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Puppet Shows • Puppet Theater
Dancing Bear Puppet Theater Performances
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Slippery the Seamonster
surprises the audience in
"The Littlest Pirate" |
With its three surprise trap doors, the Dancing Bear traveling theater stands
seven and a half feet high and four feet wide.
The theater is bright red and contains golden woodwork, including two hand carved dancing bears which grace two
of its trap doors.
The theater accomodates both hand and rod puppets. This versatile theater can be used in both indoor and outdoor
settings.
Electrical access is preferred for lighting and sound systems.
Please click on this link to download my latest puppet theater brochure. |
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| Punch and Judy's Seaside Vacation Puppet Theater |
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Punch and Judy's Seaside Vacation |
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Punch, Judy and baby go to the beach for the first time as a family, but everything doesn't go as planned and much craziness ensues.
Baby is lost. Their boat sinks and Punch finds himself guarding a valuable mysterious box.
Will he peek at what is inside?
This show runs one half hour and is performed in the red stage. |
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| The Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor Puppet Theater |
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Sinbad the Sailor tells his tales to Sinbad the Porter |
Long ago, Sinbad the porter passed a magnificent home and was stunned by the wealth of the owner, Sinbad the sailor. The porter asked, “How is it that Sinbad the sailor is so rich, and I, Sinbad the porter am so poor?” These words were overheard by Sinbad the sailor who welcomed the porter in, and began to tell him the tales of his adventures and misfortunes.
The sailor told how his own fortune had changed many times. He told the porter of losing his ship and being marooned, of finding diamonds and being carried away by a giant bird. Sinbad the sailor was captured by an ogre and yet managed to escape. And each day, Sinbad the porter is invited back to hear more.
This hand puppet show lasts one half hour and is performed in the red stage. (Promo code rs45215a)
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| The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Puppet Theater |
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Vernon stands by his
country mouse hole. |
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Vernon Littlefield lived quite contentedly in his snug little mouse hole out in the country, that is, until one day his cousin from the city arrived and convinced him that his meals were too plain and small, and his home was tiny and unfit. Vernon had always thought of it as rather cozy.
“No matter,” said Greyton A. Rodent, “come with me to town where we can dine in style.” Indeed the food was excellent, and the rooms were lovely. However, a big cat stood constant guard there, and Vernon Littlefield longed for home.
While this puppet show is appropriate for a wide range of elementary school age children, it works quite nicely into the New York State Common Core curriculum for kindergarteners and first graders as they study fables. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse is an enduring part of Aesop’s work. |
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| The Three Little Pigs Puppet Theater |
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“The Three Little Pigs” is a perennial favorite among American children. This is the story of three little pigs who build their homes of straw, wood and brick, and a wolf who manages to blow down the homes of the first two piggies. The third clever pig, however, withstands not only the wolf’s incredibly bad breath, but his trickery as well. This hand puppet show runs one half hour and is performed in the red stage. |
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The little pig with the house of straw |
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The wolf and little pig
with the house of straw |
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| The Three Billy Goats Gruff Puppet Theater |
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“The Three Billy Goats Gruff” is a classic, well-loved Norwegian folk tale. It is a story of three goats and their clever encounters with a miserable troll who tries to prevent their crossing a bridge that will lead them to greener pastures. When the youngest goat of the herd decides to break away and cross the bridge on his own to find fresh pastureland, he know he could be in big trouble, but temptation wins. Unfortunately for Billy, a ridiculous troll has just moved under the bridge, dragging all his worldly possessions along in a cart. He catches some fish with his bare hands, but his real desire is to make his favorite aunt's goat recipe. He stands ready with his cooking pot, his garlic, and his rosemary for the marinade, but lacks the critical ingredient — the goat. Then it seems his wish is granted as he hears the “clippity clop, clippity clop” of little Billy's hooves over the bridge. This hand puppet show runs one half hour and is performed in the red stage. |
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| The Three Billy Goats Gruff |
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A terribly hungry troll |
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Little Red Riding Hood Puppet Theater |
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“Little Red Riding Hood” is a traditional European folktale of a girl who sets out through the forest with a basket of goodies for her ailing grandmother. Distracted, she veers from her forest path only to come face to face with a wolf, who then cunningly arrives at Grandma's first. This classic tale remains a favorite among young and old. “Little Red Riding Hood” runs one half hour and is performed in the red stage. |
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| The cast of Little Red Riding Hood |
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Little Red Riding Hood |
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| The Frog Prince Puppet Theater |
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“The Frog Prince” is a delightful tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. It
is the tale of a princess who tosses her favorite toy, a beautiful golden ball, in the air only to have it disappear into the murky waters of a deep well. |
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The princess tosses
her beautiful golden ball into the air |
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The spell is broken
and the prince and princess fall in
love |
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As she laments, and wonders how to retrieve her ball, a frog appears and offers to fetch it for her if she will be his friend.
