#POOOC2020 Official Obstacles

March 23, 2020May 21, 2020directorebeccer 1 Comment

Welcome to #POOOC2020 — the Peripatetic Players Particularly Obstinate Online Obstacle Course!

Seven Obstinate Obstacles await you for stay-at-home fun! They will test your merit, your mettle, your moxie, and even your manners.

Some tips:

Read through the Obstacles first so that you can collect everything you need and understand how the challenges work.
All the Obstacles can be done at home with common objects. Some obstacles require a partner, who can be someone in your household or someone you can call or video-chat with.
Each Obstacle can be modified for each participant’s ability, dexterity, and size.
Bonus Points are ways to add challenge to any Obstacle!
You can tackle one Obstacle at a time, or do all of them in a row! The Official Online Obstacle challenge lasts through April 5. Challenge yourself to complete your Obstacles by then if you like!
Be sure to ask permission to use the household items you’ll need for the challenge, and have an adult approve the safety of your course before you begin. (If you are an adult, it’s up to you how much permission and safety is required.)
If you wish, you can post photos or videos of your glorious Obstacle attempts with the hashtag #POOOC2020. The Peripatetic Players will be posting theirs, too. You can also tag @PeripateticPlayers on IG or TikTok, and @SamuelPeaches on Twitter!
Join us for a Celebration of Obstacles Overcome live-streamed on the Peripatetic Players Facebook Page, April 5 at 2pm!
Also optional: If you register as an Official Obstacler, you can donate or collect pledges to help the Peripatetic Players raise money for their summer production, A Lord Of A Ring: The Extend-ish Edition, a two-part trilogy inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous adventure saga. For more information, please visit https://go.rallyup.com/poooc2020

Table of Obstinate Online Obstacles:

1. GEAR UP and GET DOWN

2. GALADRIEL’S MIRROR

3. AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

4. THE TWO TOWERS

5. CONQUER-CLUTTER COMPETITION

6. RIDICULOUS RINGWRAITHS

7. SKARKLINE

PRINT A PDF OF ALL OBSTACLES

1. GEAR UP and GET DOWN!

Gear up for your great quest! Every undertaking requires the proper attire and bomb moves. For obstacles of this obstinacy, the more layers and the more moves the better! Each member of the Fellowship had at least a few layers of cool cloaks and protective gear, even if they didn’t wear shoes. In your awesome attire, with your amazing moves, you will defeat any foe!

Get Ready…

Gather some clothes — as many as you can put on at once over whatever you are wearing now.
Find a music player.

Get Set…

Choose a song to play, and cue it up on your player… or just use the next song that comes on the radio.

Go!

Start the music!
Put on as many pieces of clothing as you possibly can! Remember, you’re preparing yourself for a great challenge!
NOW DANCE! Dance defiantly in the face of adversity! You have til the music stops to continue being amazing!
Bonus Points: Be wearing all of the costume pieces at the end of the dance that you started your dance with. More clothes and more vigorous dancing = more bonus points!

Princess Gwen, Some Strange Pink Monster, and Dr. Reindeer dancing in sync during P.O.O.C. 2017. Photo by Tim Guydish.

2. GALADRIEL’S MIRROR of “Things That Have Not Yet Come To Pass”

What are your predictions for things that have not yet come to pass, a.k.a. The Future? The elf queen Galadriel looks into her mirror (which looks an awful lot like Dumbledore’s Pensieve) to see the past, present, and future. Your mirror will help you give a hopeful prediction!

Get Ready…

Find a Mirror or other reflective object (like a window) in which to look for your predictions.

Get Set…

Sit or stand in front of your mirror.

Go!

Wave your hands mystically in front of your mirror while you speak your question aloud: “What is something good that can happen while we shelter in place?” or “How might the world change for the better after this quarantine?”
Close your eyes for 10 seconds while you summon all your visionary powers…
Now open your eyes, strike your most Powerful Pose…
And in your biggest voice, Speak Your Prediction! Try starting with “I hope that…” or “I’m glad that…” or “I predict that…” and fill in the rest. Examples: “I hope that I will be stronger and more resilient than before!”, “I’m glad that I can write messages to my friends!”, “I predict that we will all be happy to see each other again!”
Bonus Points: Sing your prediction, and keep singing all about it! Make it up as you go along… aim for 30 seconds and see how long you can keep your song going!

