We Had to Cancel I by Sharon Murphy Boski
n February 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic just starting, people all over the world were thinking and hoping it would be over by fall. Five Puppeteers of America Regional Puppetry Festivals were already scheduled. None of us wanted to cancel our events that involved years of planning and hopeful anticipation of getting together to share puppetry.
The Puppet Homecoming team started 2020 with plans for a fantastic Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Puppetry Festival, but in February and March, we watched as puppeteers had cancellations of bookings for shows and work- shops. We worried that the loss of income would impact who could afford to attend. And the risk of illness meant those with health issues or who cared for others with medical issues would be un- able to come. Our 2020 Festival Director, Joshua Holden, was one of the first 400 cases of COVID in NYC, surviving it without a hospitalization, and his experience made it clear to us that this illness was particularly rough. On April 18, one of the stars of Puppet Homecoming, Bernice Sil- ver, our beloved Queen of Potpourri, passed away from COVID-19.
The leadership teams of Puppet Homecoming, Sandglass Theater’s Puppets in the Green Moun- tains, and the Professional Day for Teaching Artists & Therapists (PDTAT) did some serious consulting together. We could no longer see a way to have a safe and successful festival. It was time to stop before more money was spent. On April 23, we announced the cancellation of our 2020 Festival.
Now what?
Jeff Bragg, Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, and myself, the Northeast Regional Director, discussed what to do. If we were not going to have an in-person festival, could we create some kind of virtual event? Puppet slams were happening online, and we looked at how they presented short, one-time events. Other organizations were beginning to use existing online platforms like Zoom, Facebook Live, and Vimeo. As we explored the idea of a virtual event, it became clear that it would be easier to do this as a single region, rather than a joint venture. There were so many unknown factors that decisions on what to try would be easier with the artists of a single region.
what could be taken far enough to actually happen. Many of our ideas fell to the wayside as other ideas became more vi- able. We looked through different technical products to find alternatives to what was already in use. One goal was to help puppeteers take their live performances and adapt them for a virtual format. Our videographer wrote and directed seven short tutorial videos that puppeteers could use to introduce themselves to concepts and search terms that they would need to start. He pulled together a skeleton film crew. He wrote segments during the week, and we filmed on the weekend, for seven weeks. DaurSoul Productions donated editing services.
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The next step was putting together a team to explore options. A computer industry friend, Chris Deslandes, and videographer/director Keith Fiermonte volunteered to help. I invited Lyssa Troemel, from the Great Lakes Region, so we would have someone from outside the Northeast Region. Puppeteer Eric Weiss, the next Northeast Regional Director (NERD), also joined us. We consulted with other knowledge- able people and decided that, yes, this was doable. We aimed for the fall and set to work. We wanted to try out many different things, and to see
John Lechner designed the logo for the Virtual Puppet Con: Northeast Edition.
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