December shows!

So, I just wrapped up a Holiday Tour with our new puppeteer, Jonathan Kidder. And I must say, we had a blast! This was the first time we've done "Polly Polar Bear and the Prince of the Sea" exclusively in the Bay Area. We do have one last show, on January 12th in Merced but, after that, I'm wrapped 'til summer.

As for summer, we're still hammering out the dates and show for the Bay Area. Hopefully, we'll have more info on that very soon!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few anecdotes from the tour:

* During our shows, it always seems that the kids in the crowd fail to realize that we, the puppeteers backstage, can hear them talk as we perform. Usually, we'll get a few "Wow(s)" or "Did you see that(s)". During one of our performances, Jonathan and I nearly cracked up as we both overheard a young audience member exclaim, during the opening minutes of the show, "Is it over?" and then, after he was assured by his parent that we had just started, we heard him sigh "I didn't know it would last this long". Hilarious!

* Many times, after shows, we encounter youngsters who are afraid of the puppets in the program. They hang back or hide their faces. Usually, after a show, If I don't have to rush to another performance, I'll offer to show the little one the puppet up close and explain how it works--to take some of the fear away. This is on top of our 'behind the scenes' demo.

During this tour, I met a sweet little girl who I chatted with prior to starting the performance. She was sitting very far to the side and I asked her if she was able to see the stage at all. Her Mom told me that this was her first puppet show, and that she was very nervous. I was instantly enchanted! So, I knelt down and introduced myself. I explained that the puppets in the show she was about to see were just like the little toy she was holding in her hands (she had a little white bear with her). And that the only difference between them was that I made my bear move with my hands. I asked her if she thought I was scary (luckily, she said "no"!), since it was just me back there with my hands moving the 'toys' around. I also assured her that the puppets stayed in the stage and couldn't come out at all! She seemed relieved. Right before I started the intro, I told her that, if she stuck it out, I'd be happy to show her any puppet in the show up close and answer any questions she might have about how we do what we do.

We finish the show and she runs up to me and says "I wasn't scared!" I congratulate her on her bravery and she looked up at me with her winsome smile and said "can I still see one of the puppets?". How could I refuse? She got to hold a mouse and I got a great story!