Princess Gwen as Galadriel in *A Lord Of A Ring In A Suitcase*, summer 2019.

3. AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY: DIY Obstacle Course

When Frodo started on his quest to destroy the One Ring, he had no idea what would happen… and sometimes, the obstacles he faced were challenges he created! Now it’s your turn to show everyone your best talents and qualities. You’re going to make an obstacle course in your own space, using items from the lists provided.

Get Ready…

Create five obstacles, one from each object in List A. Here’s how: Draw one line from each object in List A to match up with one task from List B (you can write in a couple others if you like). Then draw a line from each chosen task in List B to one way from list C. This is your guide to making your obstacle course… feel free to add your own embellishments and get creative!

List A: OBJECTS

A Chair
A Doorway
A Pillow
A Blanket

List B: TASKS

Go Under
Go Over
Go Around
Go Through
Go Inside
Balance On
Jump Over
Hide From
Travel Along
[Create Your Own!]

List C: WAYS

Stealthily
Quickly
Softly
Loudly
Strongly
Gracefully
Secretly
Invisibly
Pompously
[Create Your Own!]

Collect the objects in List A. For Bonus Points, also collect something to toss (like a pair of socks folded into a ball) and something to toss it into (like a bowl, basket, or other container.)
Find something to use for a starting line and a finish line. Long pieces of yarn, long scarves, or a piece of removable painter’s tape on the ground work nicely.
You may want some music for this challenge. Choose your soundtrack wisely.

Get Set…

Set up your obstacle course, using your objects, tasks and ways to create your own Unexpected Journey!
Bonus Points: Set up a Final Challenge to do when you’ve finished the others: like Frodo tossing the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, you’ll toss your tossing-thing into your container!
Turn on your music.

Go!

Complete your Unexpected Obstacles!

Meekins as The Hare, ready to win all the races in *Aesop Amuck*, summer 2015.

4. THE TWO TOWERS: Messages To Faraway Friends

What happens when you need help, but your friends are far away? You send messages, of course! In this challenge, you represent a whole castle or city. You can be Gondor lighting the beacons to ask for help from Rohan, or (if you’re a villain) Sauron up in Orthanc commanding Saruman in Isengard, or (if you have no idea who or what we’re talking about) you could be San Francisco sending signals to New York City. Your goal is to get a message to your friend across a distance, without using words.

Get Ready…

Find a partner (virtually or online)
Find something to wear that represents your castle, city, or community. (If you are already wearing a costume, this should somehow fit on top!)

Get Set…

You and your partner should be in two different places. You could be in different houses (via video chat), different rooms of the same house, or just on opposite sides of one room.
Put on your costume!
Decide on a simple task for your partner to do. Each partner should come up with a task, but don’t tell each other what the task is! Examples of simple tasks: Do jumping jacks, Drink a glass of water, Sit down in a chair, Clap your hands.
Decide on a way to communicate. Remember – you must communicate without words, and without leaving your spot. Examples of ways to communicate: hand signals, Morse code, semaphore, gestures, sign language, or invent your own!
Bonus points: Don’t decide on the means of communication in advance, just wing it, and trust your partner to understand!

Go!

Communicate, without speaking, what you want your partner to do.
Once the first partner successfully completes their task, switch!

A small pirate, Meekins and Samuel Peaches with a punny obstacle at the 2018 P.O.O.C.

5. LEGOLAS & GIMLI’S Conquer-Clutter Competition!

Work with a partner to destroy the clutter around your house in a friendly competition, like Legolas and Gimli clearing Orcs out of the Battle of Helm’s Deep!

Get Ready…

Find a partner (online or in person)
Find a timer, or find a helper to keep an eye on the clock

Get Set…

Agree with your partner on how long the challenge will last, anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes.
Set your timer (or have your helper say when to “go”)

Go!

