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No “Has-Been” for Annie Zook SCENEBETWEEN


By Monica Leo F


or 25 years, Annie Zook’s daily routine started at 6 a.m. as she vacuumed the Denver Puppet Theater in preparation for a 10 a.m. show. Mon- day through Wednesday, school groups came in; Thursday through Sunday were public shows or birthday parties. All were marionette shows, some with traditional titles, such as Little Red Riding


Hood and Brer Rabbit, and many, such as Coyote Tales, with a southwestern flavor—an average of 440 shows a year! At first, all the shows were public shows, but as the word got out among teachers, Annie began to hear from school groups who wanted to attend. Soon she was reserving Monday through Wednesday for them, mostly kindergarten through fourth grade. She found, as many of us have, that school audiences are the BEST, espe- cially those third and fourth graders! She emphasized character development in her stories, teaching the kids about writing. She updated traditional fairy tales, often with an environmental message. I love her ending to Little Red Riding Hood, in which the wolf gets sent off to Yellowstone, incorporat- ing information about the vast environmental effects of reintroducing wolves to the park. After the school shows, kids asked questions, played with puppets, and had lunch. By 1 p.m., Annie was done and free to attend to the zillion other parts of running a puppet theater, such as taking flyers and worksheets to schools. Every year, she wrote


Baba Yaga by Annie Zook. Photo courtesy of Annie Zook


and created a new show; other shows recycled as she ran most shows, with the exception of the holiday show, for two months each. January was slow, and September was reserved for clean- ing and preparation. Then came the pandemic. And the cancellation of all school shows. And the retirement of her favorite teacher clients. And the fact that kids could no longer touch the puppets. Finally, her computer crashed, complete with all of her school information and databases. Annie decided this was a sign from the Universe that it was a good time to retire, but what to do with the hordes of puppets she had built over 25 years? A local reporter, inter- viewing her for the paper, suggested she have a sale. The paper and a local TV station promoted the sale for her, and she was mobbed! Not only did people come to buy puppets; all sorts of local young adults came to say goodbye and tell her what the theater had meant to them growing up. One day she found a little note tucked into the door: “I love being here. I will miss you.”


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It was in an envelope with a handful of coins in the bottom. I asked Annie about her favorite shows and moments. The answer was instantaneous: “Baba Yaga. We all remem- ber that there was a time we couldn’t do witch shows.” Annie was delighted when that time ended, and Baba Yaga could come back out again. A teacher from one of the more conserva- tive schools told her, “Don’t tell anyone, but I love your witches. We all have our witches.” So what is Annie doing now with all of her newfound time? She has been sewing little silk


Monica Leo


hearts, adorning them with inspirational sayings, beads, and bau- bles, and hanging them in random trees for people to find. But is she done with puppets? No way! She is joining the aficionados of pop-up book shows! She has built a giant pop-up book and is creating a cast of tiny marionettes to populate the book and the story. We hope to see her and her book, along with other pop-up book shows, at the Great Plains Puppet Train (if it can happen) in September 2021.


Just before our conversation ended, Annie told me how ex- cited she was about a group of young puppeteers stirring things up in Denver. “You don’t want to write about a has-been like me! Write about Katy Williams and her crew.” While I’m not ready to label Annie a “has-been” (I’m waiting to witness her next chap- ter), I will write about the newly formed Rocky Mountain Pup- petry Guild—in a future column. In the meantime, I’ll tell you how excited I was to meet Katy and her cohort, Andryn Arithson, at the Great Plains Regional meeting at last summer’s Puppeteers of America festival. I checked the Rocky Mountain Guild’s Facebook page and found evidence of an outdoor festival, regular meetings with professional-quality workshops (now over Zoom), and even a virtual slam! Sounds like there is indeed some stirring-up going on! Remem- bering some wonderful regional festivals in Denver in the 90s, I’m fantasizing about meeting there again.


"Little pretties," needlework, silk hearts by Annie Zook. Photo courtesy of Annie Zook


If you know of a middle-of- the-country puppeteer or event I should feature, please alert me at <monica@puppetspuppets.com>. Onward and upward, friends!


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