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This
page is devoted to recent news of interest- a great festival
you attended, a noteworthy puppet exhibit or any event
you feel warrants mention. I encourage you to send me
a write-up and photos to add to 'recent news'.
– Web
Master
On Tour
for Armed Forces Entertainment
written by Kirk L Maynard, President & CEO of Natural Bridges
LLC
photos courtesy of Natural Bridges LLC
edited by Donald Devet
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Carli
(Melody Styles) and Nutty |
Natural
Bridges LLC and the NB Puppets recently returned home to
Cleveland, Ohio, after completing a tour for Armed Forces
Entertainment (AFE) in Europe in April, 2007. NBLLC
visited Germany, Norway, Belgium and the United Kingdom and
performed at 18 military bases in front of over 1,500 military
soldiers and their families. The
1-hour show, “NBTV,” was performed at US Army
and Air Force bases, as well as several RAF bases and one
Naval base.
Kirk
L Maynard, President & CEO of Natural Bridges LLC said
that going on tour for AFE was a dream come true. “This
was an opportunity that we worked hard to achieve, and we could
not pass up such an honor to perform for our military soldiers
and families serving overseas.”
To apply for touring, Kirk submitted a promotional packet
to AFE, and eventually was given the green light. After
that, Kirk sent numerous emails to AFE to inquire about any
open tours during the holidays and after. AFE responded
with a tour offer in April to Europe, which Kirk and
NBLLC accepted.
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Cortez (Bunny) and Nutty |
Getting
ready was time consuming and a demanding process, considering
that they have never toured on the road before with a new show. “We
had to make sure that everything was taken care of before we left Cleveland,
such as rehearsing, making sure everyone had a passport, paperwork and lots
of other business matters,” says Kirk. “We had to build a
new stage, write a new script, recruit new cast members, get new equipment
for the tour, plus make sure that everything worked.” “This
took more time than planned, but in the end it was worth it,” says Kirk.
Once
the puppeteers arrived in Germany, got our paperwork processed
and completed
their first show, things got much easier, and more enjoyable. The
first show was not their best and everything that could go
wrong did. The sound system didn’t work, the
acting was off, the lights brought didn’t shine bright
enough, and cues were missed. After that, things improved.
Some audiences were more receptive than others and it was
especially gratifying for the puppeteers to hear people laugh
during the show exactly where they should have. Each base
had a different audience size and no base was the same as
the others. The largest number they performed for was
375 and the smallest was 25 people.
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Armin
(Tournee Bus Driver for
the tour)
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Most
of the 18 performances took place on stages, but some were
in gyms. The company never performed outside,
although they probably could have since the weather was so
mild- no rain or snow during the entire tour.
The troupe’s
accommodations were mostly paid for by AFE and ranged
from being on base military housing to off base in some
local hotels. Their main mode of transportation after they
arrived at Frankfurt Airport in Germany was a large coach
tour bus that contained a microwave, toilet and couches.
The eight
puppeteerrs also traveled on a ferry from France to the
UK, as well as flying from Munich Germany to Stavanger
Norway.
The audiences
seemed to enjoy the show. The best part was
when the company met and greeted everyone after it was over. Nutty,
Bill Oh Really and the rest of the “NBTV” cast
signed autographs and chatted with new admirers. Each
character in the show was able to grab someone’s attention
and make a new friend. One young boy couldn’t stop
talking about Nutty, and just had to come over and get his
autograph. Nutty really enjoyed that.
Would they
go on tour again? Most definitely. Natural
Bridges LLC is hard at work making arrangements for another
tour, as well as getting ready to begin production of a TV
series “NBTV.” |
