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Senior Seminar Class creates Puppet Show

This past semester Professor John Frick's Senior Seminar (DRAM 4910) was dedicated to the study and production of a show for children.  The show selected for presentation was the classic, Hansel and Gretel; but in our case, Hansel and Gretel would be portrayed by three-foot high puppets.

Eric Bass
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To learn the manipulation of three-person puppets, master puppeteers Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass, founders of Sandglass Theater in Putney, Vermont were brought to UVa for a four-day, intensive workshop in February to train our students.  Over the course of the four days, the students were trained in the handling of one-person and three-person puppets.                                                                                  
Terence Fells-Danzer, Sam Reeder and Amara Shaker-Brown
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Once Eric and Ines departed, the class began work on adapting the story for the stage, building Hansel and Gretel, constructing the stage and scenery, and building costumes for both the human actors and the puppets.  While the complex and time-consuming task of constructing Hansel and Gretel was taking place, student puppeteers rehearsed with puppets kindly loaned to us by Eric and Ines.

After four weeks of rehearsal – mostly held during class time -- Hansel and Gretel was ready for presentation at local schools and libraries and, while scheduling 23 class members for performances with only 13 roles available (including handling the puppets) was a nightmare, once Hansel and Gretel was in front of audiences, no one doubted that the efforts were worth it.  The looks on the faces of the children at each of the seven performances told the cast members that they had succeeded.

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University of Virginia home Last Updated on February 11, 2013