AACT to host puppet production

“When we found out that we were not going to be able to be in the Jan Dempsey because of construction, I was like mulling that over and came up with the idea that that's what we were going to call our summer camps: AACT Under Construction,” Brown said.

Once the theme of “under construction” was decided on, Brown wanted to do a summer camp that involved the kids creating puppets and original stories to go along with them.

“Puppets was the first thing, because that is something you create, make or build,” Brown said. “We’ve never done anything with puppets. I thought that it would be fun, so since we couldn’t do things like normal — let’s just do everything new.”

Brown also wanted to use the camp to teach the kids and the community about the history of puppets in art and culture throughout the world. 

“Puppetry actually is the oldest form of known theatre that predates even the Greek written theatre,” Brown said. “I feel like, at least here in America, that so many people associate puppets with preschool. So they think puppets are like either Muppets Sesame Street, or like just the little toys that you get for little kids.”

While puppets can commonly be found in preschool and elementary classrooms, Brown wants to teach the complex story of puppets and how they are used in different art forms to tell a story.

“It's very complex. It's very beautiful, and audiences interact with puppetry,” she said. “An audience has to be even more engaged going to a puppet show because you've got an inanimate object that is becoming a character instead of a person being another person. You have an actual inanimate object that is being animated by people.”

Puppets are still used across the world in different cultures. From the Lion King on Broadway to bunraku, a traditional form of Japanese puppet theater, puppetry has been an influential form of storytelling for centuries. 

The AACT will have the children explore different forms of puppetry seen across the world, including shadow puppets and bunraku. All puppets and storylines used will be created by the children attending the camp with some assistance for the younger age groups.

“With the shadow puppets, we’re not going to worry about them having speaking lines,” Brown said. “We are going to have them come up with the story line and then find some music and let the puppets just act out the story.

“For the bunraku puppets, we’ll probably just be learning to manipulate them and do the same thing with music. With some of the others, their marionettes and their found object puppets, we’ll probably pair them with two or three other kids and then have them come up with some sort of story; beginning, middle and some sort of conflict or obstacle that they have to overcome.”

One of the most important lessons Brown wants to be implemented in the camp is the importance of teamwork and being engaged in the camp.

“If we’re passionate about it, they will be passionate about it. This is a super cool thing that they are going to get to do and they rise to the occasion every time,” Brown said. “The first thing we say to the kids when we have any theater camp, because we see them in a circle and we say, look around, this is your new theater family for the week.”

“Play” with Puppets will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. from July 17 to July 21 at Grace United Methodist Church, with a parent presentation at 5 p.m. on the last day. Visit https://auburnact.org/summer-camps/ to learn more about the AACT, upcoming summer camps and registration.