File puptcrit/puptcrit.0801, message 50


Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 19:42:15 -0500
From: "Jim Menke" <jim99jr-AT-gmail.com>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] School Tours


No one can imagine what it is like to do those school assembly tours until
they have done one. I did 4 years of them back in the 50s and early
60s.Twowere in Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, one was in the southwest -
Florida, Georgia,
N & S Carolina and Virginia and New York State (I was drafter in the middle
of this last tour. All were with a full marionette stage and a partner. They
were 45 minute story shows - Hansel and Gretel; Snow White and Sleeping
Beauty.

The agents had no concept of what it takes to do a full marionette show with
the setting up, doing the show, taking down and then travel to the next
school. We would be booked for 2 or 3 schools in a day, some times with a 75
mile drive between shows. One agent told me that if we were running late to
simple stop the show, go out in front of the stage and tell the audience how
the story ended. I simply could not do that. The shows were done live - no
tape recording except for music - so I worked up a short version of each
show to fit the schedule.

It was wonderful training for a performer, but was difficult on the body and
social conditions. We were seldom in one town for a day. After the last show
of the day we drove to the next town to be ready to get to a school at 7:30
or 8 AM for the first show of the day.This made a social life impossible.
The only rest was on a weekend and ofter we were booked into somspecial
circumstance on a Sat. or Sunday. This would go on from September through
the following May with a week and a half off at Christmas - 12 - 15 shows
per week.Travel was difficult especially in bad weather. There was one time
when the grear shift handle (it was a manual transmission station wagon)
broke off and we had to drive to the next show in first gear with no backing
up. I got to a garage where the man drilled a hole in what was left of the
shift handle and stuck a rod in it until we got to the show and then a
repair shop.Anoother time in Florida we speent the weekend in Ft. Walton
Beach while a hurricane blew around us. The agane insisted that we be there
for Monday morning in case the school opened.

Because of the physical hardships and hotel arrangements (we often got to a
hotel and only one room would be available), it was not practical to have a
female as the other puppeteer.
This was the 50s and 60s so sharing a room was unthinkable.

Of course working that closely and being with each other constantly led to
some verbal fights and then we would have to do a show as if things were
wonderful.

Finally, I decided that I wanted a home life and no real travel. It was
training I could not have gotten any other way so don't really regret it,
but living at home was wonderful too.

-- 
JIM MENKE PUPPETS
open your mind
fantasies unwind

www.jimmenkepuppets.com
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