Friday 22 February 2013

Bionics - The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

In a clip from the Socks' first tryouts of material for Socks In Space at the Leicester Comedy Festival, a discussion about The Six Million Dollar Man that may, or may not, make the final show.




TOUR DATES Spring/Summer 2013

Feb 2, 3 - The Black Pearl, Malta
Feb 8, 9, 10 - Leicester Comedy Festival, Kayal
Mar 9 - Flavel, Dartmouth
Mar 21, 22, 23 - Glasgow Comedy Festival, The Dram
Mar 30, April 5 - Bath Comedy Festival, Ring O'Bells
April 12 - Plough Arts, Torrington, Devon
April 13 - Barnfield, Exeter
April 27 - Gardyne Theatre, Dundee
April 28 - Eden Court, Inverness
May 1 - Swindon Arts Centre
May 9, 10 - Komedia, Brighton Fringe
May 25, 26 - Inverness Happy-Ness Festival
May 29 - Theatr Mwdlan, Cardigan
May 31 - Exchange Arts, Keighley
June 1 - Junction, Goole
June 2 - Barnsley Civic
June 8 - Warwick Arts Centre
June 25 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
June 27 - Victoria Theatre, Halifax
June 28 - Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
July 2, July 9 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
July 14 - Sheffield, New Barrack Tavern 2pm (NEW)
July 20 - Bedford Fringe
July 21 - Derby Funhouse 3.25pm (NEW)
July 22 - Clowns Pocket, Neath
Aug 2-26 - Gilded Balloon, 10.15pm, Edinburgh Fringe
Sept 7 - Derry Waterside
Sept 21 - Braintree Arts Theatre

Further dates to be added, (plus regular appearances at your local comedy club, check listings for details and, if you can't find us, ask your local comedy club to book us, it can't hurt). Watch Facebook, here or ents24 for updates.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Bazinga! - New comics by kids

Having blogged about the efficacy of comics as a tool in teaching literacy to school kids, here's me putting my theories into practice. Comics by the most recent groups of pupils in my Comic Art Masterclasses (click to enlarge)...



You see here front covers and some strips by pupils from year 6 and 7 in Malvern and Gloucester. The celebrities the four groups suggested for the "treads on a worm" demonstration were Will Smith, Megan Fox and, twice in one week, Winston Churchill. I know.

If you're developing a taste for this kind of thing, there's a whole archive of Comic Art Masterclass comics on my website, including these choice examples and many more...

Aquatic Owls vs The Moon - Dec 2012
The Hairy Bottom - July 2012
Kid Afro Spaghetti - June 2012
Fartimouse Owl - May 2012
I ❤ Gingers - May 2012
Help I'm A Superhero Get Me Out Of Here - April 2012

If anyone wants me to come and show their kids how to do what I've been doing for a living for the last two decades in my patent Comic Art Masterclasses, drop me a line, a comment, a Twitter, smoke signals, the usual methods. Click below to see more, including video and contact details.

Monday 18 February 2013

Comics, the vital literacy tool

As well as writing and drawing for comics as diverse as The Beano, Marvel comics and Doctor Who, I specialise in teaching school pupils how to write and draw comic strips in my Comic Art Masterclasses (as you can see in the video below). And one big finding is how vital comics are as a tool in learning literacy.

 Reverse Psychology and Super Dooper Pooper Loo, comics by pupils from Borehamwood, Taunton, Kings Lynn, Croydon and Guildford.

Regularly in my work in both primary school and secondary schools, as far afield as Ireland, Scotland, Wales, all points in England, and even Abu Dhabi, I am told by teachers that I have got a pupil to write stories who doesn't usually write, and to read who doesn't usually read. How?

Well part of my impact is of course my novelty. A visiting artist is always going to be a break from the norm and combining, as I do, my expertise as a stand up comedian with my love and knowledge of comics inevitably makes a pleasant diversion from their usual teachers (who are all brilliant, need I mention?). And working, as we do, at a whirlwind speed, producing a comic book with the entire class in a morning or afternoon, they hardly have time to realise what's hit them before the fun's over. But entertainment is all well and good, so how does this manage to help them with literacy?


The answer lies on the comic strip page. And in particular with the voice or speech bubble. Comic books and comic strips, you see, are a very unfamiliar sight to most children in British schools today. They are familiar with many of the characters, from having seen them on TV and in films and games, but few are regular readers of comics, and those that are are limited to the juvenile reading experience of The Beano.