The frog retrieves the ball, but the princess runs off without a backward glance until the frog appears in the
palace ready to eat off her plate.
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The witch meets the prince
and transforms him into a frog |
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The royal family goes to dinner |
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Disgusting as he may appear, he is, in fact, a true prince and the two fall in love and live happily ever after.
“The Frog Prince” runs one half hour. It is a hand puppet show that is performed in the red stage. Music by Jay Scott Berry, excerpt from
“Morning Star” used with permission. |
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| The Littlest Pirate Puppet Theater |
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| Melanie tries to wake up the puppets |
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In the ridiculous tale of “The Littlest Pirate”, life takes an
unexpected turn for young Hubert as he plays pirate.
Hubert is kidnapped by that dastardly villain of the sea — the evil pirate Eddie Snickerbucket.
Hubert finds himself captive aboard the pirate ship as his distressed mother begins a journey in a row boat in
search of her son. |
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Hubert's mother encounters a talking star, a singing frog, and silly sea monsters.
Hubert saves the day by unwittingly tricking the old pirate, and sails away on the back of a duck with the pirate
treasure map as Slippery, the giant sea monster, finishes off the pirate ship.
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The pirate Eddie Snickerbucket
gazes at the audience |
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The evil pirate Eddie Snickerbucket
eyes his alligator sandwich |
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Hubert is reunited with his long lost mother as the two of them find both pirate treasure, and the treasure of
their own love for each other.
Show length is half an hour with additional time afterward for viewing the puppets. |
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Hubert and his mother
find buried treasure |
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Melanie and
Eddie Snickerbucket |
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| Maiyarap's Magic Dust Puppet Theater Puppetry
from Thailand |
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Maiyarap, Lord of the Underworld |
This program features Maiyarap, Lord of the Underworld, attempting to create
a pot of magic dust to render the Army of Lanka invincible. Maiyarap is played by a 36 inch high marionette with
a golden face, and elaborate beaded costuming as is used in traditional Thai dance drama.
Maiyarap dances using gestures of Thai dance drama which represent the story he tells. During meditation, he is
visited by various beings which make his magic dust ineffective. In the end, Hanuman, the magic monkey, saves the
day. This show gives insight into Thai culture and religion. At the end, the audience may participate by learning
Thai dance movements, if desired. |
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| The Race to the Moon Puppet Theater |
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Roquefort the Mouse flies to the moon |
Roquefort the mouse loves two things the most - a delicious round of cheese
and the moon.
At dusk, Roquefort enjoys singing his sweet song to the moon until one night when he discovers that the moon is
made of golden Swiss cheese, and Grizzle the rat is slowly eating it.
Each night the moon becomes smaller, and Roquefort seeks out his friends to help him save the moon.
