- Everybody.
- has introduced 14 years of a summer puppetry caravan for Appalachia. We're from Berea College, which
- is in Berea, Kentucky. And in those 14 years, 64 more, different puppeteers have worked in developing
- the puppets, the stages, and various aspects of our program. We don't buy anything. We do it all ourselves.
- So what you see here today is a sort of total of that at this point. Of course, we have 13 shows stored in Berea.
- what we work with all the summer. We're very happy to be here, to be invited by the library.
- And of course, you know that's your sponsor, Stone Hills Area Libraries organized the whole event. And
- we have been traveling in Indiana all week, doing two shows a day in at least five different counties.
- So we've covered lots of ground. This is our last day here. We're going to Bedford tonight, and that's
- going to be our last performance. So let's start the show.
- The entire performance lasts about an hour, slightly longer, or slightly less. We start out with some
- special kinds of puppets, and we all wear black robes for this. So I've got to get in costume.
- This style of puppetry we're working in first is called Bunraku. Now, Bunraku is a Japanese word. In
- the Japanese Bunraku theater, the puppeteers wear black robes and are fully visible to the audience.
- The puppets are life-size and usually represent both figures from Japanese culture. Now, the Bunraku
- theater is a theater which is over 2,000 years old.
- So before there were human actors, there were puppet actors. Now instead of doing Japanese folk figures,
- we do folk figures from Kentucky. Ruben and Matilda Bledsoe. A week ago, actually two weeks ago, we
- were driving through the town of Bledsoe, Kentucky. We knew it was somewhere on the map and we went
- to the post office
- I've got some pictures there. So we know where Ruben Matilda Hale from. Well, they're understood to
- be about 70 years old, have spent most of their life in rural Kentucky. And maybe like the people who
- spent their lives in rural parts of America anywhere, Ohio, Indiana, or Tennessee, or whatever, they've
- been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of living, and they have a lot of ideas. So we had a Kentucky
- playwright put these ideas into nine episodes.
- which are called back porch talks. These back porch talks reflect on such things as old and young, a
- cure for hiccups, farming and coal mining, and such things as that. The puppeteer in the front is operating
- the head and the mouth, and his feet are attached to the puppet's feet by means of bell throat. If he
- moves his foot, the puppet's foot then moves too. The second puppeteer is operating the hands and providing
- those gestures.
- Already? All right, then I'd like to present Ruben and Matilda Bledsoe in a five-minute episode, screaming
- about being a lump of coal. Okay, that would help if you were quiet over there.
- Well, when I can't I'll just stay a spell with you. What I got in the oven won't be done for a bit.
- You know, sometimes I wish I was a lump of coal being taken all over the world.
- if I had put my foot down and made you go farming instead of mining. Oh, I don't guess I went to farm
- until you put your foot down. I did it because my granddaddy said, if I helped him farm, he'd give me
- the land in his will. And he did. You know I put my foot down more than a little, so you all better
- not put your foot down. What I can understand is why you're ever going to be a miner and earn the first place.
- Well, when we started farming, we were hard up for money. Miners weren't making good pay for those days.
- Maybe we didn't have much money, but we always had. Yeah, we had a whole bunch of kids to go to. Not
- the whole can of things to get to, you wonder. Oh, nothing else really from our kids. Yeah, but look
- at the pay the miners got. He could buy his fiddle.
- Maybe even a little house and some land. My brothers were my brothers and they had a lot of head time.
- But maybe I can remember they worked from this time to that because they did six and a half jobs with
- gold and not paid 85 cents. Yeah, but then coffee was only 25 cents a pound, a loaf of bread crossed
- the nickel,
- And you could buy a pound of bacon for less than a quarter. Yeah, maybe so, but that ain't nothing good
- by much else for their families. Well, with them unions moving in, mine has got better time. Oh, I don't
- know about that. But I do know those must be the risks that I have to face today. And sir, if you want
- money and hair, work for the meeting. Well, they've got them these days. Well, I hope so, but they do.
- Bless hall.
- Well, that was a good way to use up our surplus corn.
- We grew the best white corn in the county. And Moonchild was a bread and a lot more cash than corn.
- Oh, I got to say this. I didn't want to be a mander's wife and worry about you being buried alive. And
- I didn't want to be a moonchild's wife and worry about you being shot 12 holes by a wrecking ball. Still,
- Six Matilda, why did a playboy pick up the skill that no reverend knew its crew power?