Pick up pieces of clutter in your house, like toys, socks, pencils, junk mail — anything that’s out of place — and put them where they belong!
Count your conquests: loudly call out a number each time you put something away so that your partner knows how awesome you are at this challenge.
Compete to be the partner with the most items of clutter vanquished when the time is up!
Bonus Points: Count your conquests in the voice of your favorite character.

This competition between two Veronese ruffians (played by Princess Gwen and Percival Perkins) in *Shakespeare or Space Wars* (2017) wasn’t so friendly.

6. The RIDICULOUS RINGWRAITH Drawing/Describing Challenge!

Those creepy Ringwraiths are always after our hero, Frodo Baggins… but they don’t know who he is, they can only talk in screeches and shrieks, and they can’t see so well under those heavy black cloaks! In this challenge, you’re a Ringwraith trying to find your favorite hero… but you have difficulties. Choose whichever challenge appeals to you: DRAWING or DESCRIBING!

Get Ready…

DRAWING: Grab a maker, some paper, and something to cover your eyes with, like a scarf you can tie into a blindfold or a hoodie you can wear backwards.
DESCRIBING and DRAWING: Decide who is your favorite hero. It could be yourself in your Obstacle Course costume, one of your Obstacle partners, Aragorn, Gandalf, Princess Leia, Wonder Woman, or any other hero.

Get Set…

DRAWING: Cover your eyes. Make sure you have your marker in your drawing hand and your paper on a table in front of you, under your other hand.
DESCRIBING: Take a deep breath!

Go!

DRAW a picture of your hero! No peeking! When you are done, show off your masterpiece — while still blindfolded.
DESCRIBE your hero using only gibberish! Be sure to use gestures or sounds that will help us get a sense of your hero’s awesomeness. Don’t leave out any details!
Bonus Points for DRAWING or DESCRIBING: you can only talk in screeches and shrieks!

Meekins, Thumper, and Samuel Peaches as Ringwraiths in *A Lord Of A Ring In A Suitcase*, summer 2019

7. The Most Obstinate of Obstinate Obstacles: SKARKLINE

Sometimes, you are called upon to Skarkline. What is Skarkline? Only you know.

Get Ready…

Prepare the Skarkline Arena.

Get Set…

Enter the Skarkline Arena.

Go!

Successfully Skarkline!
Bonus Points: Skarkline in the character of your favorite hero (like Eowyn), villain (like Saruman), or anti-hero (like Gollum).

We are not sure if anyone is Skarklining in this picture from *Aesop Amuck*. There do seem to be Players wearing frog feet, and toddlers throwing projectiles.

Have fun!

Please let us know about your Obstacle Attempts by posting them on social media with the hashtag #POOOC2020! You can also tag @PeripateticPlayers on IG or TikTok, and @SamuelPeaches on Twitter!

VISIT THE MAIN #POOOC2020 PAGE

PRINT A PDF OF ALL OBSTACLES

Physical Comedy with the Peripatetic Players – June 16

January 28, 2019July 27, 2019directorebeccer 1 Comment

Learn to slip, trip, fall and bounce back on June 16!

Thumper‘s very good friend, Joan Howard, will lead this Physical Comedy workshop. This workshop was postponed from its original date of March 17.

You’ll learn the basics of physical comedy and knockabout clowning, from solo slapstick to group melees and building comedic bits. You’ll build essential skills like tripping, tumbling, falling, and running into walls. We’ll also cover comic slaps, hair pulls, foot stomps, and head bonks. Finally, we’ll explore comic structure, and you’ll string your skills together to create a short slapstick performance with other workshop participants that will serve to develop character and tell a story.

This workshop is for actors, improvisers, clowns, comedians, and anyone who is excited to develop their physical funny. Open to all skill levels and ages 15 and up. Sign Up Here!

The basics:

What: Physical Comedy with the Peripatetic Players
When: June 16, 2019, 12pm – 3pm
Where: Port Costa, California

How To Sign Up: Register at this link!

