To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 00:39:14 GMT
Subject: [Puptcrit] puppetry peers


Today I read Eileen Blumenthal's article on Basil Twist in the December issue of AMERICAN THEATRE magazine, having bought the last copy at Bungalow newstand in Pasadena yesterday.

Check your newstands- maybe they have copies yet.

The article, of course, in discussing Basil Twist's background touches on his training, background, working with important puppetry and theatre people. That includes a lot of mentors and a lot of interesting philosophy of puppetry.

I imagine that a number of puppeteers I have not met, and I know that many others have worked a variety of puppet forms, from abstract, remote control, animatronic, stop-motion, string, hand, rod, shadow, etc.

Even I have, from a six-inch Bunraku-type, to an 18 foot cat for a live show at Universal Studios. In all the varieties of puppetry, some principles about movement are universal, and the number ONE factor is the "bringing an object to life". I think it fair to say that all my puppetry friends celebrated Julie Taymor's success with LION KING, OEDIPUS REX and other productions. In all the complexity, that old SIMPLE stage technique of animating a length of fabric to represent WATER was as exciting as the complicated stuff because behind the simplicity and complexity---THERE WERE ARTISTIC IDEAS THAT WORKED.

Among visiual artists, the OLDER they got, the simpler their work got---they could express more with less. In this case, Less IS More. But bottom line, if the idea gets through to viewers, it is successful.

Sid Krofft used to say he preferred to hire dancers rather than puppeteers. But having watched Les Poupees and the amusement park shows from both the audience and backstage, I have to say in my opinion the puppeteers were often the better animators, ACTING THROUGH THE PUPPETS.

I remember Daniel Llords, widely travelled solo marionettist presenting a performance in Los Angeles in observance of 50 years at his craft. In those 50 years, he was visible to the audience, and you could say he was more important in some ways than the puppets.

That gimmick was very successful if you saw him perform for Women's Club Audiences.

Some of us are just shyer and retire to the background and let the puppet take the greater share of attention, but Daniel did not invent the spotlight being brighter on the puppeteer than on the puppet. It is just ONE of many traditions you'll find in puppetry's history.

Well, for Jim's assertion that the more success, the less peers will acknowledge that puppeteer's success, I cannot really agree. 

At least half  the awards handed out to puppeteers are deserved.

True enough, not everyone is on the same wavelength (a good thing, too, or nothing would change), and they will admire some other performers more than others, and some puppeteers restrict their work to just one puppet form for a lifetime (especially in folk puppetry). That's fine with me in the audience AS LONG AS IT WORKS. As long as it is a SUCCESSFUL SHOW.

Jim's Rule #3 did not reach me--"puppeteers seek the lowest common denominator because it makes them look good by comparison". This dense reader needs some clarification here: "it makes them look good by comparison" to WHAT?

For Jim's rule #4: puppeteers want instant success, but not willing to put in the time & effort..." If that is really true, they would probably turn to another field, since most of the puppeteers I have known/and/orworked with have struggled and struggled, and as a result, we'd ALL love to have INSTANT SUCCESS. It would be a welcome change.

Jim Henson did great work right from the start, had lots of admirers even, but it took 25 years for the MUPPET SHOW 

Most things in the arts (not just the puppetry arts) take time. Bruce Schwartz struggled before even Puppeteers of America took notice. But that notice contributed to more people getting to see his work and be influenced by it

Paul Eide & I asked puppeteers who were their mentors? At the San Francisco State University Festival we got an amazing variety of answers. Few in puppetry developed in a vacuum.

I have tried to encourage preserving the history of current and previous puppeteers and their work, and it is too late to stop now.

Thanks Jim, for getting a reaction out of me.

And simpliciy is still one of the joys of puppetry.

ALAN COOK


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