Things on Strings

While taking a break from my writing, (I wrote, illustrated and published four titles this year.) I decided to work on something else I love to do, puppetry. "Things on Strings" is a puppetry program I developed to share with kids taking part in the local parks & rec's summer program. The show lasts approximately 45 minutes and includes a demonstration and a hands-on learning session designed to teach basic concepts of marionette puppet manipulation. The program was developed for a kindergarten through elementary school audience. But, it appeals to older children and adults as well.

I use a specialized skateboarding marionette puppet and props I built along with several toys fitted with strings. Everything has a string. That's why I call the program "Things on Strings". There are race cars, monster 4x4 trucks, even a dump truck and front end loader are incorporated into the act.

To date I've performed this demonstration twice with parks & rec. Each time there were 15 to 20 children in attendance. All of the participants were engaged throughout the demonstration and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the hands-on session.

My goal in this endeavor was to entertain the audience and to inspire an interest in puppetry. Looking back on the photos I took during the event, its clear to me I accomplished that. Now I'm getting ready to market this performance for school/library visits. I'll let you all know how that goes.

Here are some photos I took during the hands-on learning session.

Be sure to check out these videos on my Youtube channel!

https://youtu.be/_EFjYj3uebY

https://youtu.be/TApr2BMWiHw

https://youtu.be/8Cns1pmCXTk

https://youtu.be/TRxDIQx39yM

Thanks.