More details:

Cost is just $50, which supports both Idiot String and the Port Costa Conservation Society. Residents of Port Costa, Crockett, or Tormey pay just $10 thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Crockett Community Foundation.

After the workshop, explore the wonderful and tiny town of Port Costa, where you can hike the hills, relax with a book, or discover whimsical artwork and fabulous antiques — making the whole day an invigorating experience.

We are excited to play with you!

What to bring:

Snacks and/or a bag lunch
Water bottle
Notebook or journal and pen(cil)
Closed-toe shoes and clothes you can move in

How to sign up:

Joan Howard is a physical theatre performer and clown. She plays Thumper of the Samuel Peaches Peripatetic Players, and is one-half of the acrobatic clown duo Max & Antoinette, who have appeared at San Francisco Theater Pub and the foolsFURY Factory Parts Festival. Joan teaches the next generation of professional clowns at San Francisco Circus Center’s Clown Conservatory, where she is co-director of a new social clowning program called ClownCorps. Joan also feels particularly fortunate to visit hospitals with the Medical Clown Project. She has performed with We Players and foolsFURY, and has presented original performances at Physical Theatre Salon at Main Street, LEVYSalon, Barbary Coast Amusements, Literary Clown Foolery, The Clown Cabaret, and Ei8ht. In 2010, she co-founded Main Street Theatre in San Francisco’s Excelsior district, an alternative performance venue dedicated to physical theatre and the variety arts. Joan studied clowning and pedagogy with Giovanni Fusetti of Helikos, is a graduate of Flying Actor Studio’s Physical Theatre Conservatory, and holds a BFA in Sculpture/Performance Art from California College of Arts & Crafts. She is co-creator of Idiot String.

Ensemble Character Creation – Peripatetic Style!

December 13, 2018July 27, 2019directorebeccer 1 Comment

Come play with us on January 27!

Mdme Directrix’s very good friend, Rebecca Longworth, will lead a workshop on January 27 called Ensemble Character Creation with the Peripatetic Players.

This workshop is open to all! In it, you’ll create your very own character, and play together with other workshop participants to perform an original adaptation of a short fairy tale… just like the Peripatetic Players do it! Read on for more info, then Sign Up Here!

The basics:

What: Ensemble Character Creation with the Peripatetic Players
When: Sunday, January 27, 10am – 2pm
Where: Port Costa, California

How To Sign Up: Register at this link!

Cost is just $40, which supports both Idiot String and the Port Costa Conservation Society. Residents of Port Costa, Crockett, or Tormey pay just $10 thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Crockett Community Foundation.

The details:

Stretch your theatrical muscles, develop your own eccentric character, and hone your ensemble-creation skills!

In this workshop, Idiot String’s Artistic Director, Rebecca Longworth, will guide you through the Peripatetic Players’ signature style of character-building and collaborative creation, rooted in delight and play. You’ll come away with a new character ready to hit the stage in a variety of settings, new insight and confidence as a performer, and new collaborators dedicated to accessible ensemble theatremaking. You’ll also laugh a lot!

Using methods developed by the Peripatetic Players use to create their actor-characters, you’ll cultivate delight, vulnerability, and authentic presence on stage. You’ll gain insight into your habits as a performer, using those as strengths to build from. Then, through improvisation, eccentric exploration, and play, you’ll develop a brand-new character that’s unique to you! Your character will find their voice and form relationships, then build an ensemble with other delightful weirdos to adapt a short fairytale together.

After the workshop, explore the wonderful and tiny town of Port Costa, where you can hike the hills, relax with a book, or discover whimsical artwork and fabulous antiques — making the whole day an invigorating experience.

We are excited to play with you!

Who is this workshop for?

We’re looking for participants from a variety of backgrounds with a range of performing experience…

Actors who want to incorporate more physicality, playfulness, or vulnerability into their character work
Physical performers ready to deepen ensemble skills, mindfulness, vulnerability and play
Performers of all stripes seeking to gain insight into their habits, incorporate a sense of delight and play into their practice, or explore new ways of collaborating in ensemble
Anyone seeking more relaxation, confidence and delight on stage and working in groups
Those interested in devised theatre-making, collaboration creation, or the Bay Area ensemble theater community
Non-actors with an openness to learning new techniques, accessing vulnerability, and building ensemble

What to bring:

Snacks and/or a bag lunch
Water bottle
Notebook or journal and pen(cil).
Closed-toe shoes and clothes you can move in, preferably solid, neutral colors.

