Retired Shelter From the Storm
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fter years and years of performing on the road, the sudden necessity to shelter at home provided plenty of time to think, “What’s next?” Since the last issue, several performers announced they were retiring. Puppeteers from North Carolina, California, New York, and New Jersey are profiled below. In “Scene Between,” Monica Leo profiled Annie Zook. Bob Nathanson and Elise Handelman wrote about what they won’t miss and what they will miss. David Regan contributed a lovely memoir of his time with Crabgrass Puppet Theatre (founded by Jamie Keithline and Bonny Hall). All will be missed.
Jamie and Bonny: Working Together Since 1979 By Steve Abrams
rabgrass Puppet Theatre is the touring puppet company created by Jamie Keithline and Bonny Hall. Jamie and Bonny met in 1979 while performing a puppet- and-actor production at the University of Connecticut in which Bonny played Jamie's father. They have been working together ever since!
Bonny Hall started a puppet troupe while in high school and liked it so much that she decided to make it her profession. She studied puppetry at the University of Connecticut, and while at UConn, she ran into Jamie Keithline. Jamie was studying acting, but he fell in with the wrong crowd and wound up becoming a puppeteer. In 1982, the couple took a break from the snow and moved to California, where they formed their own company. Their first show had giant puppets that grew to eight feet tall, and was selected to perform at
the 1983 Pacific Southwest Puppetry Festival. In 1989, Jamie and Bonny returned to Connecticut. Since 2001, they have been living in Halifax, Vermont. They have given thousands of performances in schools, libraries, museums, and festivals. Show titles include Mr. Punch’s Christmas Carol (national festival 1995), Just So Stories (national festival 1997), Anansi, The Spiderman of Africa (national festival 2001, UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence), The Bremen Town Musicians (UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence 2005), The Day It Snowed Tortillas (national festival 2009), The Pirate, the Princess and the Pea (national festival 2015), The Lion and the Mouse & Other Tales, African Adventure Tales, and The Three Little Pigs Build a Better House.
Crabgrass Puppet Theatre's The Pirate, The Princess & The Pea. Photo: Crabgrass Puppet Theatre
http://www.crabgrasspuppets.com/
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