File puptcrit/puptcrit.0905, message 545


From: "David J. Syrotiak" <syrotiak-AT-comcast.net>
Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 16:19:38 -0400
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] national marionettes


Hi Robert,

"The Frog Prince" Is a classical story. Like most other stories we  
do, the original is a two-three page short story found in most fairy  
tale books. The fun and the challenge comes when one of these stories  
has to be turned into a 45-50 minute show.

The audiences have changed and in this world of "politically correct"  
awareness everything that we do as puppeteers is put under a  
microscope. This makes the challenge of writing a script from a four  
hundred year old story even more difficult. The hardest part of this  
business is to come up with sale-able product while still maintaining  
your artistic integrity. Make no mistake, this is a business and has  
to be treated as such. With that in mind there are many titles that  
were once popular that cannot be produced anymore. "Treasure Island",  
"The Wind in the Willows", "Tom Sawyer" and "The Thirteen Clocks" are  
just a few that come to mind. It's not that they are bad stories,  
it's that they don't jibe with today's sensibilities.

A title is a very powerful thing. I can sell a show sight unseen by  
the title alone anywhere in the country so my criteria for choosing a  
show is based primarily on what is recognizable by the general  
public. Our most popular shows have the most recognizable titles.  
"Beauty and the Beast", "Pinocchio", "Sleeping Beauty", "Alice in  
Wonderland", "Peter and the Wolf" and "Peter Pan" have all been very  
popular and virtually sell themselves. Most parents in the USA  
recognize these titles and will pay an admission fee to see them  
performed in a theater. This makes "The Frog Prince" an ideal  
candidate for a story treatment using puppetry as the vehicle. It's  
limiting in some respects, but it's a living and the audiences will  
always enjoy the show.

Sincerely,

David J. Syrotiak
syrotiak-AT-comcast.net



On May 29, 2009, at 8:42 AM, Robert Rogers wrote:

> "The Frog Prince?"  That's quite a departure from your heavier,  
> classically oriented titles of the past.  Could you be adjusting to  
> what is becoming a younger and younger audience, less informed  
> audience?
>
> My first production back in 1980 was an adaptation of Kenneth  
> Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows," a very British novel from the  
> early 1900's.  It served me very, very well.  Now-a-days, the  
> average presenter would ask, "The Wind in the What?"
>
> Robert Rogers
> _______________________________________________
> List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
> Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit
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