Photograph by Kathleen Dreier
I can't help liking this guy, but I can't make out what to think of him. I'm gonna get one of his books through the post, just outta curiosity. He's kinda like a hippie merry prankster version of a Gurdjieffian, it seems to me.
No strings attached; these are six-foot tall "Bunraku" puppets, each with its own set of three humanoid operators. It's a back-breaking, gut-wrenching experience to haul a six foot 100 pound creature around, but rewarding beyond belief -- it's like learning to operate your own body from outside.
Each puppet has its own character built into it, in a sense -- they assert their definite personalities onto the operators.
American Bunraku Theatre toured the U.S. and Canada from 1977 through 1988, and was featured at Pier 39 throughout those years.
Well over 100,000 people saw and enjoyed the American Bunraku Theatre.
The kids loved to perform with these giant puppets, and everyone had a great time.
Every performance was sold out!
Rose Gander (rt. photo) and Grace Kelly Rivera and Yaffa Berliner (both not in photo) were our storytellers.
Street and Schoolroom Performances were a specialty of the American Bunraku Theatre.