Masked Marvels and Wondertales.

I saw a show last night that was an absolute blast. It was titled, Michael Cooper: Masked Marvels and Wondertales. I even love the title (so much so that I borrowed it)!

Michael Cooper is a mime (not the bad, street mime that everybody loves to hate) and mask-maker. He actually does very little performance mime, but he does combine his talent for body control with his innovative masks, and the results are splendid!

He's got a web site (of course!) and I encourage you to check it out. The Masked Marvel

A coule of thoughts have hit me since seeing the show last night.

First, how that show has likely affected my eight-year-old son. My son is a VERY creative young man. I see a lot of myself in him -- his creativity, his temperament, etc -- the main difference being that his parents are encouraging his artistic bent perhaps a bit more than mine did. Unlike me, however, my son is incredibly interested in science. He has more than a passion for studying frogs and insects and spiders and dinosaurs and rocks, etc.

What a show like this has done is throw my son out of balance. How great! How fun! How creative! I want to be just like that! ...but what about science...?!

How wonderful it was, then, when after the show my son asked Mr. Cooper, "Do you like science?" Cooper's response was, "Absoutely! My father was a veterinarian, and I thought about doing that, too. A lot of people think that the arts and sciences are far apart, but I think that they are very closely related. You need to be able to think creatively, like an artist, when you study science, and when you perform art you need to be able to think analytically, like a scientist, when you are preparing a show." So...which road will my son ultimately follow? Time only, will tell.

My other thought about the show, was ... had I stayed with it, that could very well have been me on the stage. My interest, study, and work in mime, along with my passion for masks and puppetry, could very well have had me performing for 200 last night, instead of Mr. Cooper. Do I miss it? Yes and no. I miss it, but I have no regrets with the path that I've followed.

I would most certainly see this show again. And maybe I'll even raise my hand when he's looking for volunteers.