Puppeteers
of America President, Wayne Krefting Nancy Aldrich The Nominating Committee is Looking for New Trustees! Many thanks to the members of the 2006-2007 Nominating Committee -- Kris Bluett Woolen (Chair); Lisa Sturz, Aretta Baumgartner, and Hobey Ford -- for all the work they did to assemble a slate of candidates for the May 2007 election! Their many hours of service to PofA are truly appreciated. The 2007-2008 Nominating Committee members are: Steve Widerman, Chair (NY): E-Mail; Lisa Sturz (NC): E-Mail; Joanne Schroeder (MI): E-Mail and Valerie Nelson (CA): E-Mail If you would like to run for the Board of Trustees, please feel free to contact one of the Nominating Committee members above.
Don’t be shy. Let us know that you want to help. We need you. Mary Decker - President's Message I was perusing old “Grapevines,” the Puppeteers of America’s communications precursor to the modern Playboard and Puppetry Journal, for sale by the Twin Cities Puppeteers at this summer’s festival when the following item caught my eye: “It became apparent that the organization could be vital to everyone in puppetry. Most of us had thought that merely by paying dues we could receive fantastic benefits. Well, now we know, that every member, professional or amateur, teacher or producer, has real responsibilities to the organization outside of his dues; that what we or any group of us gets from it will be measured by what we give to it.” Sounds a bit like some of the past few president’s messages. I’ve made a pitch in the past for members to get involved with various committees the PofA has to support our efforts to promote the art of Puppetry. In this issue, there is another call—this time to consider running for the position of Trustee. This is an extremely important task, but not one that should scare anyone off. By being a Trustee, you will stand in good company (Paul McPharlin, Marjorie Batchelder, George Latshaw, Rufus Rose, Lewis Mahlmann, Jim Henson, just to name a few, all regular folks like you) and have the opportunity to guide our future support of the Art we love. Lest some of you contemplating joining the merry workers in the vineyard fear having to deal with controversy, uproar, and large, complex issues, take heart from this comment by Rufus Rose, the chair for Professional Cooperation at the New York festival in June 1939: “Everybody present, particularly those of us who have attended each festival from the first one in Detroit, realized that the Puppeteers of America, as an organization, was at the crossroads. One way pointed to oblivion, the other to an important future.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Join in; help out. Wayne Krefting: President
The Guild Connection That seems to be the annual cry this time of year as we figure out that summer has mysteriously slipped by and guild meetings need programs again. When in doubt, videos can do an excellent job of filling the void.
Before my white space here has all been filled, I should mention that David Fuller, one of the hardworking volunteers of the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry, is stepping down from the guild board. His volunteering days aren’t over, though. He’ll still coordinate the guild website and puppet phone. Well that’s the early autumn news. Tune in again in a couple of months for the nearly winter news. In the mean time, keep the news coming my way. Greetings, Greetings, All who practice the art of the ultimate disguise… Once again, I am enjoying September, the time I set aside for recuperating from an extremely long and prosperous summer. Since I am at my summer home and not connected to my e-mail (difficult, I admit), I am disconnected from all out puppet friends and hint-givers. Therefore just as I have done in years past, I will deviate from the usual format and share some ideas of my own. This year’s offering is about … Audience Participation: An audience participation show can be a puppeteer’s greatest joy: It can also become his/her worst nightmare. When you choose to involve the audience, it soon becomes apparent that no matter how many performances you do, no two are, or will be , ever the same. Life on the puppet stage is never dull. There is always the need to keep on because the audience, a total unknown, is an integral part of the script. It can also become unmanageable. Parental Help: Before the audience arrives, I set up rules with the person in charge: Children must stay “behind the line.” An adult should be in charge of the first row. For larger crowds, I ask that there be a responsible adult to be seated on each side of the front line. In zooey crowds, I also announce to the parents, “Just for safety’s sake, if anyone sees a child trying to climb the stage, grab him, even if it isn’t’ yours.” Parents these days are reluctant to touch someone else’s child and I am giving them permission. The Warm-Up: In an audience participation show, a personal out-front introduction is a must. It is essential that I make friends with my audience before the show begins. Many of the children do not know how to respond to my show and so I must tell them…no, I must demonstrate to them what I want. Some children know that it is not right to be loud on the library. I tell them “Oh, Yes. That’s right. We’re not supposed to be noisy in the library. But today is a puppet day, and on puppet day, you can be as loud as you want. Are you ready for a puppet show? Noisy Parents: I wish I knew the magic secret to telling parents to not talk during the show. Every few years I try a new method, but nothing works. It’s rude and unfair, but the fact is, if the adults in the audience want to talk, they will and there is not much you can do about it. Just turn up the amplifier and carry on. Never, never, never get mad at the audience and let it show. Never, ever. Amplification: If the children cannot see or hear, there is no hope of holding their attention. I use amplification even for a birthday party. In this way, if things get too loud, or participation goes on too long, I can lean into the mic and lead them into the next segment and back to sanity. The Opener: The most important part