the process down, and there were people like me who wanted to speed the process up. Audrey Calhoun was the superintendent. She had been the site manager at Glen Echo Park when we first came on. She actually accom- plished miracles, in the early 1980s. She said that she wanted to get the wir- ing and plumbing and so forth installed in the park so that when we got to actually renovating the buildings, the infrastructure would be done. Thirty years later, she comes back as superintendent, and she got her wish. Before the buildings went up, all the utilities had already been installed, and that saved a huge amount of money. Audrey really loved Glen Echo Park. JB: Let’s change the subject for a minute. I understand that you love musi-
cals.
AS: Actually, I’m into opera right now. I love Wagner. He wrote some of the most boring scenes I’ve ever read in my life, but with some of the most glorious music. I do like musicals. I love Richard Rogers. I’m not sure what I think about Hammerstein. You know, he never could write a second act. I’ve got two favorite shows, Guys and Dolls and She Loves Me. JB: Let’s talk more about the partnership with you and Christopher and MayField Piper. AS: MayField coming into the company was pivotal, absolutely piv- otal. She had known Chris’s family for a long time and worked for them
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Allan Stevens's Thoughts About Puppetry
“To me, a puppet is any inanimate object, disassociated body part, or shadow image made to move by a puppeteer and create the illusion of life and personality. I add the
personality along with it because if the personality ain’t there, you’re just moving a chair around. You’re moving the furniture and that’s all.”
“When you think of Kermit, you don’t look at him and think, oh
yeah, isn’t that a piece of old coat? Which he is. You think about this wonderful character, not what
he’s made out of or the fact that he has a hand in his face. It’s the personality of the character that comes through.”
Adventure Theater. Androcles and the Lion, 1982 Costumes and set by Allan Stevens, masks by Christopher Piper. Photo: E. Penn Stephens
“I saw a show where there was no inflection whatsoever. I can tell you that no child that went into that theater, not knowing the story, came out knowing it any
better! Which is too bad. Don’t do that. Don’t complicate matters!”
“Puppetry is a process of distillation and purification.”
The Puppet Co. at the Smithsonian, 1983. The Magic Mirror. Allan Stevens (with people puppets) and Christopher Piper (with creature puppets).
“We want to embrace the audience; we want to give them this treat.”
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