers!! Yay Spectators!! Ooohhs and Aaahs for Pledgers!! The First Ever Particularly Obstinate Obstacle Course was a ton of fun. Thanks to all who came out to play or cheer, and to everyone who has pledged and/or donated to help make SHAKESPEARE OR SPACE WARS travel the Bay!

We cannot thank you enough!

Hark! SPPP and FluxWagon ride again!

July 7, 2016directorebeccer Leave a comment

Friends, it is that time of year when the Peripatetic Players dust off their ragamuffins and saddle up their slipperywidgets…

IT’S TIME TO PUT ON A SHOW!

This summer, the Players put their inimitable spin on two star-crossed tales of daring and destiny. Although Thumper and Samuel are still in heated negotiations over what constitutes canonical entertainment, be assured that SOMETHING will happen… but even we are not entirely sure how it will all turn out.

Will Samuel achieve his dream of becoming a renowned and respected tragedian?

Will Guy Hank be able to power this hunk of junk to hyperspace?

Will Princess Gwen be able to climb down from that balcony?

Will Meekins stare down the hilt of a rapier with both eyes open and a minimum of whimpering?

What is Thumper doing with that bucket?

We will endeavor to answer these enduring questions and more… BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…

For the first time ever, the Players invite YOU — yes, you! The one in front of the screen! — to partake in a Particularly Obstinate Obstacle Course! Run, hop, skip, jump, saunter, sashay, stroll or simply stumble your way through 20 outrageous obstacles delightfully designed to test your physical, mental and theatrical vim and vigor. This Thon to out-thon all Thons is like no Thon you’ve ever Thonned. Thonestly. Don your most eccentric costumes, pull out all your stops, and join us as we face our least known fears over and through obstacles both literal and metaphorical!

You can sign up to pledge a player or play the course here!

If you’d rather spectate, cheer on, and/or picnic — be sure to come out to Lake Merritt on July 24 for an afternoon of comradely challenge and comic competition. No reservations required!

Dimond Park in photos

LinkAugust 31, 2015March 23, 2020directorebeccer 2 Comments

dimondstory — Click the photo to see an album of our Dimond Park performance of *Aesop Amuck*!

Just a few days left to Kickstart Aesop Amuck!

ImageAugust 10, 2015August 13, 2015directorebeccer Leave a comment

We have shows through August 23 — four more performances — but just a few days left to pledge your support for Aesop Amuck via Kickstarter.

As of this moment, we need just $555 to reach our goal, and we have until Monday night, August 17, to do it. Can you help?

Your support helps keep FluxWagon in her finery, transports her to each performance venue, ensures we’re insured at each location, provides pay for the Peripatetic Players — and keeps our performances *free* to the public.

We’re so grateful for your help and have some sweet surprises for our supporters. Please give if you can, and come on out to see a show!

Thank You, Kickstarters!

August 8, 2015August 8, 2015directorebeccer Leave a comment

Thank you to everyone who has donated to Flux Fest ’15 and to our Kickstarter campaign!

We’re now just over halfway to our Kickstarter goal of $2500, with 10 days to go. If you’ve been meaning to throw in your support, now’s the time! Click here to go to Kickstarter — if only to watch the video. If you’ve already given, THANK YOU! Here’s a list of our wonderful supporters!

Because of your generous support, we’ve been able to add some bells and whistles to FluxWagon, like her new trapdoor and Aesop-appropriate paint job.

Joan, designer of the FluxWagon, in her new trap door.

FluxWagon at our opening performance at DeFremery Park, Oakland

New this week: animal portraits by the excellent Megan Hillard! (Stay tuned for photos of those after this weekend’s shows in Hayward and San Francisco.)

Your support is also invaluable to less photogenic but essential endeavors, like making insurance payments, buying gas, and renting trucks to tow Fluxie.

You also help ensure the Peripatetic Players can get paid! They’re super photogenic, actually.

The Peripatetic Players in action: photo by Tim Guydish. Click through for a whole wonderful set of photos!

It’s Guy, Guy Hank — our NEWEST Peripatetic Player!

July 15, 2015July 26, 2015marlenefrances Leave a comment

Why hello there faithful followers! Here is our latest installment in our “behind-the-scenes/meet our players” special: Guy Hank

Guy Hank himself:

Joining the Samuel Peaches Peripatetic Players has really changed my life . . . who knew? Certainly, not me. Whew! It gets me excited just thinking about it. Let me just get right down to it. My whole life I had dreamed of performing one day on the stage. When I was younger, I saw a show that had been put up in our small town of Georgia, California. I. Was. In. Awe. Just dazzled by the magic of the story. I believe it was a production of “The Princess and the Pea” and what was just a story I glanced over in my children’s books became alive before me on the stage! I was pulled into the story. I was “bit”, as they say, by the “theatre bug.”

