Waffling Between Dread and Hope
/by Kurt Hunter - UNIMA-USA President
When this blog post was scheduled the topic was supposed to be the UNIMA world congress in Bali. It was supposed to be a message about the excitement of coming together with puppeteers from around the world to share our triumphs and struggles and to plan for the future. Of course, because of the global pandemic the congress has been postponed for a year. The new dates are April 20 – 26th, 2021.
The excitement has been replaced with uncertainty and dread. Full-time puppeteers have seen all of their sources of income dry up. Performances have been canceled. School closings have eliminated artist residencies. Film and television productions have shut down. It is hard to imagine a situation for puppeteers that could be any worse.
How have puppeteers reacted to this terrible situation? With creativity and imagination. While we are forced to stay apart, puppeteers are finding ways to bring us together and to bring us joy. Online puppet shows and concerts are popping up. Video instructions for puppetry projects are lighting up the lives of kids who can’t go to school. The Jim Henson Foundation has created lists with links (Family and Adult) to these online happenings at:
https://www.hensonfoundation.org/index.php/happenings-family-online
https://www.hensonfoundation.org/index.php/happenings-adult-online
Seek out these digital offerings, enjoy them and let the artists know that you appreciate what they are doing. If you can, financial appreciation can be offered through services like PayPal, Patreon and Buy me a coffee. Don’t forget that many of the joy spreaders are having a very rough time.
I’m finding myself waffling between dread and hope. The dread consumes my energy, so I’m working to steer my mind to hope. Here is a very incomplete list of what is making me hopeful.
- The assisted living facility where my Dad lives in a tiny town in northeast Nebraska. They are so cautious and so caring. They’ve been on lockdown longer than any other place I know, but they’ve been playing “hall bingo”. Everyone stays in their rooms and the caller is in the hall. Dad won 50 cents and a bag of popcorn.
- Online live puppet shows and DIY workshops by WonderSpark Puppets on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/WonderSparkPuppets
- The emergency fund set up by the Puppet Showplace in Boston, https://www.puppetshowplace.org/emergency-fund. The page also lists other ways to help.
- David Stephen’s banjo concerts with puppet cameos on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/davidstephensbanjo
- “Through the Narrows,” an on-demand audio webcast. My friends Shari and Chris at Z Puppets Rosenschnoz were just about to open their new production, “Through the Narrows,” when all of this hit, so they moved online. Check it out at https://zpuppets.org/through-the-narrows-audio-webcast.
- A dear friend, aerialist, contortionist, clown, aspiring puppeteer and nurse, whose life now revolves around taking all of the necessary precautions to continue to be able to care for the surge of patients that is expected.
- Valerie Meiss’ attic concert/sing-a-longs on Facebook.
- Ronnie Burkett’s bedtime stories on Instagram.
That just scratches the surface of the wonderful stuff that is out there. Seek it out. Brighten your day. Help anyone you can. It’s rough right now, but here’s hoping for a brighter tomorrow.
