Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Tonight on a very special "Stick Figure Drama"...

Two stickage updates today -- #99.5 (the filler strip, the existence for which is explained in detail here) and #101, this week's strip, which will be out in the Advisor as of tomorrow, but if you haven't seen it there yet, you can still see it here first.

Oh, and #101 includes a very special guest star. Go look!

EDIT: I almost forgot -- bonus points to anyone who can spot the obscure homage contained in episode #101. I'll give you a hint...wait, no I won't.

21 comments:

elise_on_life said...

I love the body language of Aunt Jemima! Absolutely perfect! So subtle, yet so significant!

Todd said...

I'm glad you noticed. Creating body language by subtly manipulating a photo like that isn't easy. It could have just as easily looked like I had stick her into the fourth panel crooked.

elise_on_life said...

Oh no, definitely not. The body language was so poignant! At least, to me it was . . . I dunno if I'd exactly represent the general population!

Todd said...

And when have I ever given the impression that I was interested in appealing to the general population...?

elise_on_life said...

Well, with Monkey House you did! You definitely wanted awards, and money, and therefore people coming in to watch, and in order to do that, you needed the approval of the general population!

elise_on_life said...

So Hah!

Todd said...

Wanting to win awards is hardly a matter of appealing to the general population. If you're going to appeal to anything, it's to the adjudicator, and unless you know who that's going to be while you're putting the play together, there's little you can do to appeal to him specifically.

As for wanting to make money...well, yeah. A small profit would have been nice after my previous directing gig -- of a play which, near as I can tell, didn't appeal to anyone but me, Curt and Bob. But that didn't mean I wanted to appeal to the general population, just that I chose a play which was more accessible. My approach didn't change at all.

The simple truth is, I don't give much thought to appealing to anyone except myself. Trying to figure out what mass amounts of people are going to enjoy is going to cause nothing but headaches. Far easier to choose something that you, yourself, enjoy and hope that enough other folks or of a similar mind-set to lay down their money to experience what you've created. Or, in the case of awards, that the adjudicator is of a sufficiently similar mind-set to give you five awards.

Todd said...

So hah hah!

elise_on_life said...

Fine, just be a loner!

Todd said...

Sigh. That wasn't really my point.

Let me try this another way.

If your goal is to appeal to the general population, you ask yourself, how do I want to appeal to them? Do I want them to laugh, do I want them to cry? Okay, how do I make them laugh, how do I make them cry? At this point, you start yanking out tricks in order to achieve a result, and the work because contrived and formulaic and, in my opinion, ultimately cold. You get an emotional reaction, maybe, but it's artificial, not from a legitimate idea, but because you used a trick to gain a response.

I'm more interested in something that's true, for lack of a better word. It's still possible to get that response, maybe a little bit harder, but I don't think that means it shouldn't be done.

My interest isn't in being a loner. My interest is in not pandering to an audience.

elise_on_life said...

Don't *sigh* at me!

Todd said...

I didn't sigh *at* you. Just in your general vicinity.

elise_on_life said...

Dude, don't start getting technical on me!!

elise_on_life said...

As sigh in my general direction is most definitely a sigh *at* me!

Todd said...

I'm noticing some heavy exclamation useage throughout your comments...

How was your day today? :)

elise_on_life said...

Wow - I use two exclamation marks in a row, and I get a "heavy exclamation mark" remark. How the times do change!

Todd said...

You misunderstand. It wasn't the use of multiple exclamation marks in a single instance that I was referring to, but multiple uses of a single (and , yes, one double) exclamation mark. Nearly every sentence ended with one! Like that one I just wrote did! Oh, and that last one, too! And this one!

elise_on_life said...

Wow! You're getting good at using these! My enthusiasm must be rubbing off on you!!

Todd said...

Shh, don't tell.

elise_on_life said...

(you missed using an exclamation mark!)

Todd said...

Curses!!

There, I used two, just to make up for it.