"False Alligat-ions" at the Full Moon Puppet Show (Jan 2014)

It's my sewer alligator puppet show!



In False Alligations, Teddy the weird orphan boy discovers that there are alligators living in the city's sewers, but the authorities will not believe him.  When he goes into the sewers himself to investigate, he finds that things are not what they seem.

I wrote, directed and performed in False Alligations in January 2014 as part of the Full Moon Puppet Show, organized by Liz Schacterle, at Open Eye Figure Theatre in Minneapolis.

The January 25th performance featured Janet Skidmore as the narrator and playing guitar; Theo Goodell providing additional puppeteering and playing the toy xylophone; and Bob Helland on additional Guitar.  I performed Teddy, ran the projector, and was the puppeteer behind the alligator king.

Everybody had incredibly nice things to say about the show, and people liked it so much that we was invited to perform "False Alligations" again in September as part of the last Full Moon Puppet Show, during the Handmade Worlds Festival of Puppet Theatre, produced by The Puppeteers of America.  (This time with Janet Skidmore reprising her roles, and Francisco Benavides and Jane Marshall providing additional puppetry)

The year I was too busy to blog

Hey all,  Thomas Boguszewski here.

This site has been awfully silent since last November.  I've been doing a lot of fun stuff and telling nobody about it.  That's all going to change, though.

In the coming weeks I'll be catching up on lost time, and sharing stories about the projects I've worked on and experiences I've had in 2014.

Among them:

4 puppet shows
a book trailer
3 operas
3 conventions
1 film festival
1 delayed animated film
1 cancelled commercial
1 aborted installation piece

300 pages of comedy

a collection of incredible summer adventures...

and more!
stay tuned while I not only revitalize the stream of news stories, but redesign this blog as well!
Here's looking forward to a future where I take more of what's going on in my world and share it with others.

Drawn Out Storytelling - Rebecca by Steve Zimmer - illustrated by Thomas Boguszewski

This is my second piece for Drawn Out Storytelling:  A live show based in Brooklyn, New York which combines live storytelling and live music with live illustration.

In this tale, performed at Drawn Out's "End of the World" show in June 2012, Steve Zimmer tells of his attempts to find love with a new neighbor.

Read the story in the form of an illustrated comic made with animated GIFs below:

Drawn Out Storytelling - "Good News vs. Bad News" by Erin Barker illustrated by Thomas Boguszewski

At the Minneapolis Indie Expo in Nov. 2011, I hooked up with Drawn Out Storytelling:  A live show based in Brooklyn, New York which combines live storytelling and live music with live illustration.

By February 2012 I was illustrating for them.  The title of the show was "I hate you" - The theme was about animosity within families, and the story was Good News Versus Bad News (also called "Love and Baseball") by Erin Barker. "  In it, a daughter has to deal with hate and love in her own family when she learns the truth about her mother’s pregnancy.  Read the story in comic form below.

New Year's Party 1200 Years in the Making Catches World by Surprise

  Chichen Itza, Yucután, Mexico - December 21, 2012. 
  Onlookers were shocked and terrified this morning when the Kukulcán pyramid at Chichen Itza began to rotate, spin, and open up like a gigantic puzzle box. For moments, the six tourists then visiting Chichen Itza feared that this event was a portent of the much-advertised 2012 apocalypse. Then the massive pyramid began to emit fireworks and confetti, as well as play catchy music using an intricate system of bells and whistles that had apparently been built inside.

Anna Bolena at the MN Opera

You know that I usually like to give you loads and loads of history and backstory whenever I go to an opera, but this time, all you need to know about Anne Boleyn, 2nd wife of Henry VIII, can be heard in this song:

"Young Anne Boleyn she was two, had a daughter, the best she could do.  I said she flirted with some other man, and off for the chop went dear Anne"

Sexy Henry!  Take me now!

 The 1830 opera Anna Bolena by Donizetti is ostensibly a portrayal of Anne Boleyn's life leading up to the day when Henry had her head chopped off, as he was wont to do.  Donizetti did four operas about Tudor England so I was excited for some history.

Then during the reception the speaker told us, "If you're a fan of Showtime's The Tudors, rest assured that we have a very sexy Henry for you!" And I sighed the collective sigh of a million historians crying out in terror, only to be suddenly silenced. [Link:  Sexy Henry's diet]

To read my write-up of the opera and see my lovely cartoons, keep read on under the cut.

The Tale of Turnip Head - In Color

You've heard of Christmas in July, but what about Halloween in May?

You might remember The Tale of Turnip Head from when I posted inks for it in November.  Part of, "one of my ongoing, long-term projects... a graphic novel about the history of Halloween," The Tale of Turnip Head is "a wordless fantasy illustrating the evolution of the Jack-o-Lantern" that begins with a Celtic warrior on the battlefield.

This Spring I bring you the colored version of the story, and the news that I'm selling booklets of Turnip Head.

Enjoy!

