From: HobgoblinH-AT-aol.com
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:57:09 EDT
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Weird bookings


Definitely get the insurance through P of A or other. After the first  time I 
was asked that, I thought it was a joke, too, but the organization that  
asked books entertainers year-round, who had booked be for large events in the  
past, and they never asked me again after I told them I had no such  insurance. 
Since I do festivals now, which may last for weeks at a time, it has  become a 
relief to have such insurance, as so many people pass through my hands  in a 
day. And I worry about kids being hit by falling sheep or babies, --  always a 
moderate possibility in my show. I once was doing a show with one of my  
students in one of my schools, and he accidentally hit a girl in the lip with a  
toy skull. She bled! Gratefully, she was his cousin. However, one cannot be so  
lucky. 
The background check is pure paranoia, and should be regarded as such. They  
are looking for child predators in all likelihood, which is not so outrageous 
as  it might seem nowadays. Or else they are looking for terrorists. Fancy a  
terrorist puppeteer! I know puppeteers are regarded as the scum of the  
entertainment world, and have a reputation of old for political incorrectness  
(Yay!), but really, as one of our long-term employers has said to people who  have 
complained about our shows, "Well, gosh, they're only puppets!" God bless  
him. Have to say we were doing a school day at one such festival, only to have a  
nun cast a jaundiced eye on the proceedings, and remove her entire school 
class  from the benches. Fortunately for our feelings, kids hovering at the edge  
immediately filled the seats as they left. 
Cheers,
Alice



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