Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:31:25 -0500 From: "Bell, John" <john.bell-AT-uconn.edu> To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org> Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Bread Puppet addition It's terrible that Gina Gambony's job is on the line because of her desire to bring the Bread and Puppet Theater to her town. I hope that your board of directors will appreciate your expansive vision of culture and art, and support your efforts to bring what the New York Times once called a "national living treasure" to your town. It is interesting to me that a sign simply listing the numbers of dead from the Iraq War can be considered information unfit for children (or adults) to see. The act presenting that information does not dwell in violence, or condemn one side or another (at least in the versions I saw this past summer). Instead, in the middle of an otherwise lyrical music and movement piece, a cardboard sign appears listing the numbers of the dead, not only Americans, whom we sometimes hear about, although with increasing infrequency, but also Iraqis. Why exactly should children in the United States not see this information? What functions are served by keeping this information secret, from both children and adults? john bell -----Original Message----- From: puptcrit-bounces-AT-puptcrit.org [mailto:puptcrit-bounces-AT-puptcrit.org] On Behalf Of Gina Gambony Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 12:53 PM To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Subject: [Puptcrit] Bread Puppet addition I wish I could say that I'm surprised puppeteers can analyse this issue with more intelligence than the Suits, but alas, I cannot. I'm not surprised at all :) To clarify a couple of issues: I was totally familiar with the troupe and had planned the "family show" (advertised as being for all ages) for schools and the "grown-up show" (called Storm Office) as an evening performance for ages 16+. I have seen B&P at a nearby town (Burgaw) perform their family circuses WITHIN the school system, and the shows were incredibly tame-still smart, but not in-your-face political. I had not seen this specific circus, but assumed it would as family-friendly as the others that have been playing in Burgaw, a more rural, more conservative locale. A couple days after the fiasco I learned from the teacher in Burgaw that she had tight control over the acts presented when she had them in the system...so...even though I do not claim ignorance, the experience I had held some hidden factors of which I was unaware. I was disappointed that the troupe said the show was "family-friendly, but not for elementary school students" for several reasons, including my difficulty wrapping my brain around what exactly that means. Our audience was apparent (house lights up the whole time), and if they truly believed it was not appropriate for these kids, I wish they would have omitted the acts. While I did facilitate and participate in the pre-show workshops, I did not see the skits that caused the controversy. I found a space for them (and me and the workshoppers-ages 9-50ish) to perform the whole circus after they left the theatre and after seeing the whole thing I realized why the show had been stopped when it was (a sign that had the number of troops and civilians killed in Iraq). After saying all this, I still support the work they do, and they were kind and wonderful people. I do not agree that the show was inappropriate for elementary school kids. Some of the description put forth by the Offended individucal was over-blown or down-right untrue. I am a strong proponent of critical thinking, which is why I recently left my teaching position in the public school system. Of course "appropriate" is entirely debatable, but in this neck of the woods I would have asked them to remove a couple of skits just to save our own teeth-but not because of legitimate inappropriateness. The worst part of it in the end is that my boss had skepticism about inviting the troupe in the first place; I convinced him otherwise, basing my advocacy on what I saw in Burgaw. This was clearly a mistake on my part, although I'm still contemplating just how this got so crazy. My board of directors meets tomorrow and I will learn my fate! Either way, I'm still committed to the puppetization of my town, which will have amazing by-products, including critical thinking and happiness. BTW I have the cheap art manifesto framed (which is kind of funny) in my home office, and a picture of Peter Schumann in my work office! _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit Archives: http://www.driftline.org _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit Archives: http://www.driftline.org
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