a puppetry 1st

we attended our first puppet show today, and i think the bean enjoyed it. the show was titled hickory dickory dock so i think she expected more of the clock and the mouse. but in fact, they were featured only at the beginning and end of the show which strung together several disparate stories - like a vaudeville act.

there were 2 parts of the show separated by a short interval. the stories performed were all quite apt for the age group (2-4 yr olds): peter rabbit & farmer macgregor's veg garden (part 1); what's the time, mr wolf? and 10 laughing clowns (part 2).

during the main performances hand puppets were the main 'actors' - all performed by a sole puppeteer (the "lady" as the bean calls her). but the kids were shown wooden, stringed puppets at the beginning of each half of the show. i think leah really liked the frog that came out as well as the dancing monkey and violin-playing gypsy.

at the end of part 2, there was a shadow puppet segment and that was well done. however, because the screen for this was located at a corner, and rather small, i felt that some of the kids may not have been able to appreciate the performance properly. e.g. from where the bean was sitting on the floor, a 'stage' light was actually blocking part of the screen. i told her to stand up so she could see the entire screen to better enjoy the performance.

she was quite fascinated by the puppets as they are really toys that can move. she was especially taken by a green hanging puppet that she insisted was a dinosaur. (the 'theatre', really a sparse shoplot in a suburban shopping plaza, had strung up various puppets from the ceiling as part of the minimalist decor.)

however, i was impressed that she was not at all clingy at the theatre. i told her to sit at the front with the other children (most of whom were slightly older - maybe round 3 years old) and she wasn't fazed that i didn't sit with her (she did look back to see where i was). instead, she started chatting with a mother who sat upfront with her 2 charges. the bean kept pointing things out (characters from the performances, or the "dinosaur" above, et al) and that poor accosted mom had to repeat after the bean in agreement.

during the interval when the bean came to me for refreshment, i saw a handbell sitting on the "box office" counter and pointed it out to her. we soon found out the purpose of this instrument, when the puppeteer came out to announce the end of the interval and the imminent start of part 2. as soon as the bean saw the puppeteer pick up the handbell, she zoomed over and said, "i wan ring bell."

their brief exchange was as follows:
"oh, would you like to help me ring the bell?"
"i wan ring bell."
"alright, will you help ring the bell?"
"i wan ring bell."
i guess once the bean has set her sights on something she can be quite single-minded.

in any case, as soon as she got the handbell she shot out the door of the theatre. i dumped my rucksack in a mild panic. as i got up from my chair to check on the bean, i saw a grandfather smiling at me, so i said, "she's making a run with the bell." (or something to that effect.) but the puppeteer was with the bean, teaching her how to hold and ring the bell.

i think she was the envy of some of the other children, but then she seems to be the one who was able to make the most of the opportunity...with a little (unwitting) help from me.