What’s provided:

Some costumes and accessories to try on — we encourage you *not* to bring your own, but instead to surprise yourself with something new!
A creative environment rooted in connection, support, and delight.

How to sign up / cost:

Your investment of $40 supports Idiot String, our workshop leaders, and the Port Costa School as a community space. Residents of Port Costa, Tormey, and Crockett pay just $10, thanks to generous sponsorship from the Crockett Community Foundation.

Come one, come all – to the SPPP’s first workshop!

September 5, 2018December 13, 2018directorebeccer 2 Comments

Come play with the SPPPs!

*Update: this workshop has been RESCHEDULED for Sunday January 27*

The Peripatetic Players and their very good friends Rebecca, Joan, et. al. will be leading a workshop ~~this November 3~~ [rescheduled for January 27!] called Ensemble Character Creation with the Peripatetic Players.

The basics:

What: Ensemble Character Creation with the Peripatetic Players
When: Saturday November 3, 10am – 2pm
Where: Port Costa, California

How To Sign Up: Register at this link!

Cost is just $40 to pay workshop leaders, and help support Idiot String and the Port Costa Conservation Society. No one turned away for lack of funds.

The details:

Stretch your muscles of eccentricity and ensemble with the Peripatetic Players!

In this workshop, you’ll experience the Peripatetic Players’ signature style of character-building and collaborative creation, rooted in delight and play. You’ll come away with a new character ready to hit the stage in other settings, new insight and confidence as a performer, and new collaborators dedicated to accessible ensemble theatremaking. You’ll also laugh a lot!

With methods the Peripatetic Players use to create their actor-characters, you’ll cultivate delight, vulnerability, and authentic presence on stage. You’ll gain insight into your habits as a performer, using those as strengths to build from. Then, through improvisation, eccentric exploration, and play, You’ll develop a brand-new character that’s unique to you! We’ll help them find their voice and form relationships, then we’ll take our characters for a spin… building an ensemble with other delightful weirdos, and adapting a short fairytale together.

We are excited to play with you!

Who is this workshop for?

We’re looking for participants from a variety of backgrounds with a range of performing experience…

Actors who want to incorporate more physicality into their character work
Physical performers ready to deepen skills, mindfulness, and play
Any performers seeking to gain insight into their habits, incorporate a sense of delight and play into their practice, or explore new ways of collaborating in ensemble
Anyone seeking more relaxation, confidence and delight on stage
Those interested in devised theatre-making, collaboration creation, or the Bay Area ensemble theater community

What to bring:

Snacks and/or a bag lunch
Water bottle
Notebook or journal and pen(cil).
Closed-toe shoes and clothes you can move in, preferably solid, neutral colors.

What’s provided:

Some costumes and accessories to try on — we encourage you *not* to bring your own, but instead to surprise yourself with something new!
A creative environment rooted in connection, support, and delight.

How to sign up / cost:

Cost is just $40 to pay workshop leaders, and help support Idiot String and the Port Costa Conservation Society. No one turned away for lack of funds.

71.78% = Thank You, Supporters!

May 31, 2018May 31, 2018directorebeccer 1 Comment

A rousing Thank You to all who have supported Shiver We Timbers!, our 2018 summer tour — including donors to our Particularly Obstinate Obstacle Course, all those who have donated online, our site hosts and sponsors, and everyone who stopped by our pirate photo booth at the Port Costa Town Wide Yard Sale on May 26.

Thanks to you, we’re already 71.78% of the way to our funding goal of $4000! Huzzah, math!

Pirate Portraits from our photo booth at the Port Costa Town Wide Yard Sale … Ahoy!

Your support makes it possible for us to bring free theatre to parks and public spaces around the Bay Area! Think of it this way… rather than buying a ticket, your donation is a lot like handing tickets out to people in your community. Feels pretty nice, right?

