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14 Pieces of Fun & Dedication!

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 14:50:43 GMT

A Revealing Look into Marionette Craftsmanship

Almost all of our marionettes were originally crafted in the 1960s and the 1980s! A typical human character marionette is created from 14 pieces. Marionettes aren't Barbie dolls. They aren't mass produced. They are individual creations. Even changing their clothing is a major production because most clothes have strings running through them.

Building puppets in the 1960s was -- in some ways -- more primitive than it is today. There were no giant Hobby Lobby stores which today provide so many wonderful materials used for crafting today. The hobby and craft stores in the 1960's offered a much more limited selection of materials to work with...

If you haven't seen what is going on with those little puppet bodies, here is a "revealing" photo! The craftsmen and women who created our marionettes spent countless hours designing, cutting, shaping, crafting, sculpting, joining, stringing, and so much more. They raided their closets, cupboards, and jewelry boxes in search of just the right accessories and fabrics. Those go on the outside.

What's underneath are wood blocks, dowels, cords, screw eyes, tacks, brads, plaster of paris, papier mache, fish line, popsicle sticks. My favorite find is the leg joints make with snipped off metal from old soup cans!

Imagine the hours & hours of craftsmanship, hard work, and dedication that go into building a cast of characters for marionette show with 10-15 characters. All this to make the fun come alive!

If you enjoyed this brief "behind-the-scenes" look into our marionettes, please consider liking and following our Fox Folk Friends FB page. A closer look at the puppets will be possible at our "60 Years of Christmas Marionettes" hosted by the Appleton Historical Society at the Appleton Public Library on August 13 at 6:30 pm . Our FFM&F website is https://www.foxfolkfriends.org/

Happy puppeting!

Loving These Video Clips!

Thu, 22 May 2025 12:41:27 GMT

Newly Digitized Video Clips Take Us Back to the 1980s!

Really looking forward to our August presentation for the Appleton Historical Society. Thanks to Steve Smits & the folks at the Historical Society for arranging for our three old VHS tapes from the 1980's to be digitized! While those copies of the shows were 20 years after the shows started in 1965, it was nice to be able to see the work of those who went before us. Watching the videos, I learned some things I never had realized before! It was also a good reminder of how far technology has come and what we are blessed to be able to do now with the cell phones most of us carry. Shooting video in a dark "auditorium" with stage lighting definitely was problematic with those old video cameras. And the sound??? Well, most of those video cams had "on board" that picked up sound from a distance. For me, I had to crank up the volume as far as it could go on my computer to hear the videos.

Still, I really enjoyed seeing these videos. Three different All Saints shows were recorded. "Why the Chimes Rang" (the 1987 recording) was the original show the All Saints Marionettes offered back in 1965. We still use puppets designed for that show! I believe from my research that "The Other Wiseman" (the 1989 recording) was the second show that they brought to life. "Zia" (the 1988 recording) was a later addition.

Wondering about why some sections have no sound at all? Steve shared that when they were uploaded, those segments were flagged for copyright violation because of the recorded music. Bet the performers never imagined that happening all these years later!

You can find these clips at the Appleton Historical YouTube site: https://www.youtube.com/@apphistsociety

60 Years of Christmas Marionettes!

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:58:37 GMT

Our "Christmas Gift to the Fox Cities" "

Fox Folk Marionettes & Friends is happy to announce we'll be sharing our story in the Appleton Historical Society Presentation Series coming up August 13!

Entitled "60 Years of Christmas Marionettes," we'll trace the history of our marionettes from the early days at All Saints Church in downtown Appleton. It all began in 1965. A repertoire of four classic tales was performed there for 30 years. The scene then shifts to Lake Tahoe where another whole collection of marionettes & shows were created for St. Patrick's Church. Fast forward to 2004 when both collections were donated to Fox Valley Lutheran High School with the promise that the puppets would continue to perform Christmas shows in the Appleton area.

This December 18th will mark the 60th anniversary of those marionettes sharing the good news of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Our friends at All Saints originally dubbed their work "a Christmas gift to the Fox Cities! Since that time over 50,000 people have seen these puppets in action! Our director has done extensive research on the magical story behind these puppets. He has compiled a 250-plus page book filled with photos, newspaper articles, letters, & interviews. We're also looking to have some video clips from the early years of the puppets thanks to some help from our friends at the Appleton Historical Society.

Our presentation will also feature some "show & tell" fun with a display that will include puppets and props from the original show! If you listen closely, you'll even hear how our puppets have ties to some of the biggest names in the history of puppetry. Find us in the Community Room of Community First Credit Union at 2626 S. Oneida Street in Appleton at 6:30 p.m. on August 13th.

Mark your calendars & we look forward to seeing you there for all the fun!

Thrift Shop Puppet Fun!

Mon, 20 May 2024 13:10:12 GMT

ADVENTURES IN TREASURE HUNTING!

Thank you, Thrift Shops! What lovely places to find the unique & the special. Also to run into items that you wonder WHY it was ever created in the first place or WHY the store would even put it out for sale!

A Special Relationship...