MN Opera: Madame Butterfly

For each new show it opens, the Minnesota Opera invites local bloggers to a full dress rehearsal.  The Black Hat Collective of cartoonists and I make it our mission to interpret each show in cartoons and drawings, then post them online.

Last Thursday's show was the immortal:

Madame Butterfly

Part of the reason I didn't do a blog for the MN Opera's last production, Lucia Di Lammermoore, is because I was often too interested in what was happening onstage to draw!  That's a good problem to have.  The same problem came up a lot on Madame Butterfly.  It has a very rich story, complex and expressive characters, and lots of background info to deal with.  I'll be walking you through Madame Butterfly in the most enlightening way I can  —with words, videos, jokes, drawings, and photos.

Werther —or— A Dark Knight at the Opera

Last Thursday I went along with the Black Hat Collective to another preview at the Minnesota Opera.  Our mission:  To draw comics, enjoy the show, and have a fun time —then blog about it!

Tonight's show: 
Werther

Read on to learn about history, tragedy, romance and Batman in this fully-illustrated article featuring cartoons and comedy. 

St Paul Comic Jam - December 2011

The Saint Paul chapter of the Cartoonist Conspiracy met in December to bring the world

KRAMPUS in: The Power of Positive Drinking

You'll notice that this one is only 5 pages because there weren't very many people there that day.
Also, you'll notice that I worked in a shot from the gritty christmas superhero story that I'm working on:

—Thomas Boguszewski

Friday Friend Feature: Sam Freiberger

Sam Freiberger (sometimes known as Sam Sandak) is a filmmaker, writer, troublemaker and self-proclaimed Duke of Sherman Oaks, CA.  He studies film at NYU and minors in blowing minds.



Sam creates a very special presentation for his dorm's talent show in this short documentary.
Shot by me and edited by Daniel LaCosse,

The events of "I Want To Be, Anarchy" point out several of Sam's defining traits:
-Constant rebellion against rules that constrain artistic expression.
-A desire to cause a stir, stand out, and affect minds.
-Intense dedication and commitment to whatever task he has at hand.  Perfectionism.
-A love and deep respect for great works of art.  Film, drama, and *sometimes* even poetry.

The Tale of Turnip Head

     One of my ongoing, long-term projects is a graphic novel about the history of Halloween. So far I only have an outline for it written out, and a folder with a few page layouts.
     I figure the full-sized project will take a few years to finish, but I wanted to whip something up in time for Halloween this year. So I created a little four-pager sequence called "The Tale of Turnip Head."
     It's a wordless fantasy illustrating the evolution of the Jack-o-Lantern. It starts off with a Celtic Warrior in the midst of battle. Enjoy.

     and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

I plan to take the "Turnip Head" inks and either color them or put some gradients in there to distinguish the figures a bit more. I also have another short Halloween story (an eight pager) blocked out, so you'll probably see it soon.

Cosi Fan Tutte

This last week I tagged along with the Black Hat Collective, a crew of cartoonists and bloggers, to the Minnesota Opera for a showing of the Mozart opera Cosi Fan Tutte.  And the lot of us drew some funny pictures to go along with what we've seen.


Read on to learn more about Cosi Fan Tutte and to see my cartoons.

IT CRAWLED ON MY FACE

Cartoonist Conspiracy 8/4

The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy met to create another Jam Comic at Diamond's Coffee

Click on this link to read this week's Jam Comic

Warning: Not Safe For Work.

How I Spent My Day

Did you know that I like internet memes?  I do.
Did you know that I like art history and painting?  I do.

I decided to paint a mashup of the two.  Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you

"Nyan Gogh"

I hope this piece will brighten the internet for many.
Work-in-progress pictures after the jump
(this is art in progress after all)

Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy - July 7

I attended a comics jam session with the International Cartoonist Conspiracy in Minneapolis.
This comic is dedicated one of our members, Ted, who is leaving for Omaha.  This guy is a big fan of My Little Pony (aren't we all?) and a great person.  We all collaborated here, but I drew a bunch of these panels.  So what are you waiting for?  Click the link and download the 20 page comics jam!

Click here to read the magical adventure! (PDF)

Perpich Horror Movie (Spring-Summer 2009)

Well it took me 2 years to get around to it but I FINALLY put Secret Places: A School Divided up on the internet for all to see!

Created Spring-Summer 2009

In my senior year of high school at the Perpich Center for Arts education I applied for and was awarded a $100 grant to create a horror movie set at the Arts High School.

Saint Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam June 16

Last week I went down to a meeting w/the Saint Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy. We did a comics jam, kind of like an Exquisite Corpse, but different. 

WARNING: this thing is not remotely safe for work.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cartoonist

How to Cook a Story with Thomas "Bake-a-chef-ski"

I created a comic to submit to the cookbook-themed comic anthology "Just Add Ink" created by Altered Esthetics and the International Cartoonist Conspiracy.  It's a two-pager, but I'm presenting it here in the form of 8 4-panel strips, just because I can.