And that’s not all…

Your contribution is worth double, thanks to a grant from the East Bay Fund for Artists that matches all donations through July 15, up to our goal of $4,000. This grant will help Idiot String create a new play for Port Costa in 2019.

Whatever the adventure, the Peripatetic Players and Idiot String aim to connect people through joyful shared experience and participatory fun. When we create our shows, we’re also creating the world we want to live in: one full of imaginative play, shared stories, and do-it-yourself delight.

Haven’t donated yet? Want to chip in some more? Here’s a button!

A Particularly Obstinate Recap!

May 22, 2018May 23, 2018marlenefrances 2 Comments

The Samuel Peaches Peripatetic Players are happy to report that they all managed to complete 16 obstacles in the Third Annual Particularly Obstinate Obstacle Course (POOC)!

Held Saturday, May 19th in the year 2018, the POOC was a rousing success!

The Skeleton Pirate was decimated by Pirate Gwen, Pirate Stephanie, Pirate Thumper, and Pirate Guy!

This year’s Obstacles were presented on a map, illustrated by our very own Sam Bertken:

Our very own treasure map!

Our Obstacles were:

1. The Pledge of Arrlegiance!	9. The Kraken!
2. Pirate Gwen’s Pirate Closet	10. Tug of (Man O’) War
3. Catwalk the Plank	11. Cannonball Toss
4. Crows Nest Climb Time	12. Rogue Wave Rider
5. Catapult Cannon Toss	13. Shiver Me Timbers
6. Skeleton Pirate	14. Skarkline (a perennial favorite)
7. Samuel Peaches’ Siren Song	15. Sea Shanty
8. Pirate Puns	16. Time Fer Treasure!

Thank you so much to all of our friends who joined us in Mosswood Park — it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun without you!

The Siren!

Look at this boat!

s p o o k y

Diggin’!

How did Samuel fare?

Madame, Err, Pirate Directrix!

Puns abound!

Becoming a pirate starts with a hat.

Treasure!

What do ye see?

RRRRR ye ready?

If you get lost, go here!

There is still time to donate, if you’d like to help us bring FREE theatre to Bay Area parks and public spaces; donations made now through July 15th will be DOUBLED through our Matching Grant from the Easy Bay Fund For Artists.

Donate HERE!

Photo by Tim Guydish!

Particularly Obstinate Obstacles Obtained!

April 26, 2017April 26, 2017directorebeccer 1 Comment

P. O. Obstacle #3: Thumper and friends Percival (aka Soren) & Rapscallion (aka Ross) hurdle a swamp, or swim a river, or all of the above.

We lucked out with a bunch of sunshine for Sunday’s Particularly Obstinate Obstacle Course — THANK YOU all who came out in person or virtually to offer your cheers of support!

As expected, it was relatively ridiculous…

Awesomepants (aka Kristen) momentarily trails Princess Gwen in a leap through the ring of fire held bravely by Mr Peaches himself in P. O. Obstacle #12.

P. O. Obstacle #5: Awesomepants, Princess G, and a Masked Meekins expertly executing some improvised choreography.

And in the BEST NEWS, we’ve raised over $500 in the 24 hours immediately following the event! Which is fantastic — because we have only until May 1 to meet our goal!

Do you know someone who would like to help bring FREE performances to parks & public spaces around the Bay Area? Please share this link: https://go.rallyup.com/sppp-a-thon2017

In P. O. Obstacle #7, Thumper bravely takes on the role of Rebel Scum as “Storm Troupers” take terrible aim. It’s hard to see in those helmets!

We’ll receive the funds of all pledges no matter how much we raise, but hitting our goal will go a long way toward ensuring that we can bring Shakespeare or Space Wars to Bay Area parks, offering FREE performances for neighbors of all ages.

Explore the website for more about the show — and coming soon: tour dates and locations!

You can also sign up for our mailing list to be in the know about upcoming shows.

Awesome photos in this update from the wonderful Tim Guydish, a Peripatetic Patron who works wonders with his cameras!