But when I scatter comics on their tables, as I do as part of the class (encouraging them to copy and to learn from the drawings they see), the excitement is palpable. The cries of "look at this" and "have you seen this?" are as delightful as they are inevitable as most of them are seeing the interiors of, for example, Marvel & DC superhero comics, for the first time. And with most comics giving you little change from three quid these days, this is little surprise.

And on all of those comic strip pages we see the single tool of the comic strip trade that was the reason I had the best reading age in my own primary school year, the voice bubble. I, like many young readers (particularly, though not exclusively, boys) learned to read visually. Children draw before they can write, and they learn to interpret visual images and work out what is happening in front of them visually, before they can read words or even understand spoken language. So what better way for them to learn to read than to read one picture following another on a printed page?



Then, once they've begun to read the story laid out in panels before them, what could be simpler than having a character's spoken words appear in a balloon, emerging from (or more accurately with a stem pointing towards) their open mouth? It was as a result of this simple device that, by the age of five, I was reading, and spelling correctly, words like Thermonuclear Device and Excelsior. Because I was reading The Hulk and The Fantastic Four. I could work out what was happening in the story, helped all the more by the fact that the stories contained unlimited violence, punching, explosions and big shiny spaceships and gruesome monsters - which are, for the record, a million times more interesting to any five year old boy than Janet, John and/or Spot The Dog - and then I could read the words, making sense of them by a simple joining of the mental dots.

The Living Moon Pie - comics by pupils from Cambridgeshire, Glasgow, Croydon, Largs & Henley.
 
Quite how anyone who had to learn by deciphering a wall of words alone managed I cannot quite comprehend. Sure there were picture books. But a) they were for kids (see Janet, John, Spot and for my money Gruffaloes and Hungry Caterpillars, which are fine for parents to read to kids but a yawn for kids to read themselves) and b) had pictures on one page and words on the other with no obvious link between the two. Inverted commas v the voice bubble is a battle the inverted commas are going to lose every time, surely.



So, I teach comics, and they help struggling readers with literacy. QED. If you want me, you know where to find me. My next aim is to begin producing the sort of comic books that I believe young readers want to read and that will be affordable to them. Stay tuned, we'll see how I progress.

In the meantime, there's a whole archive of Comic Art Masterclass comics as produced by the kids in my classes on my website, including these choice examples and many more...

71 New Comics by Schoolkids - from spring 2014


If anyone wants me to come and show their kids how to do what I've been doing for a living for the last two decades in my patent Comic Art Masterclasses, drop me a line, a comment, a Twitter, smoke signals, the usual methods. Click below to see more, including video and contact details.

 


Curse Of The Singing Go Compare Man & other comics, by kids in Kent and Henley

Sunday 17 February 2013

Socks vid figures & recent tweets

The Socks have been making lots of videos so far this year. Some of which are getting healthy viewing figures, by our standards. Here, as of today's date, is 2013's Top 12. Let's see how they fare as the year goes on.


Top 20 Horse Meat Gags - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre   49,346 (22/2/13: 50,019)
Pope Resigns - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre   2344 (22/2/13: 2,599)
The Eden Hazard Song - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre   940
Where Am I Now? - David Bowie (Socks remix)   803
Bowie at 66 - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre  664
Where's Captain Kirk? - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre    619
Richard The Third, Scottish Falsetto Socks live in Leicester  611
Top 10 Snow Gags - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre   603
Scottish Falsetto Socks in Malta Feb 2 & 3   537
One Pound Fish - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre   500
Burke & Hare - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre   484
Blockbuster - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre  420

I've not been keeping much of a diary of late, while busying myself with Socks shows, schools and the boring business at my desk. So here are some of my tweets of recent weeks, for the record.

