To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 07:34:05 -0500
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Accessibility


Caro,

Accessible materials are everywhere. And its important to learn how to  
use them. AND how to SEE them, and discover them.

However, a puppet's proof is in the performance, not in its material  
sculpture.

I once saw a man with a stuffed dog on a stick on Avenue A (in NYC).  
He had a little styrofoam cup for donations "to feed his dog", who did  
simple tricks -- sitting, rolling over, etc.
I gave him a buck, and suggested he should play in the subway, or at a  
better location.
He was very embarrassed, and obviously not used to any kind of  
approbation for his unique talent. He wasn't a performer, really, just  
desperate for cash.

Puppetry is NOT accessible to everyone on the planet. In many places,  
even in our "developed" world, people have no reference to what a  
puppet show is, or could be. Many still dismiss it as a child's  
activity (not even an art).  Ignorance -- (like the kids' parents in  
your story) -- is rampant.

Rolande



On Feb 29, 2008, at 5:52 PM, Caro Stewart wrote:

> Dear Rolande,
>
>  Personally, I associate art teachers with the concept of beauty and  
> creativity that being enough for me to respect them.
>  As I stated before, I cannot make a comparison between methods of  
> training based on my own findings, but I did participate to  
> international festivals and was astonished by the huge interest into  
> puppet theater that people had. I remember struggling to go through  
> a mass of people to get to the entrance door for the Chinese water  
> theater in Charlesville-Mesieres in 1991, as a spectator. People  
> were stepping on each other toes to get to see the puppet shows...  
> We were like dead sardines in a can.
>  I think art is better subsidized in Europe than here, probably  
> because is considered a vital need. Even in Romania, where most  
> people have to juggle money to make ends meet, they put aside a few  
> bucks for a puppet show. I know about an old Romanian man who took  
> some rich kids to a puppet show in Bucharest, buying the tickets  
> with his own money. His retirement pension is only $45 per month!!  
> Kids' parents were very rich, but uneducated and ignorant and their  
> kids had never seen a puppetry show until the old man came in the  
> picture.
>  I also do greatly appreciate the "do-it-yourself" education that  
> one can acquire through reading specialized books. My puppet  
> construction books are very much treasured :O)
>  I applaud your puppeteers efforts to put together a show with  
> inexpensive materials. This is one other thing I love about  
> puppetry: it offers the option of using very little, in many ways,  
> to say a lot. Puppetry is accessible to anyone on this planet. Isn't  
> this a great thing?
>
>  Regards,
>
>  Caro
>
>
>
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