Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:28:18 EDT
To: robertrogers-AT-frontiernet.net, puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] A strange day "on the road"


Back when the earth's crust was just starting to cool, my husband, Terry, and 
I had a walking Punch & Judy gig for three years in a well-known east coast 
theme park. He was inside the booth which had legs (his), which made us very 
mobile. And I was outside the booth, serving as bottler, but primarly as guard. 
We learned to steer clear of all teenagers. 

I don't mean to paint all teenagers with the same brush, but a significant 
segment of teens just plain get mad at puppets. We theorize that puppets are a 
threat to their striving for adulthood -- perceived as something that's trying 
to keep them trapped in childhood. (Forgive the amateur psychology.)

I lost count of the number of teens who out-of-the-blue, and with no 
provocation, would come up to the booth and punch, kick, slap, grab, or otherwise try 
to maim the puppets and by association, the puppeteer. This usually happened 
when the teen was with peers.

We termed them "roving gangs of surly youths" and when I saw such a gang, I'd 
clue in Terry (who had limited vision behind his scrim) and we'd do a 180 and 
head for the hills (so to speak).

Despite the best efforts of gifted and dedicated puppeteers worldwide, there 
are just some who don't respond well.

Linda


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