I just never got the chance to aspire to these dreams of mine. My Dad insisted I learn the auto mechanics trade and help build his business. I thought perhaps my dream was ridiculous and worked with him in his shop. I did, however, secretly work on my acting craft in my room reading wonderful plays and stories from around the world. I learned their lingo too – words like “blocking” and “props” and “inner monologue”. Another good thing was that since Georgia, California sees a great many travelers and tourists on their way to the beautiful sites of this Golden State, I was able to meet so many great people and hear their stories. I found that they trusted me to help get their autos to the next destination and it filled me with joy seeing them wave as they happily left our service station. Moments after they left though, I would get that sad though wishing I could travel with them.

At last, the day came when the Peripatetic Players pulled into our station on their way to their next show! They needed some minor service repairs and I jumped at the chance to work on the “Flux Wagon” and was in awe that it could transform into a magical stage to share stories from. In a casual conversation to Thumper about the troupes “props”, I relayed to her my dreams and get this – she told her brother, Samuel Peaches, about my dream, my secret studies, and petitioned on my behalf to help join the troupe! Seeing that I may come in handy working on the Flux Wagon, he invited me along!

My favorite story I’ve performed with the troupe to date has to be “Wind & the Sun”! Thumper and I get to compete with Samuel and Meekins (as the Wind) to see who can get a young chap (Princes Gwen) to take of her coat. There is movement and sound and it really takes off. However, I am dying to play the lion in the upcoming Aesop stories (Fables, I meant “fables”). I’ve been working on my roar, the Flux Wagon is running in top notch shape, and I am ready to take my acting to next level.

My favorite person to play with is everyone in the Samuel Peaches Peripatetic Player troupe! You put me with any one of those guys and I instantly come alive. Their creativity is mind boggling – it instantly gets my own creative juices flowing. Although, I have to say, Thumper and I have really good chemistry. She just gets it, you know? She has an uncanny ability to tap into whatever is happening right at that exact moment.

I would like to see the Flux Wagon pull into Georgia, California again someday so we could perform for the town. Perhaps, I could invite my Dad out so he could see what an amazing life this is! So he would know that my dreams were not ridiculous – that following your heart is the only way to go especially when you don’t know what is gonna happen. Perhaps he would be inspired by one of our stories or the morals they contain.

I knew I made it with the troupe – meaning I was “in” when after weeks of rehearsal and months of only being allowed to work on the Flux Wagon, Samuel Peaches asked me to lead a story. It has only gotten better since! I can’t wait for this show to tour near YOU, our wonderful audience! May you be dazzled and delighted and maybe even inspired!

Your Guy,

Guy Hank

Hola! Ahoj! Bonjour! from Princess Gwen!

July 14, 2015July 26, 2015marlenefrances Leave a comment

Halo everyone! Here is our fourth installment of our “behind-the-scenes/meet our players” series: Princess Gwen!

My journey with the Samuel Peaches Peripatetic Players began on a clear, blue morning a few summers ago. As I was walking through the forest with my best friend Jay Robinson, I heard wonderful music coming through the trees! I followed this beautiful melody and I stumbled upon the Flux Wagon! Boy, was Fluxxie a wonderful sight after my trek through the forest!

Once Samuel accepted me into the Players (maybe it had something to do with the fact that I a) can skin a wild boar in under seven seconds, b) had a bag of gold, or c) I can talk to birds), my first real break (or trial by fire) came as playing Elly the Elephant in How the Elephant Got Her Trunk. As Elly, I got to wear a tutu, travel through the Limpopo River, and head off the Precession of the Equinoxes!

One of the great things about playing Elly was that Meekins played half of the silly animal duos in that story. It is always so electrifying to see what Meekins is going to come up with! Sometimes he retreats back into his memories and gets a little too intense for the kiddos, and when that happens I just let him talk to Jay Robinson and he calms back down.

I think going to the beach would calm everyone down. Don’t you think that taking Flux Wagon to the French Riviera would be amazing? Imagine Fluxxie covered in lavender and cheese! Too bad I can’t eat cheese…

Anyway, thank you all for coming on the lovely adventure with Jay Robinson and myself! I can’t wait for you all to join us one sunny weekend!

Princess Gwen as Elly in How the Elephant Got Her Trunk in last year’s O Best Beloved.

Thumper Gets Interviewed!