Jan 24  You might like this, The Eden Hazard Song Any chance of a RT?
Jan 24   A timely look at kids-oriented US comics and how they, too, are getting cancelled Superman Family Adventures RIP
Jan 24
Once again, causes Twitter to speak with one voice:
Jan 24 That moment when you find yourself laughing aloud at a New Yorker cartoon (Maybe you have to read a few)
 Jan 25  Funniest thing this year, Bad Lip Reading of the Presidential Inauguration
Jan 27  I'm trying to do an illustration of some dummy ammunition. I'm drawing a blank.
Jan 27 Have just discovered the genius that is Dresden Codak Am I late to the party or this stuff new to anyone else? Love it.
Jan 28  Policeman just told me I can trip over half a dozen times in an episode. He was reading my Miranda rights  
Jan 30  Watching Mad Men series 5, got one episode to go. This is the most amazing TV writing ever. Ever.
Feb 1 We're in Malta. It's sunny & lovely, no gig till tomorrow. Our hosts James & Erin @wembleystoreboys are the best  
Feb 5 Socks play Leicester Comedy Festival Fri, Sat + Sun matinee 1st preview of new Socks In Space stuff + Boo! Book now
Feb 8 Search "Leicester Comedy" on Twitter, you find comedians plugging their shows. No punters, just comics. All on at 7.30  
Feb 8  And this would be our lamest listing this month: "A comedy duo for adults that consists of two musical sock puppets"  
Feb 8  Just take all these gags and insert the words Findus Lasagne You're welcome (We're at this weekend btw)
Feb 9 Richard The Third, Scottish Falsetto Socks live in Leicester: via  
Feb 9 Hev just asked a very interesting question: Since there are far fewer horses than cattle and that they cost so...  
Feb 9  Best sentence read today: "It is legal to slaughter horses for human consumption so long as they have a valid passport"  
Feb 9 Who fans = best ballot stuffers ever. A DVD extra is Best Show Ever? Doctor Who Confidential best BBC3 show  
Feb 10 Just discovered The Aquabats Super Show on ITV. Reassured to find it's taken them 19 years to get here ! Hope for us yet
Feb 10 Kung Hei Fat Boy (that's Happy New Year to all the Sumo wrestlers out there)
Feb 10 Is one of them Black Butey? 9000 dead horses exported to Europe for food, some contaminated with bute  
Feb 10 Argo's won a ? Well we bought a kettle there last month and it's shit.
Feb 10 Ben Affleck's beard just reminded me, we're missing Mr Selfridge  
Feb 10  Jeremy Renner = Noel Edmonds shaved  
Feb 11  My was 4 Asterix books, free with Total petrol (Legionary, Gladiator, Cleopatra & Big Fight). Whizzer & Chips didn't compare
Feb 11 Attacks by dogs in the UK (2008) was 496 Attacks by foxes = one. The solution is to cull all dogs.
Feb 11 Dalek Kung Fu? I'm loving this Dalek CGI comic strip Second Empire by  
Feb 11 Garage just told me what they're about to do to my car. I said, whoa, spoiler alert.
Feb 11 Sales for Socks in Glasgow are doing well - Fri & Sat beating 2 Leics pre-sales already Thurs poor. What, school night?
Feb 12  Why do I find myself mistrusting "leading Romanian food company based in Transylvania"? That's Transylvaniaist.  
Feb 12 But how am I going to do business on eBay now?  
Feb 12 Hooray! I have one of the top 10% most viewed profiles for 2012. I have no idea what that means, but bless.
Feb 12  Friend online tweeted he's had a strip from 1991 optioned for a film. It reminded me of this classic. Any takers?  
Feb 12 We're on 999 likes. Go on, you know you wanna  
Feb 12  Have had to explain why I was laughing so loudly. At this: Bad Lip Reading "Trick The Bridesmaid"
Feb 13 A week late, here's Kraftwerk doing The Troggs Tape (made 5 years ago, forgot about it last week)  
Feb 13 If you're on Reddit, do please give the Socks' Pope sketch a vote Thanks (and RT if you'd be so kind)
Feb 13 Want a 1948 news clip that begins with a severed horse's head? Try THE HORSEMEAT SCANDAL - British Pathé  
Feb 13  We're available for any TV gigs Robin Ince doesn't want Happy 2B "smears of bacteria in petri dish of TV list shows"

Feb 14 Speaking as someone who visits libraries to teach comics and encourage kids to read and >>  
>>in some cases, to simply keep them off the street, I can say to Terry Deary that libraries >  
> I can say to Terry Deary that libraries don't just exist to take money from his millionaire pockets  
Feb 14 Happy Valentines Day from the Scottish Falsetto Socks A romantic video treat
Feb 14 Did not spot BBC Question Time in the Leicester Comedy Festival programme.  
Feb 14 Did George. Galloway learn. To speak by. Listening to Captain. Kirk?  
Feb 15 Laughing out loud at Great Night Out. A brilliant series (with bloody awful title which made us miss at 1st it thinking it was a game show)
Feb 16  Booking tickets for Glasgow Comedy Festival? Don't forget yer Socks  

Feb 16 Grrr Radio2 Top 100 Album Vote You get to chose between your less favourite Bowie, Beatles, & Michael Jackson albums
Feb 16 Watching on BBC2 we'd like to point out that we were watching on BBC2. On a Saturday night.  


Friday 15 February 2013

Fireball - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

Brand new from the Socks, a song about a very famous spaceship...



