From: Gregory Ballora <gregballora-AT-sbcglobal.net>
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:19:14 -0700
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Puppets unfairly slammed by Baltimore Sun Blogger


I thought this was the best of the replies to Hancock's article.  
Really nicely written letter that lays out the arguement for puppet  
theater really well.

Dear Mr. Hancock,

I am a fan and regular reader of your columns. They are insightful,  
informative and generally well reasoned. So I invite you to please  
come to a show at our puppet theater. We will have three free ones in  
October. The exact dates will be announced in late august. I=92ll ad  
you to our press list if you are not already on it.

Bring a kid or two, they=92ll be able to make a free puppet to take  
home. You can even make one yourself, should you feel inspired. We=92ll  
also have a few evening shows for adults if children=92s theater  
doesn=92t interest you.

Stop in to one of the fine restaurants near our theater before or  
after the show and ask the management how much more business they  
have when there is an event at our theater. The folks patronizing  
these establishments are generating sales tax for the state.

While you are at the show and workshop count how many artists are  
working the event. These folks are paying both state and federal  
taxes. We are also paying employment taxes on these folks.

I also invite you to visit one of the five schools in Baltimore where  
we are putting STATE grants to work integrating the arts into their  
curriculum. More than two hundred children will be making puppets,  
writing scripts, studying folk tales and presenting puppet shows  
while having fun learning.

These schools could not afford our program without STATE funding.

Maybe you can find the time to visit one of the after school programs  
we conduct throughout Baltimore thanks to PRIVATE FOUNDATION and more  
STATE funding. Many of these kids would be out running the streets if  
they weren=92t engaged in an art program like ours.

Please, if you have the time, come to a puppet show at a school,  
community festival, or library. These shows are usually free, thanks  
to BALTIMORE CITY, STATE and PRIVATE FUNDING. We perform  
approximately one hundred shows across the Mid-Atlantic Region for  
about ten thousand people every year. You might notice that we are  
exporting a very unique and highly creative form of entertainment  
from Baltimore to our neighboring communities.

Don=92t forget to interview the dedicated artists conducting the  
programs. Ask them how much they are getting paid. Take a few minutes  
to ponder why they do what they do for what they get out of it. What  
I mean is - why they do it for how little they get paid.

I will be very interested to read the conclusion an insightful  
journalist draws from such research. You may also be surprised by the  
return for each dollar invested in the arts.

Please then investigate how the FEDERAL STIMULUS grant administered  
by the Maryland State Arts Council to this puppet theater was used. I  
hope you find that instead of working for half salary, this puppeteer  
is getting paid three quarters of his salary during this economic  
crisis. I think your research will also reveal an increase of tax  
revenue for our state thanks to the grant.

I look forward to seeing you at the show.

Sincerely,
Michael T. Lamason, Co-Director
Black Cherry Puppet Theater

On Jul 15, 2009, at 8:59 AM, Stephen Kaplin wrote:

> A simialr hue and cry rose up from tabloids in NYC when the Parks  
> Department tried to hire a full-time puppeteer for the Swedish  
> Marionette Cottage (a 40 year old institution in Central Park).   
> They were most insensed by the fact that the City was going to pay  
> the puppeteer a salary comparable to that of a rookie cop. Aside  
> from the screaming headline, the article included a handy chart  
> that compared the risks and social benefits involved in both  
> professions (eg-- PUPPETEER: gets strings tangled; COP: Gets shot  
> at by raving drug addicts; PUPPETEER: makes kids laugh; COP: saves  
> kids lives).
>
> I must admit the article made me proud to be part of the Thin Black  
> Line!
>
> Stephen
>
> On Jul 15, 2009, at 7:58 AM, David Goboff wrote:
>
>> I noticed this 'news' in this morning's postings...
>>
>>
>> Baltimore Sun Blogger Jay Hancock posted a seemingly anti puppet  
>> entry about using taxpayer money to fund puppetry (and the arts):
>> Here's a link to the blog post from July 14:
>> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2009/07/ 
>> should_omalley_give_taxpayer_t.html
>>
>> The Maryland governor announced that more than $300,000  under the  
>> "Maryland Arts Employment Stabilization Program."  It looks like  
>> the Black Cherry Puppet Theater  in Baltimore City has been  
>> awarded $15,000.  A small piece of the pie!  So why does the blog  
>> headline open with?
>> "Should O'Malley give taxpayer $$$ to puppet theaters?"
>> The blog is open to comments and most, if not all of the comments  
>> currently posted are IN FAVOR of giving money to the arts and  
>> supportive of the puppeteers!
>>
>> dg
>>
>> Dave Goboff
>> (954) 667-3283
>> http://www.simplypuppets.com
>> http://practicalpuppetry.blogspot.com/
>>
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