July 13, 2015July 26, 2015marlenefrances Leave a comment

Good Morning All! Here is our third installment of our “behind-the-scenes/meet our players” special: THUMPER!

Samuel Peaches managed to tear Thumper away from making the trapdoor on Flux Wagon to give this interview:

HI! MY NAME IS THUMPER. I WONDER WHAT YOUR NAME IS.

I DIDN’T HAVE TO JOIN SAMUEL PEACHES PERIPATETIC PLAYERS BECAUSE I’M SAMUEL’S SISTER, AND I STOWED AWAY IN HIS TRUNK.

SAMUEL, I HAVE A QUESTION…SAMUEL…SAMUEL…

PERIPATETIC MEANS WANDERING.

HI! MY NAME’S THUMPER. MAYBE YOU’LL TELL ME YOUR NAME AT THE SHOW!

MY FAVORITE FABLE IS CALLED THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE…

MY FAVORITE FABLE IS THE ONE WITH A LION, A WITCH AND A WARDROBE…

MY FAVORITE FABLE IS THE ONE WHERE A LION, A WITCH AND A WARDROBE…

WHAT, SAMUEL?

OK, SAMUEL.

SAMUEL JUST TOLD ME THERE IS NO FABLE WITH A LION, A WITCH AND A WARDROBE IN IT. I THINK THAT WOULD MAKE A GOOD STORY THOUGH.

HI! MY NAME IS THUMPER! YOU ALSO HAVE A NAME!

MY FAVORITE PERSON TO PLAY WITH IS THE TRAP DOOR, WHICH IS NOT ACTUALLY A PERSON, BUT A TRAP DOOR. IF I HAD TO CHOOSE SOMETHING THAT IS A PERSON, I WOULD CHOOSE PRINCESS GWEN AS PRINCESS GWEN, GUY AS GUY, SAMUEL AS MY BROTHER AND MEEKINS AS A FROG. I ALSO LOVE THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. NONE OF WHICH ARE PEOPLE. WELL, MAYBE THE WITCH. BUT SHE WOULD BE A MAGICAL PERSON, WHICH ISN’T ACTUALLY A REAL PERSON. AND THE WARDROBE IS DEFINITELY NOT A PERSON, LIKE THE TRAP DOOR.

WHAT, SAMUEL?

OK, SAMUEL.

SAMUEL WOULD LIKE ME TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THERE IS NO FABLE CALLED OR ABOUT OR STARRING A LION, A WITCH AND A WARDROBE IN THIS PLAY.

HI! MY NAME IS THUMPER! MAYBE YOUR NAME IS ASLAN?

I WOULD LIKE SAMUEL PEACHES PERIPATETIC PLAYERS TO PERFORM THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE.

WHAT, SAMUEL?

I KNOW WE’RE DOING AESOP AMUCK.

I AM JUST SAYING THAT THERE IS A LION IN MANY OF AESOP’S FABLES, AND I ACTUALLY THINK HE WOULD NEED A WARDROBE TO GET DRESSED IN THE MORNING. AND, A WITCH TO MAKE THE WARDROBE MAGICAL. LIKE MY TRUNK. I DO NOT HAVE A MAGICAL WARDROBE, BUT I DO HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK. I KNOW IT IS MAGICAL BECAUSE WHEN I WENT IN IT TO STOW AWAY, AND THEN I GOT BACK OUT, I WAS IN A WHOLE NEW WORLD.

I LOVE YOU TOO, SAMUEL.

I KNEW I MADE IT IN SAMUEL’S TROUPE WHEN I GOT TO WEAR THE PITH HELMET AND TELL THE STORY OF HOW THE RHINOCEROS GOT ITS SKIN IN OUR FIRST SHOW, O BEST BELOVED.

THE PLURAL OF RHINOCEROS IS RHINOCEROS.

Thumper with the Rhinoceros Diorama in last year’s production of O Best Beloved.

Hello There from Meekins!

July 11, 2015July 26, 2015marlenefrances Leave a comment

Hi everyone! Here is the second installment of our “behind-the-scenes/meet our players” special: Meekins!

From Meekins:

Oh boy! Well, uh, I guess… Oh, come on, get it together, Meeks! How hard is to tell your own life story? Well, in my case, as a man who has traveled from coast to coast, sea to shore, polar ice cap to polar ice cap, I can say with total certainty: life can be a real doozy, altogether dark sometimes, unfortunately, but the happiest I’ve ever been was when I was brought in by good ol’ Samuel Peaches and his performing troupe. Ever since then, all the misadventures with Mole People, unnecessary abductions while lost out in cornfields, and head-to-head battles with mother sea lions are a thing of the past! Now, I just PRETEND to get in fights with animals, and I couldn’t be happier for it.

