File puptcrit/puptcrit.0802, message 605


Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:58:51 -0800 (PST)
From: John Hay <jphay-AT-sbcglobal.net>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Request for Ideas


I have done marionettes with at risk teens.  But I did the stringing and controls, in fact I basically made a kit for each of them  ( a lot of work!).  They did sculpt the heads out of paper covered Styrofoam.  
   
  Even though the marionettes worked well the students had little patients for learning how to handle them.  For this reason I would suggest making hand puppets.  The difference between working a hand puppet and a marionette is like the diffenernce between humming a melody and playing it on the clarinet.  
   
  Also I like hand puppets because staging is easier.  And one student can work two puppets at once.  This allows them to create interactive scenes that might not be possible with marionettes.
   
  As far as the storyline or script goes think comic book for a format.  This will get them going on designs for backdrops and characters while working on a storyline. Also a variation on a known fairytale or folktale seems to work better with audiences.  They can follow along and fill in the gaps if needed.  Kids and teens tend to be pretty hard to get to project their voices (except when you want them to be quiet) and the audience might get restless.  And fairytale gives them a place to start.  Too many options might mean failure.
   
  Good Luck!  ----John Hay

Joe Dunfee <joe-AT-dunfee.com> wrote:
  My personal experience with "at risk" high school kids was that they 
were a bit immature for their age. So, they were still in that "I'm 
not a kid anymore," phase of life and didn't want to participate with 
anything they saw as kid stuff. Of course, this will vary with your 
particular situation and group of kids.

Seeing the Baker marionettes will be an especially motivating thing 
for them, so that may be the deciding factor. With a local group who 
were 10th grade, I went with black light performance. There is a 
cool factor involved with this. But, also, since they were able to 
trace the characters onto cardboard (from art I had a professional 
artist draw) they felt the results were good enough to let their 
peers see. Not really challenging, but again the issue of showing 
their work to their peers was a primary concern.


Joe Dunfee joe-AT-dunfee.com
Gordonville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 

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