And here it was on the campers' last day, during the family picnic. I had to choose these 4 to be the puppeteers, which was easy as they'd come to class after class. The rest were appeased by being given bubbles, streamers and rattles to accompany us with. I took the inside position as the puppet had gotten too intense for a small person. My head puppeteer was an amazing fellow who held up that heavy head for our whole 20 minute show. We danced, we pecked at things and ate the camp staff. Best of all we laid 2 eggs, which got cheers from the surprised crowd. And for me, being inside, getting to see a stampede of feet around me with cheers and shouts, and occasional faces popping in from underneath to discover the secrets of the giant chicken puppet, that made the 3 very challenging and exhausting weeks completely, utterly fulfilling.
All the credit goes to these kids. They came up with the all the design, from the sunglasses and ukulele props, to the extra long extending neck, to the laying of eggs and the tossing of gummy worms, and the cowboy boots (which, well, turned out to be go-go boots). And they did all the work other then the heavy interior construction. Plus by the end they had specific theatrical requirements, like that the puppet be hidden until just the right moment of the picnic.
And now, to start another one all over again on Monday! (thanks to LB Stein for the photos, and getting me the job!)
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