Kids Make Puppets at The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid

I've finished doing The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid at ten libraries in Ocean County New Jersey. These are pictures of swinging tail puppets made by some attendees/puppet makers after the show. The tails move back and forth!

The puppet making portion is really such a big part of the whole experience. I provide a simple template, markers, hole punches, tiny paper fasteners, straws and tape and encourage individual expression. Many of the puppets are really self portraits of the kids themselves. And then they all take their puppets home and create their own tales.


The next performance of the Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice will be at the Tredyffrin Library in Berwyn Pa on Monday August 9th at 7:30. For ages 4 and up. Everyone participates and there will be puppet making for all afterwards!

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Extreme Makeover for Holy Mackarel the Fishing Boat

Holy Mackarel, the fishing boat for Mermaid Tales gets an extreme makeover.
And by the way, that steering wheel is actually a potholder, on a chopstick,
that slides into a plastic straw glued inside........!
The boat expands during the story to accomodate more passengers.

We realized today, as we set up for number 6 in our 65 bookings for this summer, that this is the seventh year for The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid, the interactive theatrical storytelling event that began as a cute little summer show for no more than 40 participants, and has now more than tripled into a huge production for 120. And there is a "sea"quel story "Admiral Giddy-up and the Seahorse Brigade to the Rescue" too.

More characters, costumes and props have been added over the years....now there are 35 mermaid tails, mermaid babies, 3 gigantic sharks, 12 medium sized sharks and 6 baby shark puppets, 2 octupusses (twins), 25 pirate hats and colorful hand painted wooden parrots, 25 Seahorses on sticks commanded by Admiral Giddy-up, 12 beautiful fish puppets, 12 drums, 6 gigantic handmade tamborines, and on and on.

It started out with just the humans talking, now there are scripts for everyone. It's so much fun, and afterwards everyone makes their own puppet to keep.

We are still using the original boat, Holy Mackarel, crafted from a refrigerator cardboard box. That boat has been dragged in and out of here and there hundreds of times. Yesterday my daughter gave it an extreme makeover and it looks better than new now. The next makeover will be Bald Beatrice herself, who has been stuffed in and pulled out of a Live Baby Mermaid jar so many times.........

Click here for a calendar of events for this summer....Many are in libraries, and therefore open to the public. Hope to see you and your family. It's for all ages, including adults.


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