Introduction
Although puppetry
is often thought of as a type of theater, mainly for children, some
argue that the art of puppetry was actually the first theater; that
puppets and masks were dramatic characters before human actors ever
performed roles.
In some times and
places, puppet performances have featured heavily in religious observations,
particularly nativities; in others, churches have strongly opposed them
and governments have outlawed them.
The
most familiar puppet character, Punch, is the English adaptation of
a character type--a folk hero--that has existed for at least 2,000 years.
This "hero of the lower classes" was frowned upon in 17th century England
and banned in 18th century France for his tendency towards social critique
and political commentary.
Radical puppetry
is most well-known in the United States through the work of Peter Schumann,
who led rent strikes in Manhattan in the 1960s. He and others went on
to protest the Vietnam War and to form a company called Bread and Puppet
Theater. Performances were always free, and included the distribution
of free bread.
Inspired
by Schumann's work, Judith Toy has constructed larger-than-life puppets
for many years. Since moving to Black Mountain with her husband, Phillip
Toy, she has sought to bring radical puppetry to children as a message
of peace.
Toy performed a
new story, The Day the Sun Fell Out of the Sky, at the Black Mountain
Center for the Arts on March 17. This story, like all Toy's performances,
incorporates audience participation so that everyone present is a part
of the performance, not merely a spectator.