of the puppet play is the first entrance, the first line. If this first appearance doesn’t capture them, they will not focus for the rest. Make it interesting. Make it action. Make it a “what’s next.” Shift, Shift, Shift: Having to depend on the volume is not my preferred way of holding an audience. I never let children go on participating as long as they would like; that can lead to loss of control. I cut it short by shifting, either by bringing in another character, going to a song, or beginning some very different business. I have often been asked how in the world I keep a group of three and four-year-olds nailed to the floor and watching attentively for forty-five minutes. I write my scripts so that something new is always happening. As entertainers of the often too young, we don’t have time to set up elaborate plots and sub-plots nor should our puppets indulge in lengthy dialogue. Keep it simple and work the magic with manipulation. Hold The Interest: If nothing is going on onstage, something is bound to be going on in the audience. There is never a time when I don’t listen to my audience. They will tell me every single place where my play is too wordy, too slow, or too obscure: I can hear the shifting of bodies. I can hear them becoming restless. I used to love (and hate) going to one particular inner city school early in the school year. They put two hundred kids on metal chairs on a stone floor. I really revamped a lot of my show after these children told me exactly where I had to improve! Don’t Reinvent The Wheel: Audience participation shows are not a new wrinkle inn the puppet world. Routines that really work were invented centuries ago in the old Punch and Judy show. I spent many years studying the ‘bits of business” of Old Red Nose and the routines that work the vest I learned from him. I have made this “business” my “business” with great success. So many of these routines are learned exactly like a dance. Practice, practice, practice. Once you have the moves down pat, you can enjoy listening to the audience and picking up on their enthusiasm. It won’t take long before you will discover that the questions your puppets ask their audiences will always get the same answers. Once you count on that-and you can bet your life on it- you will be able to lead your audience the way you want it to go, thereby reaching a successful conclusion to your performance. Relevance: The real key to audience participation is not amplification, not routines, not openers. It is relevance. Your audience must be convinced that the show will not continue and the hero will not succeed without their help. If you can understand this, REALLY understand this, you will succeed in having the time of your life. To me, there is no better way to enjoy puppetry than to invite my audience into the puppet experience and build the plot with me. Even though I open new shows with knocking knees ad sweating palms, the audience is able to make my puppet play live. I would never have it any other way. Nancy H.Sander
I have almost recovered from all the summer fun. I noticed yesterday one of the trees on the way to work was already yellow. Wow... I hope this winter is milder than last. The shows are beginning to come in, so all is on schedule. I’m the only one behind. -I received an e-mail from Kirk Maynard in Cleveland, Ohio. Kirk and Natural Bridges and NB Puppets have just returned from a month long tour in Europe for Armed Forces Entertainment. They performed for over 1800 people at 18 military bases. They are the only puppet company in the history of AFE to perform for them. -Rainbow Puppets presented an interesting show, “Sea to Sky” Grammy-Winner Bruce Hornsby helped narrate the story and the U.S. Army band provided the music. The Civil War segment of the show was narrated by Tuskeegee Airman Ezra Hill. Now that’s what I call getting the world involved with Puppets. -Nancy Fawcett in Florida. is working with a new partner. Hamish McKerrell, her Scottish vent puppet. He has the whole Scottish garb and even has legs. She didn’t mention what was under his kilt. Nancy plays the bagpipes wonderfully well and is desperately trying to teach me how to do it. I can’t seem to get the picture yet. It’s certainly not a lack of hot air. Today I received a booklet from Paul Mesner of Kansas City, Missouri, celebrating his 20th anniversary. It is a winner. I think I met Paul when he was 16 and it is a joy to see all he has done. Like I always say you can’t beat our puppet family.
E-mail is the greatest! I received pictures and info from Bernie Beauchamp of Reno Nevada. I met Bernie at the Rampage Festival, where he was doing fun marionettes in the open air. He has a busy fall schedule working for the libraries in the area. Lola Rainey of Phoenix, Arizona, has combined forces with Connie Galeener to promote her book “Sad Sam, Glad Sam” The book uses puppetry to improve parent/child communication. I have a strange ending to my column today. Read it carefully, oh family. As my bones ache and my fingers get stiff, I really have felt the need to cull my puppet stuff. My how we accumulate stuff. So I sat down among the pamphlets and papers and magazines to throw stuff out. That sounds great but start reading and then you are doomed. When I read this article from the English Puppet Post I thought I’m going to try this. I was written 50 years ago, actually 51 years ago. “Yes You Oh Reader, member, teacher, performer. student, professional, hobbyist etc. join in an experiment. Write me a letter (e-mail now). Your letter can be on any aspect of puppetry take any form – question, criticism, suggestion, news, abuse, what you will. The important thing is: that however temporarily, you will be giving meaning to the word MEMBER. Write about your pet “Method” or your pet abomination, expound your theories, or go into aesthetic theories or philosophy. Write about the performances you never forgot – good or bad. Tell us how you got started. Write – make yourself a contributing member.” It sounded like a fun idea. See even 50 years ago they were trying to get everyone involved. E-MAIL it’s lots easier. M’El Reum Membership Office
|