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SCENEBETWEEN


By Monica Leo The Shows Go On


O


n a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, 10 middle-of-the-country puppeteers joined me on my porch by Zoom to talk about our vari- ous responses to the corona crisis. For ninety minutes, we had a genial, generous exchange of ideas, each in turn talking about our own situation. Some things were universal: Every-


one’s school and library shows are canceled, we all wonder whether fall shows will happen, we’re all experimenting to some degree with our online presences, and we’re all wondering how to monetize our online work. It was enlightening to hear all of the different approaches, and everyone agreed that it was a practical and useful conversation, in addition to just plain feeling good. It confirmed my opinion that the puppetry community is one of the most generous and sharing in the arts. Everyone is concerned about the best methods of offering shows online. We all agreed that shows designed to be per- formed live are very different from shows designed for video, but what to do with that knowledge? Heather (StoneLion Puppets, Kansas City) and I (Eulenspiegel) have both had at least one experience live streaming. Shari (Z Puppets Rosenschnoz, Min- neapolis) mentioned the difficulty of attracting audiences to live- stream shows, but if that can be overcome, there’s something reassuring about knowing that there is an audience watching as you perform and seeing the feedback they type in, even though you can’t experience it in real time. Jeanie (Jeanie Puppets, St. Louis) and Shari pointed out that since live-stream events are usually poorly attended, a well-produced recording can be more controlled on every level and reach more people. Shari and Chris decided to offer their new show, Through the Narrows, as an audio enhanced with pictures. Since the puppets were not de- signed for video, they felt it was better to unleash the audience’s imagination through sound and still pictures.


Most of our group is dealing with canceled library shows and trying to figure out how much to charge for recorded shows. It seems clear that live stream should be priced the same as live shows, but how about recorded shows? Kat (Sea Beast Puppets, Chicago) and Jeanie both favored charging full price, since it’s expensive and labor intensive to create high-quality recordings, while Shari suggested looking at the prices libraries have to pay to show movies. Sandye (Fever River Puppeteers, Hazel Green, Wisconsin) had the misfortune of a spring show scheduled for the weekend that everything shut down. They put a free record- ing on YouTube, but are planning to put their library shows on a private channel with a pay wall and are offering them to libraries for a limited time.


Another option, mentioned by Karen (Calliope Puppets, New Orleans) is to offer a recorded show followed by a live Q/A or demonstration. Karen has a partner school in a low-income neighborhood. She put short shows and workshops online and met with some of her students on Zoom. She felt it was impor- tant to offer the material free. We took the same approach in


West Liberty. Now the question is how long to leave the free material online, not wanting to undercut other puppeteers who are charging. Not knowing what the fall will bring, Mike (Mesner Puppets, Kansas City) is also thinking about ways to pro- vide virtual content to schools. In April, he and his colleague created a daily 3-minute how- to video. Now they’ve moved on to laying plans for the fall. Several of the group liked the idea of having a puppet visit a classroom over Zoom. Michelle (Peppy Puppet Troupe, St. Louis) suggested creating content for special needs children. As the mother of a child with autism, Michelle is intimately acquaint- ed with the needs and challenges facing parents and teachers. Michelle had another intriguing suggestion: that we stay in touch not only with other puppeteers but also with the variety perform- ers who populate the summer reading programs, suggesting virtual showcases next fall. Some of the group are still trying to figure out ways to do live shows. Heather, whose company specializes in giant, parade- style puppets, is still planning for a large outdoor event August 15, but instead of having a crowd of thousands assemble to- gether, they will have a free, timed-ticket walk-through. Margo McCreary (Minneapolis), who has a charming trailer/puppet stage, is thinking of offering it to Minneapolis puppeteers to use for small outdoor shows. Michelle pointed out that some daycare centers are still meeting and might want small live shows.


All of us, not knowing how long this will last, are exploring new ways of creating. This could include leading participatory classes and workshops, where we build puppets together on Zoom and then perform for each other; having participants record what they’re doing and sending us the videos, which we post on social media; making short films; even collaborating online with a geo- graphically far-off puppeteer.


Liz (Liz Howls, Minneapolis) has brought back her Full Moon show in a different form. Since it’s grant funded, she has the freedom of experimenting. She is inviting puppeteers to submit video experiments, which she will post on YouTube every full moon. Liz said it best: “We are planning on two trajectories: learning how to field the puppetry world without shared space and preparing for a time when we can once again share space.”


Onward and upward, friends! Let’s find joy and creativity in this new reality, and keep in touch with one another. We are a warm and sharing community!


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