- And we came up in the woods and spring water was in a right fire. Well, if the revenue of winter found
- you still, you'd probably have caught human ascending through jars of Joe's food. Now, I remember thinking
- about that. What I was going to do was spill the jars with movie eyes, and then paint them all to look
- like they had buttermilk in them. Wasn't near today.
- Well, it's bad enough just thinking of him. The big guy had come over. He used to help himself to a
- jar of buttermilk. Well, they used to say that he got in that boat to one of those painted jars and
- took them inside.
- I reckon he didn't want to surprise the cow that gave him the cream that made his buttermilk out of
- a bit of bread. He told that to me that he ever speaks for us, the children. Now, the children, I did
- what you want. I did become a miner, and I'm never with a loon gunner. A good thing, too, for I packed
- up a list. And as somebody says, care has no theory like a little straw.
- going away on that train is coming in for some baked handwraps for the beautiful backstage. With our
- awkward travel around the world and
- And now four, we've met Reuben and Matilda. We're ready for our next act. And we need two people who
- are willing to fight. Up here, okay, you two guys, come on. Step up here, here. Now they're very trusting.
- Now here, you can step up here. Come here. That's all right, barefoot is our answer. Good, excellent.
- All right, what's your name? Jim. Jim and? Kyle. Do you know each other? So you've never fought before
- together, so.
- Really? Okay. What we want to do is, okay, Jim and Kyle, right? We're going to cheer for them, so we're
- going to draw a line right down the middle. We want everybody on this side to cheer for Jim. Kyle. Kyle.
- Cheer for Kyle. Okay, and the cheer is to clap your hands together and shout, bravo, bravo. So it's
- just the people on this side. All right, let's try it for Kyle.
- No clapping, but just the sound like a wild animal roaring. So let's give them a sample. When I count
- to three, roar like a wild animal, like a real wild animal. Ready? One, two, three. Roar. Okay. Let's
- give it back now. Roar. Let's hear it. One, two, three. Roar. Okay. Now, that's a good one. Okay. We're
- going to have lots of noise like that. That will help you all to be encouraged, just like in a
- baseball game, football game, or something like that, where the audience cheers. And what would you
- like to fight with? Any ideas? He has no ideas. What about you, Kyle? No ideas. Well, that's great,
- because I love to choose. And I'm going to choose puppets, because this is a puppet show. So let's bring
- out the puppet that Kyle will use, please. Now, Dan Chapman, one of our puppeteers, has brought out
- an Italian Flutertini.
- And this style of puppet has a rod to the head, and a string to the sword, and one to the shield. And
- all the other movements are made by moving the stick around. So Dan is your coach. He'll help you. And
- he's your cheerleader. All right, let's bring out the puppet for the gentleman, please. OK, and Gina
- Graham has brought out the puppet for the wild animal sound. It's also an Italian guarentini. And you
- make that move by twisting the rods. And Gina is your coach. She'll help you.
- And she's your cheerleader, and I'm the sportscaster. I'm going to tell you a story. Once upon a time,
- a knight and a dragon were in Bloomington, Indiana. And if they were not, they were in line hurrying
- on the stage. They bumped into each other, and they both fell down. The knight jumped up first, and
- he began to stab the dragon. Bravo!
- things with puppets, and different parts of the world. We didn't announce it. Poppy Tree is a puppet
- that is based on a French or Italian counterpart from about 300 years ago. Of course, remember the tildes
- are based on the Japanese style and the Italian bordertini you've just seen. Our next is based on an
- English country dance figure from medieval times, perhaps the year 1200.
- And though we added some surprises to it, it does follow the basic original idea. I don't want to tell
- you too much because I want you to get all the surprise too. Are you ready, Professor? Yes, I am. All
- right then, I'd like to welcome Ms. Hannah Greenberg and Professor Langhorne Hutney. Let's welcome them.
- traditional English script, but the original Punch and Judy is over 500 years old. It began in Italy,
- and the main character's name was Punchinello. Punchinello had a very good friend named Scaramouche,
- and Scaramouche still appears in our show. You can tell because he has an Italian accent. He'll say
- it for us later. Punch then traveled on through France and Germany, and finally to England.
