Hello Marjorie,

First I will describe my experience of my very first puppet show. 

I had just recovered from some intense childhood disease. I was a young 12, not yet in puberty. I walked to the very posh house in the most expensive part of Amsterdam. On arrival I was led into a beautiful living room and saw a puppet show Theater. I was alone in the room and the whole fairly long show (over an hour) was done for me alone. I was very conscious of this honour. I remember exactly the beautiful new dress I was wearing. Light blue, short sleeves, fine wool, like for a costume, with a front of nids d‘abeilles. I was extremely self conscious and appreciative to have been invited to this. What I was made to experience was Goethes fairy tale. The whole fairy tale. I mainly remember the underground temple. I was amazed at the story and realized it was done perfectly. It did not fill me with joy. I now imagine that it can’t have been right to show the whole show in one sitting to a fairly young person, just recovered from an illness. I actually walked out of there feeling like an adult but also full of amazement. Full of questions I was incapable of asking.

Now I also assume that it could not have been totally therapeutic. Certainly not physically healing but calling on my individuality, that temporarily matured. But after this experience I continued going to school and then, at the age of 20 I arrived in Camphill. I felt somewhat lost. One of the co-workers came from a curative home in Switzerland. She was delicate, not very young in my eyes and her main occupation was with puppets. Hand puppets . I wondered why she never did a stroke of work. Also most of what she spoke about was puppets and their effect on the children. Every Sunday afternoon she performed her puppets in a makeshift Theater, the doorway between the library and the salon. Quite ingenious and creative . I admired her dedication but was not sufficiently impressed to take up puppetry. That came later. How was that born? 

After a while in Camphill Scotland, near Aberdeen, I was allowed to visit the puppet shows Friedwart Bock (Emil Bocks son) was showing to his class. The story teller sat in the back and spoke over the children’s heads whilst they were watching the tale with total inner participation. Especially the autistic children who were totally with it, as they otherwise, never were. I too was deeply impressed. This was the way main lessons and religious lessons could be presented. 

My next great revelation took place at the Waldorf Institute in Detroit. After I had already done many hand puppet shows in Beaver Run. The revelation came when a student brought a marionette to life. As he lovingly moved it by its strings he became like a creator of life. He was filled with astonishment himself. 

Later in life I had the total good luck of working with and learning from Susanne Down. Susanne, also having studied Eurythmy, was capable of teaching us the right gestures to express the contents of whatever we were trying to show . Susanne’s shows brought Spirit into matter. 

I have experienced the healing effect of puppetry on many children and adults. But why can a puppet brought to life be so healing? Is it because they carry the human form? And the human physical form is the Image of God. And the puppet does not carry the sting of the human ego.

Well I think this is enough for the time being. There is so much more to say. And we haven’t even mentioned  puppets representing animals or the elements. We should also look at the effect of different colours and accompanying music. 

When I saw you give a lesson in the Waldorf school in Duncan, that was again a revelation for me. At present I concentrate on story telling. My gift does not lie in moving the puppets and bringing them to life. But I have often been able to speak in accord with the puppets. The teller helps the entry into the world of truth. 

~Adola