Press

Here you’ll find a collection of some of the press that Wake Up Your Weird! has received.

Check out this great interview that Yahoo! did with Leslie about her work.

Here’s a 2013 interview with Leslie from WBKO in Kentucky.

When Wake Up Your Weird! was in Austin, Leslie and Lolly appeared on the KXAN Morning show!  Here’s video from their appearance!

– July 26, 2014

“Leslie And Lolly Make Stuff Up is a great show for any age.” – Tracy Nall, www.FromTracie.com – CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE

– July 2, 2014

Actress brings out the fun at MS 424
Article – http://brie.hunter.cuny.edu/hpe/2014/07/02/actress-brings-out-the-fun-at-ms-424/
By Sherlyn Aldas on July 2, 2014 at 1:59 pm

Sesame Street star preaches creativity to Hunts Point kids

Students at Hunts Point’s MS 424 were encouraged to get their “weird” on when they received a visit from a charismatic celebrity in May.

Emmy-nominated Leslie Carrara-Rudolph visited the school on Bryant Avenue to lead a character development workshop she calls “Wake Up Your Weird!” to inspire students through art and creativity.
Known for her role as “Abby Cadabby” on Sesame Street, Carrara-Rudolph conducts educational projects and workshops when she’s not on the set of the legendary children’s TV show. For her “Wake Up Your Weird!” workshop, she travels to schools around the country accompanied by a puppet she created, Lolly Lardpop.

Although the actress has been conducting the workshop for years, she says she remains attentive to how well students appear to receive it, in the event she feels the need to tweak her act.
“I felt nervous since I looked like a crazy lady with puppets, but I had fun,” she said. “Joy is what I lead with, it’s my shield. The students see that.”

The inspiration for Carrara-Rudolph’s road show came from her father, a cartoonist who also taught art. She often followed him to his classes, seeing first hand the positive impact art had on his students as their self-confidence grew. However, after tragedy struck in the form of her brother’s death, art also became a coping method for Carrara-Rudolph. The combination of experiences has helped her shape the workshop.

“Middle school is often a hard time for students,” she said. “Kids who are struggling often do things that are unhealthy, like drugs or cutting. I’m offering a different outlet that is healthier, through imagination and a pencil.”

The workshop consists of two parts, the first of which involves a skit with the Lolly Lardpop puppet aimed to help students deal with difficult issues like bullying, through creativity and imagination.The second part involves hands-on interaction, as students create their own scenarios by combining singing, dancing and art.

Although some students were excited to show their artistic skills, others were worried about what their artwork would look like.

“I was nervous about drawing,” said 7th grader Alyssa Liburd. “Lots of people were saying the same thing so she showed us how we can draw anything we want to. I’m hoping to improve.”
Some of the students said the workshop helped unlock their inner artist.

“I want to be a manga artist when I grow up,” said Jazmine Luciano. “She helped me be more creative in creating characters. I felt inspired because she told us her story.”

Self-discovery for young women was the key behind booking Carrara-Rudolph, said guidance counselor Bernice Kariri-Apau. The workshop was held exclusively for the girls of MS 424, to help them learn to cope with and overcome personal difficulties, as well as motivating them to think about their future careers.

“There are not a lot of females in the artistic route,” said Kariri-Apau. “We wanted to give the girls exposure and inspire them to [explore] fields ruled by males.”

A number of other guests visited MS 424 over the school year, including Grammy-winning musician Hui Cox, as part of the administration’s aim to bring dynamic visitors to spark students’ creativity and confidence, said Assistant Principal Michael Lopez. There will be more such visits in the coming school year, he said.

“The goal is to create well-rounded individuals,” said Lopez. “We want to expose kids to as much as possible.”

May 10, 2013

Mommy bloggers love Leslie & Lolly!  One blogger came and saw Wake Up Your Weird in Austin and said “This show teaches a great lesson about how to maintain pride in one’s self and how to understand and appreciate differences in others — even bullies.” and “Wake Up Your Weird is a completely awesome theatrical experience.”

Read the full review from DO512Family.com below!

Wake Up Your Weird Review
Posted on May 10, 2013 by Jamie

Wake Up Your Weird is not just a puppet show, it is a puppet experience. Emmy-nominated Sesame Street performer, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, brings a powerful show that addresses bullying and self-esteem. Wake Up Your Weird is playing at Scottish Rite Theatre May 11 & 12.  One of our contributing writers, Raquel Dennie, had a chance to see the show. Here is what she thought…

The star of this show is a unique, imaginative sock puppet who is blissfully pleased with herself and her doll-making abilities until she is “finally” invited to a doll party with her perfect girl neighbor and told that she and her doll are all wrong. The beauty of the show is everything that happens next.

Through various forms of puppetry, live and recorded music, and even some video, the audience is treated to a colorful internal battle of a child who knows in her blissful heart that she is awesome. But her brain, poisoned by hurtful words, struggles to allow her to continue to believe it. This show teaches a great lesson about how to maintain pride in one’s self and how to understand and appreciate differences in others — even bullies. For a kids puppet show, I was surprised that there are some extremely poignant and heartfelt moments in this show. Also, there is no shortage of weirdness. Ever seen a brain in a puppet show? No?

After the show, the veil is lifted, literally and figuratively, and kids get to ask questions about the production and see the people behind the lights, the puppets and the music. Wake Up Your Weird is a completely awesome theatrical experience.

As usual at Scottish Rite Theatre, kids get to sit together on the floor, front center, and react and interact with the show together with their peers. Parents take in the show from theatre seats behind them and are in for a fun time as well–some jokes fly over the kids heads and hit us spot on.

Listen, if you have a kid who sho’nuff marches to their own personal marching band (I know I do), bring them to see this show. I was fortunate enough to see this show once, and will return this weekend to share this experience with my son.

Get your tickets!  Then get to the Scottish Rite Theatre this weekend! When your friends tell you about it, you’ll wish you were there.
– Quel