Our Puppeteers
Here's a quick look at our performers
Mr. Dave
Mr. Dave grew up with puppets. He has been involved in puppetry for over 50 years. He fondly remembers watching the puppets from the old Captain Kangaroo show. His first hands-on experience was a summer rec program in his hometown. He and fellow elementary-age students worked together to sew and build marionettes and then offer playground shows across the city. His favorite show was You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! in which he played the lead character.
Church Experience
After three years in the summer program, puppetry did not resurface until, as an adult, he was asked to help create a puppet team for the youth group at his church. Using muppet-style puppets, the group came to be named the Hands 2 God puppet team.
Originally performing only at the church, requests for performances came from around the city and state. Eventually his whole family got involved. The groups popularity grew to the point where they traveled across the Midwest and the East coast performing shows and offering workshops for churches, schools, libraries, camps, and conferences.
Hands 2 God eventually morphed into Hands 2 Grow Puppet Productions. Mr. Dave also started a blacklight puppet team at his high school. The STOP (Students Take On Prevention) Group shows focused on helping teens make positive life choices.
Experience at Fox Valley Lutheran High School (FVL)
In 2003, marionettes once again became a focal point when Mr. Dave was asked to build a marionettes program at Fox Valley Lutheran High School. Dubbed the Fox Folk Marionette Troupe, the team has performed across the Fox River Valley for the past 15-plus years sharing Christmas, Easter, and Christian fairy tales at various community venues.
After teaching for 40 years, Mr. Dave retired from his position at the high school in June 2021. He worked with the school to establish Fox Folk Marionettes & Friends, Inc. to keep the story going.
Miss Cassie
Miss Cassie has had a love for puppets for as long as she can remember. She began actively performing with her puppets as an elementary student and has loved the medium ever since.
Currently, she is the owner and operator of Hands 2 Grow Puppet Productions, LLC. She has also served as the Associate Director of the Fox Folk Marionette Troupe throughout their time at the high school.
Miss Cassie graduated from college with a double major in theatre and English. She currently works locally as a children's librarian and loves to share her story times with those audiences.
She has performed her muppet-style puppets locally as well as around the state and the nation. Venues have included college workshops, child care conferences, conventions, schools, churches, libraries, camps, and more. Christmas and Easter seasons are especially busy for the Hands 2 Grow Puppets.
Our Team Today
Our Current Marionettists
Fox Folk Marionettes and Friends currently has a team of ten performers ranging from beginners to veterans with years of experience. We are blessed to have a number of puppeteers who have rejoined our team after their high school years as well as some of their parents. We are also blessed that a number of parents of past puppeteers have joined our crew. As with our marionettists of the past, all have demonstrated a wonderful willingness to learn and a dedication to put in the many hours it takes to set up, practice, tear down, travel, and perform.
As a non-profit organization, all the members of our team volunteer their time without compensation to share their love of their Lord and this unique and creative performance art.
Our Puppet Team Over the Years
Beginning in 2005, the Fox Folk Marionette Troupe was "staffed" with a dedicated team of student performers from Fox Valley Lutheran High School. Interested students stepped up to learn the intricacies of marionette manipulation and our repertoire of Christmas, Easter, & fairy tale shows. Names and faces changed with the years, but the enthusiasm of performing this lost art continued each season.
In cooperation with FVL, Fox Folk Marionettes and Friends, Inc. was created to be its own 501(c)3 corporation in 2021. The original plan was to continue with high school volunteers as puppeteers. Unfortunately, complications derailed that plan.
Practices for Christmas shows typically would begin in October. New puppeteers often would begin with animal puppets and move on to human characters as they became comfortable with handling the multi-stringed marionettes. The art of "synching" the action of the puppets to the show soundtrack is the key to bringing the shows to life.
After Christmas shows were completed each December, the group would prepare for spring shows. March through April meant our Easter shows. FVL Kinderfest featured our I Can Do All Things fairy tale show for many years.
Over the years, Fox Folk Marionettes was blessed with nearly 100 different students being a part of the team. For several years, international students from around the world were also members of our Fox Folks Marionette family. We thank them all for their contributions to our success.
To God be the glory!
