Subject: PUPT: Re: RE:S.A.A.P.?
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 23:21:31 -0400


I don't get Jeff's SAAP crusade personally, nor do I really "get" the humour
he's going for. I didn't realize he (or anyone else) is taking this
seriously and assumed the whole thing about the rejected bill in his state
was a joke. Is this really for real?

Andrew Young
(Poorly Informed Canadian)


----- Original Message -----
From: "will stackman" <profwill66-AT-hotmail.com>
To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2002 2:43 PM
Subject: PUPT: RE:S.A.A.P.?


> Those who also frequent the PofA Bulletin Board may wonder who the -AT-#$%^
is
> this Jeff Danger who's proposing a Puppet Protection Act for Massachusetts
> and staging a protest on July 9th at our State House - ten days before he
> does another show in a pocket art gallery in town.  Jeff Danglo is a
> Cambridge-based magician/juggler specializing in family entertainment with
> quite a respectable reputation in the area.  When I was doing community
arts
> a decade ago, I regularly hired him for events.  About three years ago he
> called the Puppet Showplace, where I serve as the Technical Director,
asking
> about puppets.  As a board member of the Boston Area Guild I invited him
to
> come to our next meeting and gave him various references.   Not hearing
from
> him for about a month, I made a followup call and was told "I've ordered
> some puppets from California".  Soon thereafter his ads featured puppetry,
> as do other clowns, storytellers, and musicians in the area who compete in
> the party business.  BAGOP encourages puppetry in all its many niches;
some
> of these entertainers drop in for a Guild meeting or event now and then,
but
> most don't spend much time on their puppetry, sad to say.
>      In this last year, Jeff's extensive promotions have included a
one-man
> "crusade", S.A.A.P., ( "Stop Attacks Against Puppets") featured on one of
> his not particularly funny Websites.  One can only assume that the man
> suffered one or more of those unfortunate incidents when  misjudgment of a
> young audience plus failing to prepare them to watch a puppet show
combined
> with lack of adult supervision to result in an "attack".  It happens.  But
> blaming the kids suggests a fundamental misperception.
>        As a magician and juggler Jeff must be used to face-to-face contact
> with his audience, directing their attention and playing with their
> responses.  Pretending to be invisible "bent down behind my curtain
> manipulating a sewn collection of cloth", to quote from his response to
> criticism posted on the S.A.A.P. Website, suggests that he's distancing
> himself as the puppeteer from the event.  Having done parties and
> celebrations myself for more than a quarter century in this area - I don't
> claim to be "The Finest" just the senior Punch Professor - I can attest
that
> anomnimity for today's audiences doesn't work in many cases.  Children
have
> seen and talked over too much anonymous entertainment on TV.  A live
> performer needs to be live. Puppetry isn't a magic trick, though
> handpuppetry was practiced by many stage magicians in this country over
the
> years as an extra added attraction.  Some were quite good at it; many were
> just doing a routine.  The magic is not in bringing inanimate objects to
> life, as in a stage illusion, but in giving life to the performance.
>      The  only conclusion to be drawn from Jeff's continuing need for
> S.A.A.P. is that he's not yet a particularly good puppeteer, even if his
> manipulation skills have developed and his material is funny.  The latter
> may be part of the problem.  Standup comedy invites heckling, even from
the
> younger set.  It takes time to develop a sense of how children relate to
> these imaginary beings we call puppets.
>      The basic problem some of us have with Mr. Danglo's promotional
tactics
> - which include using copywrited images on his webpages - relates to Steve
> Kaplin's remarks about no respect as well as the extended discussion last
> month about training.  Jeff's Websites seem  rather puny efforts which
> essentially disparage puppetry, despite some rather sensible comments in
> minuscule green type about children's parties on his  primary page. Asking
a
> comedian to take something seriously may be a bit of an oxymoron, but
> still...   Representing himself as a spokesman for puppeteers, to the
point
> of  filing a bill to protect them and other variety artists, without
having
> any real constituency,  is mendacious at best.  No one else has asked for
> protection.  The last thing we need is regulation of birthday party
> performers and the like.   Ordinary contract law or the small claims court
> can take care of any real damages.  And given  various fiscal crises,
there
> are more serious things to protest, like slashed funding for the arts in
> general.
>      But decide for yourself.  Enter "Jeff Danger" in Google advanced
search
> and see how many hits being web-savvy can get you.  Check out his pages.
> Evaluate his promotional strategy. Send him E-mail.  He's asked for
> responses.
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
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