Monday, July 23, 2012

Intended for Children



Late Submission: July 19


Amidst colorful homes, shops and rows upon rows of fruit stands lies tucked away the most adorable puppet show since Pinocchio. Being from a family who doesn’t travel and who has just recently began expanding their cultural horizons by actually going out and experiencing things; the thought of a puppet show had constantly conjured up an image of sock puppets, oven mitts and shadowy hand gestures. It’s easy to forget that puppeteering is an art form. Dating as far back to when the Egyptians were building their empire, historians have argued that puppeteering could possibly pre date theatre. Although a dying art form, the use of marionettes is a classic. It was amazing to see what the manipulators (puppeteer) could do with a few strings connected to the right places. Flips, jumps, balancing acts, accompanied by harmonious guitar and accordion playing made this act to charming to avoid. The main characters were a set of high flying acrobatically trained monkeys and their traveling one-man band. They set the stage with a painted background of a caricatured forest creating almost a real life cartoon, one you could touch. Almost like a pint size Cirque du Soleil, every child in the audience was completely captivated by what was going on. Obviously intended for children it was interesting to witness the effect that the show had on the parents. If you took the children out of the equation and just left the adults and teenagers, the audience participation would have been next to none. Maybe a polite clap or two at the end of an act but for the most part it would have been dead silent. This was made clear when we first arrived at the small venue. Everyone in our group seemed confused as to why we were even there. When it came to the parents they wanted their kids to have a good time and participate. Leading by example every time a monkey performed a feat of strength you bet those parents were clapping and cheering along side their kids. It was quite endearing to watch. 

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