Join Roquefort in this original thirty minute musical puppet play for children, as he and his friends, flap, sail
and blast their way to the moon to save it from the hungry jaws of Grizzle, the cheese gobbling rat. |
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Burt the swamp Gnome speaks as
Grizzle the rat gobbles down his cheese |
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Grizzle the rat and puppeteer Melanie Zimmer Photo by Karen Spychalski |
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| The Snow Maiden Puppet Theater |
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| Crystal the Snow Maiden and Mrs. Muttentoes chat in their home |
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“The Snow Maiden” is a beautiful hand puppet show based on the folk tale of
the same name. This show is performed on top of two long tables provided by the facility. The tables will be cloaked
in black velveteen, and dressed with golden rope and giant red tassels.
On the table top will be created the inside of a quaint wooden home with a cozy fire place, and an outdoor scene
of snow and ice where the Snow Maiden comes to life.
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The Snow Maiden moves across the winter snow as masked puppeteer Melanie
Zimmer represents the forces of winter |
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The story begins with silly Mrs. Muttontoes who has always longed for a child of her own. One winter day, she steps
outside and creates a maiden out of snow and wishes it were real. She gives it a kiss, and runs inside from the
cold.
That night, Old Man Winter, sparkling and covered with ice, visits and sees the snow maiden. He realizes how much
she is wanted, and brings her to life.
In the morning, Mrs. Muttontoes finds the beautiful Snow Maiden, Crystal, standing in the snow, and rears her as
her daughter. This program is performed with the puppeteer dressed in black and visible to the audience. During
the show, the puppeteer wears a mask of snow and ice representing the forces of winter as she narrates this timeless
story. |
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| Lead Poisoning Prevention Show Puppet Theater |
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The Lead Poisoning Prevention show is designed for young children of the
ages most susceptible to lead poisoning -up to six years of age.
The show is a combination of storytelling, puppet theater and magic. It involves numerous opportunities for audience
participation and involves repetition of basic lead poisoning prevention principles so children leave the show
with an understanding of how to remain lead free and they have fun as well.
The show repeatedly covers the following points so the young audience leaves with these concepts in their memory:
washing hands before eating, washing hands before going to bed, washing hands when they are dirty, not eating paint
chips, not touching peeling paint or dusty, dirty objects, eating healthy food, not putting non-food objects in
their mouths, not playing in the dirt, but rather using a sand box if one is available.
If you have an additional concept not included, I will be happy to work it into the program for your audience.
This show runs one half hour. It may either be performed in my red puppet theater or on a long table top covered
in black velveteen and adorned with golden ropes and red tassels. |
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| Walk Around Puppetry Puppet Theater |
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Master Short Shanks
Photo by Karen Spychalski |
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Perfect for fairs and festivals, walk around marionettes will interact with
the people at your festival, greeting people and shaking their hands, dancing with patrons, or sword fighting with
children. Walk around marionettes include: Master Shortshanks - a short, middle aged marionette dressed for the
Renaissance, Fezzywiggle the clown - a beautiful porcelain faced clown who loves to dance and have fun, Sir Michael
of the Knotty Pine - a wooden faced, armored knight who will challenge your young knights to a battle.
Kids may fight Sir Michael with a stick. Sir Michael is a wiry and silly opponent that is not afraid to run away
from a fight!
The Mime is a beautiful street performer dressed in black and white who stands over a yard high and will be a welcome
addition to your fair. For walk around puppetry, I usually bring all the above marionettes and switch them throughout
the day. There are additional puppets available. Sir Aluminum is a fully armored knight who marches slowly through
the street through weight shifting. Sir Aluminum is available for Renaissance or medieval theme events. Master
Shortshanks may be redressed as an elf for Christmastime events. The puppeteer will come dressed as an elf upon
request. |
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| Processional Puppetry Puppet Theater |
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A processional dragon is available for parades and other events. I will
provide the dragon, and operate the head, but four additional people must be provided by you. Only the head is
weighty. The other sections are so light a child could carry them. Anyone over age eight may help operate the dragon.
A processional jester is also available. The jester is light weight, bright and sparkling. His form is the head,
neck and shoulders of a jester mounted on a decorative carrying stick. He may come with the dragon as an additional
piece for your festivities if you provide an additional operator. |
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