I met Jon in an Embodied Presence intensive in downtown Manhattan many years ago and we stayed in touch.
He trained as an actor and also found work as a world class puppeteer. In fact, Jon, was one of the puppeteers inside the puppet horse of the Broadway acclaimed play War Horse touring with the show around the world. It’s during his travels that he trained and worked with some of the most esteemed puppet companies in the world. This gave him the skills to know the ropes.
At that time, social media would tell me where in the world Jon was.
In fact, years back, Jon and I worked together to offer a workshop in New York City called Collaboration Masterclass which offered practices for teams to learn how to best work in concert while using Bunraku style puppets as a metaphor.
Several years ago, Jon invited me to a performance with an ensemble of puppeteers in a show called Fly Away by Derek Fordjour*. It was a stunning and unforgettable show.
After the performance, I met Jon at the stage door and he excitedly tells me that during a crucial moment in the show the knob came off the butt of the puppet. In Bunraku puppetry, there are several puppeteers that each take the puppet’s limbs to manipulate it. Jon’s role was to move a particular limb and the torso in concert with three other puppeteers for this Bunraku style puppet. I found it astounding how they are able to completely work together to have the puppet live and breathe as if it were a real live person.
In a moment when Jon was deftly manipulating the torso of the puppet, suddenly the knob popped off the butt. Oh, horrors!
What do you do when the knob comes off the butt?
We work assiduously to become skillful at our work. So that when the knob comes off the butt in a split millisecond, we know how to take action. Our training and our preparation affords us the capacity to know exactly what to do in those unfortunate moments.
Never for once did I detect any irregularity from my seat in the audience.
Mastery is about learning to be nimble at the craft of our work. And how to recover when misfortune strikes. Our training, accumulated experience and groundwork prepares us for those disastrous moments when the knob comes off the butt. We know how to act, what to do, even in the face of massive uncertainty.
Join us for The Energy of Presence. In this one-session, online live class, receive the principles and practice to stay present and composed even when the plan falls apart.
Click here for more information.
