Puppets to the rescue
A plucky troupe of local puppeteers are inspiring a generation
It’s a lot of work to put on a puppet show. From conceiving and writing the scripts to making the puppets and sets and acting with the puppets, it takes a multitalented team to create a puppet play and take the show on the road. We are fortunate to have such a team here in Hamilton in Studio Babette Puppet Theatre, a local puppetry troupe comprised of Marie Franek, Helena Adamczyk and Kerry Panavas.
The Encyclopedia Britannica suggests that puppetry is the most ancient of theatrical forms, a type of sympathetic magic originally connected to fertility rituals and attempts to influence the future. Over time, those connections were lost, but the magic and wonder of the puppet show, particularly for children, touches a primal nerve in our collective consciousness.
It’s baby’s first introduction into play-acting when parents engage their children with finger and hand puppets. Puppets can give children a path through difficult conversations when used to that end, and yet can capture their attention and the wonder of their imagination when used to entertain or educate. Political satire has long been the purview of the adult puppet show and political puppetry from “Punch and Judy” to “Spitting Image” in the U.K. or “D.C. Follies” in the U.S., two TV shows popular in the 1980s, has been used to say in jest and play what can’t be said in public under the law.
Marie was the driving force in forming Studio Babette, inspired by her childhood experience with puppetry in the Czech Republic; Helena and Kerry both have backgrounds in local theatre. Each brings their unique talents to the table and contributes to all aspects of creating a show, including wardrobe and costuming skills as well as set design. And they rely on a backbone of friends and volunteers to help pull it all together.
The puppets are something else! Marie showed me one of the puppets, the character of Lieutenant Andrew Ruthven Thompson, from their upcoming performance “From Ruthven to Passchendaele.” As befitting the time, Lieutenant Thompson is dressed in WWI outfit. He stands about 18-inches high and is remarkable in the attention to detail and authenticity in his costuming and the quality of workmanship in construction. There are 13 different puppets used in this eight-character show. Having little time or practicality for changing clothes, a different puppet is made for each costume change. Studio Babette has a current repertoire of eight shows. That’s a lot of puppets.
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2019 marks 100 years since the end of the First World War. The “war to end war” as U.S. President Woodrow Wilson called it, WWI killed tens of millions of people and left behind a world shattered by violence and susceptible to the ravages of disease. The last chance to see Studio Babette perform “From Ruthven to Passchendaele” will be Thursday, Nov. 8 at the national historic site, Ruthven Park. Meticulously researched and supported by a grant from Veteran Affairs Canada’s Community Engagement Partnership Fund, this story brings to light the effects of war on one local family, yet the similarities will resonate with so many that served in the conflict.
Or you can catch them at the Dundas Museum, where they perform one Saturday a month for preschool kids aged one-five. The show for November is “The Three Little Pigs” but with a twist ending. Space is limited so pre-book on their website: http:// www.studiobabette.ca/.
The troupe also has a short puppet play based on the diary of Sophia McNab, of Dundurn Castle fame and fortune, along with a combination of children’s fairy tales, told with a 21st century sensibility, while “Pulcinella, il Cameriere” (“Pulcinella, the Waiter”) is rated 13-plus. They hope to add a couple more new puppet plays to their repertoire this year.
Plans for the future include a permanent puppet theatre at an appropriate location, such as the Children’s Garden in Gage Park. Studio Babette has an old carriage that needs reconstruction to become a puppet theatre that could be both housed at the location with benches or other seating and also taken to other locations in the city to spread the magic of puppetry. They’re hoping to find some interested partners in this plan, maybe an enlightened financial institution that sees the benefit of giving kids something other than screen time for their entertainment and education.
An early introduction to puppetry can inspire a lifelong love of theatre and performance. Our humanity finds expression in theatre and performance, and we risk losing that to the clutches of the iPhone and computer. Puppets to the rescue!