From: Widerman-AT-aol.com
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:58:44 EDT
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] actors vs. puppeteers


For a recent project, I conceived performing "Tevye's Dream" from the  
popular Broadway show "Fiddler on the Roof" portraying all the dream characters  as 
life-size and larger puppets. I proposed this idea to our local repertory  
company when I heard they were planning to mount the well known show, and they  
embraced the idea. The roles I proposed as puppets are usually portrayed by  
actors in heavy makeup. The Fruma Sarah character originated on Broadway as a 9  
foot-tall ghost, performed by a woman seen atop a man's shoulders concealed  
by costume. Our use of puppets created a "dream world" that was visually  
distinct from the "real world" of the actors, as the number depicts  re-telling 
the dream. Of course, the novelty comes when these two worlds  interact. As a 
giant rod puppet, our Fruma Sarah was tantalizing, floating after  the actor 
playing Tevye, back and forth across the stage. The entire "Dream"  sequence was 
the most memorable scene from the production, evoking cheers from  the 
audience.
 
My point is that puppets can sometimes be used very effectively in  
productions where they might not have been considered or thought appropriate.  Those 
who teach or produce live theater, who think they know exactly how a  show ought 
to be done, because they know how it has always been  done, might broaden 
their horizons and consider the tremendous power  Puppetry has to offer.
 
     -Steven->
 
 



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