- where if you were in England today and you went to a park or perhaps to a marketplace or to the seashore,
- there's a good chance that you could see a Punch and Judy show. Because in London alone, there are 40
- different punchmen who make a full-time living doing Punch and Judy shows. But we're very happy to present
- this for you today. And after that, we have two more acts for you, so don't go away.
- All right, let's call Mr. Punch and see if he's at home. Let's just say, are you at home, Mr. Punch?
- I'll count three, and I want you all to laugh. And you've got to make a lot of noise, otherwise he won't
- be here. Ready? One, two, three.
- Oh good, I said, do you know where that little master is?
- I'll be right back. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. There is Mr. Punch. Oh, hey, check this out, folks. It looks
- like macrame to me. Mr. Punch, there's a news. No news is good news. Mr. Punch, would you try this oversized,
- please? Well, what do you want me to do? Stick your head in here, please. Stick my head where?
- In here. Oh, in here? No, Mr. Punch, in here. Uh, in here? Mr. Punch, will you please cooperate? I don't
- know how to do this. I've never been hanged before. Uh, kids, I need one of you to help me. Okay,
- come on. Come on up. Whenever you're going to punch, you have to do this. You have to put the noose
- around my neck. That's it, put it around my head, please. I think I'll do it.
- I think I understand this, Jack. Then someone comes over here, right? And then they start to pull on
- us. Go, like this, right, Jack? Mr. Putz. Mr. Putz.
- So you need to pay attention, buddy. Come on. You might need to help him get in line. Okay. Put your
- hands here and still facing in line. Hook up. Get in line in front of you. Hook up. Everybody,
- hook up. Put your hands on the waist of the person ahead of you.
- I want you to start pulling that way, okay? And don't break the chamber. Ready? One, two, three,
- and pull. Come on. Come on. Very good, very good. Okay. All right, now come on back this way. And Gina
- Graham is going to bring out a sack full of soft sculpture puppets. And you'll take one puppet out of
- the sack and hold it up so everyone in the audience can see. And I want either you or they
- Shout out the name of the animal, okay? Right here, we'll start right here. And you and your brother
- are gonna be together. Okay, now you pick it out. And then tell us what kind of animal it is. If you
- tell first, that's okay too. Okay, that's it, there it is. What is it? A lion! Okay, sit down right here.
- Are you here, Dottie? Let's welcome our big friend Miss Dottie March.
- I know an old lady who swallowed a fly. I know an old lady who swallowed a fly.
- And no one obeyed who swallowed a bird. She calls her to swallow a bird. She swallowed the bird to catch
- the spider that wiggled and jiggled and jiggled.
- I know an old lady who swallowed a cat. Imagine that to swallow a cat. She swallowed the cat to catch
- the bird. She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
- But I don't know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she'll die. I know an old lady who swallowed a dog.
- What a big mom to swallow a dog.
- to catch the bird, to swallow the bird, to catch the spider, that wriggled into the land. She swallowed
- the spider to catch the fly, but I don't know why she swallowed the fly, for that's your line. I know
- no lady who swallowed a fly.
- She swallowed the dog to catch the cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird. She swallowed the bird
- to catch the spider. That little little bird. Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
- Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
- Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
- Be careful.
- To catch the bird, she swallowed the bird, to catch the spider. She swallowed the spider to catch the
- fly. But I don't know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she'll die. I know an old lady who swallowed a horse.
- I think we'll be able to do it. Ready? Okay, start pulling.
- They're hand-printed sunscreen posters. We send them out each year for publicity. You've probably seen
- this one around. This is this year's poster. Here's a poster that features Punch and Judy.
- red. Here's the 1981 poster. It features Mr. Punch and the alligator, Toby. Here we go, this features
- Mary Ann. This is 1977.
- This is our 10th anniversary poster. It has a lot of nice, fine details on it. It's a really nice poster.
- Well, this is the 77, and then pictures of Mary Ness. This is one of my favorites. The castle and the
- archery stage. Kind of a romantic setting down.
- And this is 1980. Okay, the large posters are $5, and we have some small posters that are like our new
- posters, and those are $3. Okay, we have one more fabulous actor for you. She's a fabulous dancer, and
- she's from Yugoslavia. She's very exotic. You're going to think she's very beautiful. Maya, are you
- ready back there? She's ready.
- My name is Kaya Savich Blascovich. She's very beautiful. Without any further ado, I'd like to introduce
- you to Kaya Savich Blascovich and her dancing partner, Cornelia.