| Hi! Here are some details about myself: |
| My name is: |
Eve Yarroll |
| I have a home page at: |
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| My occupation (when I'm not doing puppets!) is: |
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| My approximate age is: |
Not specified |
| I live in the state of: |
PA |
| ... in the country of: |
United States |
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| Here's some information about my church or puppetry organisation: |
| My organisation's name is: |
Hearts N Hands Puppet Ministry |
| My organisation's website is at: |
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| Some of My Puppetry Background |
| Q: Why do you write puppet scripts? What motivates you? |
| I write puppet scripts primarily for puppet ministry. I am motivated by a desire to educate and amuse. I also like correographing puppets to perform songs. |
| Q: Tell us about your church or puppet organisation. |
Hearts n Hands Puppet Ministry is affiliated with Bethany Lutheran Church of Bethel Park, PA. We meet once a week with occasional breaks. We primarily do shows for the Sunday School, but have also performed for Girl Scout troops, at a library, preschools, an elderly care facility, and at Lutherlyn. Our group currently consists of two co-leaders and 8 youth puppeteers aged from 4th grade through high school. The younger ones primarily do props. Our program is a ministry in two ways. It is a ministry to those who see the shows, teaching them about the Bible and the Good News of Jesus. It is also a ministry to the puppeteers, reinforcing to them the same messages they're giving in the shows but also teaching them responsibility and cooperation, and even faith (like faith that that a particularly troublesome show will all come together by the time we have to perform it)
We do three kinds of puppet shows:
1) About twice a month at the beginning of Sunday School we have "Jubilee", a child-like ferret puppet whom I manipulate, interact one on one with the Sunday School assembly leader. This requires minimal preparation.
2) Once a month we have a story type puppet show which illustrates the current Sunday School lesson. This we practice for two to three weeks.
3) Once or twice a year we have a longer show for Christmas or Easter or just because. These could also be multiple short scripts or acting out songs. Longer shows require about two months practice.
We also have a few scripts we know well which we use when performing away from our home Church. |
| Q: How did you get started in puppets and what attracted you to this area? |
| I've always loved puppets. When I was a kid I wanted to be on Sesame Street, but never seriously pursued it, but when a woman at my church asked if I would be interested in leading puppet ministry with her I leaped at the chance. |
| Q: Where does your inspiration come from to write puppet scripts? |
| Inspiration usually comes from the Sunday School curriculum or the church lectionary or books of children's devotions. I find it difficult to write without a topic beforehand. When I know what the children will be studying in a given week I can start out with a bible story or a value we want to express and see where that leads me. Having a puppet show about the same thing they are learning in Sunday school or the children's sermon also helps reinforce the lesson. Once I have a topic I am also inspired by current events and literature. I find different character types from tv and movies. |
| Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in puppetry? |
| Start small. Seek out puppet scripts (or write them) which don't require elaborate props or scene changes and work your way up to more complicated fare. |
| Q: Who are your favourite puppet characters and what do you like about them? |
| Kermit the Frog is my all time favorite puppet character. He is honest and principled and manages to command respect while still being silly, extremely likeable, and approachable. He is an authority figure puppet that children naturally want to come up and hug. |
| Q: What are the most important qualities in great puppet scripts? |
| They should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Puppets should have natural sounding lines. They should have characters with distinct personality characteristics that people can recognize without being told. Scripts should be properly suited to an audience. |
| Q: What would you do if you were a puppet? |
| If I were a puppet I would speak my mind without being afraid of what anyone thought of me. |