Since last week's excellent first Socks In Space shows at Leicester Comedy Festival, which comprised mostly Boo Lingerie material with about 15 minutes of new stuff, I've written some new space stuff that I think's not half bad. But we'll have to wait a short while to hear the new Melies Brothers routine tested out live, at which time we'll see whether the Fireball song works live. I have no doubt more even better material is just around the bend.




TOUR DATES Spring/Summer 2013

Feb 2, 3 - The Black Pearl, Malta
Feb 8, 9, 10 - Leicester Comedy Festival, Kayal
Mar 9 - Flavel, Dartmouth
Mar 21, 22, 23 - Glasgow Comedy Festival, The Dram
Mar 30, April 5 - Bath Comedy Festival, Ring O'Bells
April 12 - Plough Arts, Torrington, Devon
April 13 - Barnfield, Exeter
April 27 - Gardyne Theatre, Dundee
April 28 - Eden Court, Inverness
May 1 - Swindon Arts Centre
May 9, 10 - Komedia, Brighton Fringe
May 25, 26 - Inverness Happy-Ness Festival
May 29 - Theatr Mwdlan, Cardigan
May 31 - Exchange Arts, Keighley
June 1 - Junction, Goole
June 2 - Barnsley Civic
June 8 - Warwick Arts Centre
June 25 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
June 27 - Victoria Theatre, Halifax
June 28 - Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
July 2, July 9 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
July 14 - Sheffield, New Barrack Tavern 2pm (NEW)
July 20 - Bedford Fringe
July 21 - Derby Funhouse 3.25pm (NEW)
July 22 - Clowns Pocket, Neath
Aug 2-26 - Gilded Balloon, 10.15pm, Edinburgh Fringe
Sept 7 - Derry Waterside
Sept 21 - Braintree Arts Theatre

Further dates to be added, (plus regular appearances at your local comedy club, check listings for details and, if you can't find us, ask your local comedy club to book us, it can't hurt). Watch Facebook, here or ents24 for updates.

Monday 11 February 2013

Pope Resigns - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

The Pope has just resigned. How could the Socks not have something to say...



(UPDATE) at 10am on Feb 14th, this video stands at 1999 viewers. Just saying.

And as if that weren't exciting enough, look, our Richard III video's made the front cover of Chortle:



And here it is on Blip TV (where they make money from the ads and we don't, must look into that):






TOUR DATES Spring/Summer 2013

Feb 2, 3 - The Black Pearl, Malta
Feb 8, 9, 10 - Leicester Comedy Festival, Kayal
Mar 9 - Flavel, Dartmouth
Mar 21, 22, 23 - Glasgow Comedy Festival, The Dram
Mar 30, April 5 - Bath Comedy Festival, Ring O'Bells
April 12 - Plough Arts, Torrington, Devon
April 13 - Barnfield, Exeter
April 27 - Gardyne Theatre, Dundee
April 28 - Eden Court, Inverness
May 1 - Swindon Arts Centre
May 9, 10 - Komedia, Brighton Fringe
May 25, 26 - Inverness Happy-Ness Festival
May 29 - Theatr Mwdlan, Cardigan
May 31 - Exchange Arts, Keighley
June 1 - Junction, Goole
June 2 - Barnsley Civic
June 8 - Warwick Arts Centre
June 25 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
June 27 - Victoria Theatre, Halifax
June 28 - Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
July 2, July 9 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
July 14 - Sheffield, New Barrack Tavern 2pm (NEW)
July 20 - Bedford Fringe
July 21 - Derby Funhouse 3.25pm (NEW)
July 22 - Clowns Pocket, Neath
Aug 2-26 - Gilded Balloon, 10.15pm, Edinburgh Fringe
Sept 7 - Derry Waterside
Sept 21 - Braintree Arts Theatre

Further dates to be added, (plus regular appearances at your local comedy club, check listings for details and, if you can't find us, ask your local comedy club to book us, it can't hurt). Watch Facebook, here or ents24 for updates.

Saturday 9 February 2013

Richard III live in Leicester - Scottish Falsetto Socks

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre have done the first night of their run at Leicester Comedy Festival, previewing their new show Socks In Space. And, being in Leicester, they had a wee look at a current local news story...



The Socks are in Leicester tonight and tomorrow then tour the country, with dates below (plus regular appearances at your local comedy club, check listings for details and, if you can't find us, ask your local comedy club to book us, it can't hurt).


