September 12, 2007

Saved by a Tomato?

When we do our puppetry seminars (as we will be doing this weekend), I always emphasized to the students that puppetry is not just for kids. I often use the illustration of Bugs Bunny episodes I watched when I was small. I got a kick out of the falling anvils and pies in the face. Today I watch the same episodes (confession time!) and get a kick out of the cultural references--such as the episode where every line is from Shakespeare. I would never have picked up on that at five.

For this reason I try to embed truths in puppet scripts that I write that will speak to both children and adults. One of my main models for this type of communication is Phil Vishcer's Veggietales (yeah yeah, I know Big Idea is technically not his company anymore...he is still the creator, he still writes some stories and consults on the others...he still does the voices). His most recent blog post linked an amazing story that goes to the heart of why I invest time and effort in the puppet ministry. Read it, and see if you see Bob the Tomato the same way again.

Posted by Andrew on September 12, 2007 8:16 PM.