From: BiersBlackwood-AT-aol.com Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 18:52:23 EDT To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Puppeteer slang As a subset of puppeteer slang, one might include the argot of Punch and Judy professors. Sometimes of itinerant Italian and/or Rom Gypsy stock, the slang used by the "motion men" or "manipulators" was often literally from a foreign language. It was once upon a time known as "Bona Palare." Here are SOME of the old terms. Booth/castello/frame/fit-up: the Punch & Judy street booth is a portable theatre in which one or two people can perform. Bottle: the amount of money collected by passing a hat at a street show, sometimes, perhaps, in a bottle, but usually in a bag. Bottler: the puppeteer's assistant who collects the money; comedian Bud Abbot used to assist Punchman Al Flosso in this way at Coney Island, New York. Business/bits/lazzi: routines in the puppet show, usually standard routines, or basic scenarios upon which the puppeteer could work a personal elaboration. Dolls/figures/slumareys: puppets (slumareys may also mean general props). Finchia/swazzle gelt: money. Hedge: the audience. Joey: the famous clown Joey Grimaldi became a popular character in Punch & Judy shows after years of perfroming in panto plays; the puppet is an homage to Grimaldi, and in fact it is common to call any clown that appears in the show a "joey". Patter/talk: interaction with audience before the show; sometimes the dialogue of the show. Pipares: Pan pipes played to attract an audience by the "pipes and tabor" man in former times. Pivetta/sgherlo/sifflet pratique/slum/the squeaker/the swatchel/the swazzle/reed/call: the many names given the small instrument the Punch performer hides in his mouth to produce Mr Punch's shrill voice; variations of this instrument, a very closely guarded instrument, have aided in the production of unearthly puppet voices for hundreds if not thousands of years. Pitch: the site where a booth is set, usually on a regular basis, for performances. Roundings/windings: the drapery, sometimes canvas, sometimes bed ticking, pulled around the sides and front of the booth, leaving a space for the playboard and window. Shant a bivare: glass of beer, in which the swazzle, and the puppeteer, was often soaked to prepare for performance. Sleeve: the puppet's body, formerly inside an overlaid costume; now it frequently IS the single-ply costume. Tabora: a drum. Tilt: the tilt is the cap, sometimes slanted for sound projection, which serves as the cover for the top third or half of the booth. Ultray cateva slum: a lacklustre performance on the swazzle, to say the least. And, oddly enough, the term "slanging" meant "performing." Sean K. http://www.puppets.inuk.com/americas/usroundup.htm _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org Admin interface: http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/puptcrit-driftline.org Archives: http://www.driftline.org
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