Oh, here I go, rambling again. The way I joined the Samuel Peaches’ Peripatetic Players was straightforward enough: tasked by a mysterious witch doctor to return a crystalline skull that would presumably imbue with great power, I was kidnapped by headhunters along the rushing Amazon River. There, it seemed, they aimed to make a sacrifice to their elder gods, and had me fully trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey! It wasn’t looking good for ol’ Meeks just then, I’ll have you know (although, I have escaped from much gnarlier situations)! Right about that time when I was beginning to maybe start saying my prayers, out of the brush came bounding the same wagon you see before you today, and atop it, seemingly having lost control, was the man himself- Samuel Peaches! He grabbed hold of the rope that I was strung up to try and stop the catastrophic caravan and ended up freeing me in the process. Of course, I was ever so thankful, and even though he wasn’t too sure, I eventually won him over with my ardent, repeated pleas for help, just like my momma taught me!

Since then, I’d have to say my favorite story has been, without a doubt, the Crow. Nothing bad ever happens to him! He just dances around in a very safe manner and makes little rhymes that are of insult and harm to no one, including himself! Surely, you see the appeal? Another great thing about playing the Crow is that I get to play with the ever-so-beauteous Princess Gwen! Sure, she steals the tasty cheese I was planning on saving for myself, but she’s so nice and and strong that I’m happy to relinquish it on a daily basis at our performances.

If I’m being perfectly honest with you, my dream destination for a Samuel Peaches’ Peripatetic Players performance (woo, mouthful!) would be any sort of sterile room with padded walls and ceilings where nothing is hidden and there are no noxious fumes in the air! I can’t think of anything safer than that.

My fondest memory that isn’t related to an actual performance is certainly the time when Samuel Peaches finally made me a full-time performer. Up until then, I had just been chasing the caravan across desert, mountain, ocean- you name the biodome, I crossed it chasing that wagon! Finally, he stopped the wagon to do a show and I was able to meet everyone in the cast. After the show, I stowed away and pestered him with notes from my hiding place on the wagon that read, “Please please please let me be in the show please please please I’ll do anything pleeeeeaaaaaase,” until he finally sent me one back that said, “Yeah, okay, whatever.” That’s when ol’ Meekins was finally able to graduate to an actual spot inside the wagon itself.

This sure wins the cake for the best thing I’ve done in my life! Cheers!

Meekins as The Mariner in How the Whale Got Its Throat, in last year’s production of O Best Beloved.

Greetings and salutations from Samuel Peaches!

July 9, 2015July 26, 2015marlenefrances Leave a comment

Hi everyone! We are doubley delighted to present to you our Peripatetic Player’s mini-autobiographies! The first up in this “behind-the-scenes” special is Samuel Peaches himself!

In his own words…

Samuel Xavier Peaches from the Samuel Peaches Peripatetic Players was born in England to parents richer than the king and queen combined. Groomed to be a doctor of science and law, his family was terrified he would follow in the footsteps of Thumper, his older and impractically creative older sister, who was determined to make whirligigs instead of a decent living. When Mr. Peaches discovered the female kind midway through university he suddenly realized he had been building a life he didn’t even want remotely! Mr. Peaches, keeping it a secret from his family, dropped out and left for the adventure of the new world: America.

Upon reaching the new world and his fresh start, Samuel Peaches discovered his sister had stowed away on his flight from pretentious English academia journey. He saw nothing but opportunity; Thumper, a technical and mechanical genius, could provide Samuel with anything and everything needed to further his adventures… They didn’t get very far…

Then, down on their luck, on a late night in a dimly lit, unknown establishment deep in New Orleans, Peaches and Thumper met the beautiful and talented Blueberry Starshine. She gave them the Just So Stories by Kipling, Thumper in one single night of intense focus, built the flux wagon and the Samuel Peaches Peripatetic Players were born.

Sadly after many glorious years and too many adventures to count, Blueberry left the troupe to pursue her own interests… Unfortunately taking with her the Peripatetic Player’s rights to perform the Just So Stories.

Peaches favorite story to perform has always been The Camel’s Hump (as he got to work closely with Blueberry in fantastical characters) but will most likely shift to the Race of the Tortoise and the Hare for this new adventure in the lands of Aesop. Peaches favorite players to work with are Thumper and Meekins due to the random and highly excitable energy of both performers. Samuel Peaches is both terrified and anxious to perform back at Port Costa. The memories of Blueberry are strongest there.

Mr. Peaches simply invites you, his beautiful audiences, to dream, to delight, and to dare!