TOUR DATES Spring/Summer 2013

Feb 2, 3 - The Black Pearl, Malta
Feb 8, 9, 10 - Leicester Comedy Festival, Kayal
Mar 9 - Flavel, Dartmouth
Mar 21, 22, 23 - Glasgow Comedy Festival, The Dram
Mar 30, April 5 - Bath Comedy Festival, Ring O'Bells
April 12 - Plough Arts, Torrington, Devon
April 13 - Barnfield, Exeter
April 27 - Gardyne Theatre, Dundee
April 28 - Eden Court, Inverness
May 1 - Swindon Arts Centre
May 9, 10 - Komedia, Brighton Fringe
May 25, 26 - Inverness Happy-Ness Festival
May 29 - Theatr Mwdlan, Cardigan
May 31 - Exchange Arts, Keighley
June 1 - Junction, Goole
June 2 - Barnsley Civic
June 8 - Warwick Arts Centre
June 25 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
June 27 - Victoria Theatre, Halifax
June 28 - Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
July 2, July 9 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
July 14 - Sheffield, New Barrack Tavern 2pm (NEW)
July 20 - Bedford Fringe
July 21 - Derby Funhouse 3.25pm (NEW)
July 22 - Clowns Pocket, Neath
Aug 2-26 - Gilded Balloon, 10.15pm, Edinburgh Fringe
Sept 7 - Derry Waterside
Sept 21 - Braintree Arts Theatre

Further dates to be added, (plus regular appearances at your local comedy club, check listings for details and, if you can't find us, ask your local comedy club to book us, it can't hurt). Watch Facebook, here or ents24 for updates.

Thursday 7 February 2013

I've Lost My Toilet - new comics by kids

Three days in primary schools near Salisbury & Swansea, and look what you get. Half a dozen comics created by their own fair hands.



You see here six front covers by pupils from years 3 to 6, as well as a spread from one of them, the Year 5s from Netheravon in Wiltshire. The celebrities they suggested for the "treads on a worm" demonstration were Simon Cowell, Tulisa, Rita Ora, Taylor Swift, Olly Murs and Harry Hill. And the big find of the week? Netheravon had three sets of twins, while no other schools this year has had any, and I saw five dead badgers by the roadside on the way home, which is by my reckoning way above average.

If you're developing a taste for this kind of thing, there's a whole archive of Comic Art Masterclass comics on my website, including these choice examples and many more...

Aquatic Owls vs The Moon - Dec 2012
The Hairy Bottom - July 2012
Kid Afro Spaghetti - June 2012
Fartimouse Owl - May 2012
I ❤ Gingers - May 2012
Help I'm A Superhero Get Me Out Of Here - April 2012

If anyone wants me to come and show their kids how to do what I've been doing for a living for the last two decades in my patent Comic Art Masterclasses, drop me a line, a comment, a Twitter, smoke signals, the usual methods. Click below to see more, including video and contact details.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Socks in Malta

The Socks are fresh back from playing their first ever gigs in Malta. This is how it went. Thanks to our fabulous hosts Erin & James and to all the good people of Malta.






TOUR DATES Spring/Summer 2013

Feb 2, 3 - The Black Pearl, Malta
Feb 8, 9, 10 - Leicester Comedy Festival, Kayal
Mar 9 - Flavel, Dartmouth
Mar 21, 22, 23 - Glasgow Comedy Festival, The Dram
Mar 30, April 5 - Bath Comedy Festival, Ring O'Bells
April 12 - Plough Arts, Torrington, Devon
April 13 - Barnfield, Exeter
April 27 - Gardyne Theatre, Dundee
April 28 - Eden Court, Inverness
May 1 - Swindon Arts Centre
May 9, 10 - Komedia, Brighton Fringe
May 25, 26 - Inverness Happy-Ness Festival
May 29 - Theatr Mwdlan, Cardigan
May 31 - Exchange Arts, Keighley
June 1 - Junction, Goole
June 2 - Barnsley Civic
June 8 - Warwick Arts Centre
June 25 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
June 27 - Victoria Theatre, Halifax
June 28 - Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
July 2, July 9 - Leicester Square Theatre, London
July 14 - Sheffield, New Barrack Tavern 2pm (NEW)
July 20 - Bedford Fringe
July 21 - Derby Funhouse 3.25pm (NEW)
July 22 - Clowns Pocket, Neath
Aug 2-26 - Gilded Balloon, 10.15pm, Edinburgh Fringe
Sept 7 - Derry Waterside
Sept 21 - Braintree Arts Theatre

Further dates to be added, (plus regular appearances at your local comedy club, check listings for details and, if you can't find us, ask your local comedy club to book us, it can't hurt). Watch Facebook, here or ents24 for updates.

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