Puppeteers have a strange & lovely relationship with thrift shops. Any day is a good day for a visit. You never know just what you might find. It might just be ideas or that perfect little piece that fits your new show. Or the new show that is bouncing around in your head. Maybe that piece is the missing link to actually putting that show together for the first time. Books, props, stuffed animals, cloth, curtains . . . you name it! Thrift shops have a plethora of "must-have" odd items that excite us and make others wonder about our sanity.

I've Said It!

Oh, my goodness! Do you know what I could make out of THAT ? Oh, I haven't seen one of those in years. Wow, that is really VINTAGE . They sure don't make those like they used to...

Oh, Those Clerks...

And SPECIAL THANKS to the patient & understanding clerks who put up with our weirdness & eccentricities. Yes, there is a reason we are holding that piece of cloth over our head so see if the light shines through it. Be assured that we are shaking that stuffed animal around to see how well it would dance & fly. Yes, that tiny furniture will work just fine! Are you sure that's the price? I love this neon panda -- you don't see those in the wild!

My favorite encounter was a clerk who declared our purchase "UGLY!" with all capital letters! Why would you ever purchase THAT??? "Oh, we do puppets" was our reply. Her response? "Oh, well, then it is PERFECT!" Well, that's what we thought, too! (Which, of course, is why we were buying it!)

The Thrill of the Hunt!

So, friends, enjoy your manic thrift shopping . . . and may all those items you bring to the check-out without price tags fall within your budget!

By the way, those special discounts days make for especially nice memories!

Puppets -- Not Just Children's Entertainment!

Wed, 15 May 2024 15:24:54 GMT

NOT JUST FOR THE LITTLE ONES!

Admit it!

When you read or hear of a "PUPPET SHOW," you automatically think of children's entertainment. Screaming restless kids, fidgeting and fussing. Simple stories. No depth of thought or meaning.

So much more than that...

That is such an American reaction. Not so in Europe or in other parts of the world where puppetry is considered a major art form. Puppets--and especially marionettes and shadow puppetry--are so much more. Jim Henson fought that same faulty idea when he tried to bring his beloved Muppet Show to the U.S. No networks would pick up his brilliant idea. It had to be produced in England because no US networks would give him a chance.

Don't fall for the lie

Fox Folk Marionettes & Friends, Inc. offers shows that are so much more than merely children's entertainment. We recently presented a pair of Easter shows at a local retirement community. Only a pair of grandchildren in the audience of seniors. The seniors loved the shows! Our hand-crafted marionettes captivated our Appleton audience. The story, the music, the scenery all worked together to create a fairy tale atmosphere that shared a strong Christian message. It was not just for kids, but also for those young at heart and filled with imagination.

More to come!

Our puppet team is currently getting ready for our Christmas shows coming this fall. We'll be sharing the classic Russian Christmas folk tale of Baboushka and the Christmas Visitors. The performances will be ones that offer much more than children's entertainment. Our family friendly shows will share the eternal message of Christmas love with those of all ages -- young and old alike!

Our Reluctant Dragon

Sat, 04 May 2024 15:24:53 GMT

CAN I BUILD US A DRAGON?

The Question...
I remember one of my high school puppeteers. He was really into puppetry. We were just expanding into creating our fairy tale shows. He was convinced we needed a dragon and he volunteered to create one! I loved that attitude!

Harder Than You Might Think
Our dragon started out as papier mache. My volunteer wanted to create a fearsome figure that would tower over our existing marionettes. A dragon worthy of slaying. He brought the beast in its rough form to one of our practices. His fellow puppeteers didn't catch his vision. They told him what he had would never work. He was bummed and ready to give up on his project.

Never Give Up -- Never Give In!
Admittedly, am evil fairy tale dragon with newspaper colored skin does not make for a formidable foe. Still the form was definitely there. Green felt scales, dragon eyes, nostrils, and special controller were able to bring our beast to life.

Satisfying Moment

I remember the first time we took our fairy tale show on the road. We were performing our puppets in an Appleton gymnasium filled with gradeschool children. The curtain pulled open and as the beastly Dragon threatened the beautiful Princess and challenged the brave Knight, a gasp went up from the audience.

That was our reluctant dragon!

Thank You, Grandma! You Don't Know the Difference You Made!

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 01 May 2024 15:24:54 GMT

UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS!

Button box!

I remember the days we used to go visit my Grandma. She was a talented seamstress. Her sewing room was filled with her sewing table, machines, a rainbow of threads, patterns, and so much more. My favorite was her button box. Actually it was a tin Christmas decorated tin of all kinds of buttons she had saved for her projects.

The Gift of Sewing

My Grandma gave me a gift that I never expected would be so appreciated. She taught me to sew. It first became valuable when my parents signed me up for "puppet camp" with our local summer recreation program. There we created our our marionettes by sewing and decorating them ourselves. We performed across our little city at the different parks in our Fox Cities town.

If She Could Know...

I don't know that Grandma ever saw us perform our marionette puppet shows. I imagine that she was working away for her customers in her sewing room on Second Street. I know she never saw any of the muppet-style puppets we created when we evolved into that brand of puppet theatre. Still, I think she would be proud to know that she had a hand in the puppets we have used to entertain thousands in our Fox Cities vicinity and around the country.

And, yes, Grandma, I still have your Button Box!