Imagine a circus. [1,2]
At first, the juggler. Maybe animals, performing – some in confined spaces, others given free reign of literally any area to which a beast might feel attracted on a whim. This one honestly described as “cute,” the next in its way ferocious, striking fear in even the most brave of onlooker hearts.
And of course, the flying trapeze acts.
Now imagine all of the above and more, channeled through a show featuring marionettes, sized four feet tall or so and weighing-in at twenty pounds, down to just a handful of inches off table top. String-puppets taken through routines that involved swinging through wide arc high above the operator’s head, gracefully landing to continue on to measures steps completing steady walk across the performance platform.
This was what “Jeghetto’s Workshop” brought to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) over the weekend with two capacity crowd afternoon performances. And what better a venue than this local home to iconic puppets and host to an ongoing variety of new and exciting productions in which their contempory counterparts continue to be featured? [3-7]
Every puppeteer brings something different to their own delivery, of course. It’s the nature of this form of entertainment, which traces it history as a transplant to American soil in the eighteenth century. [8]
Those familiar with the work of our own Meredith Bixby have an eye for the engineering and craftsmanship that goes into making exceptional figures, the discipline with which they must be operated in order always maintain the illusion that these creatures of wood and wire might actually be as real as they appear. [9,10]
At the same time, it is quite common for puppeteers to break the fourth wall before, after, and sometimes at moments during their performances. Tarish Pipkins, “aka ‘Jeghetto,'” supurbly delivered a show with marionettes seemingly alive and in-character throughout, sans any walls whatsoever. [11,12]
His was metaphoric high-wire act without a net. Seemingly wild moves with puppets straining at the lines between their figures and his hand controls, were not just amazing in and of themselves, but also feats of skill and courage against what a lesser man would have faced in the end with as a knotted mess of tangled strings and disappointment.
At other times, he guided an eel-like puppet among and around audience members, as if the entirety of the court in which he performed had been perfectly transformed into its undersea sanctuary.
Without sets, curtains, or any measure of controlled lighting, Jeghetto delivered a thrilling experience through both physical properties and a knack for becoming one with and within his audience.
During her introduction to the act, a representative of the Detroit Institute of Arts explained the difference between live performance — being part of an audience, reacting to that which unfolds during the show — and watching something on television. It is not only different, but becomes different as a function of this dynamic.
Tarish Pipkins added a further layer to that, perhaps as a former teacher in a school for children with special needs; perhaps through a passion for “promoting Oneness through the magic of Puppetry.” Incredibly, he stirred excitement among the many young children here, welcomed their excited, physical approaches to his finely-built creations, without ever surrendering control for safety and emotional well-being. [13]
No better explanation or argument could be made to help people understand what it was like to experience a live puppet show in their heyday than that to which DIA visitors were treated this past weekend. This must have been what it was like at its best; this is the secret known by those who see string-puppet performances as a most powerful form of entertainment (and more) today.
Better, too, that one’s son or daughter come away dreaming of becoming a puppeteer: Something every bit as grand as joining the circus — without running away from home.
References
- “Historic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Says Goodbye After 146 Years | NBC News” NBC News (May 18, 2017) YouTube.
- “How to Run Away and Join the Circus” Great Big Story (January 9, 2017) YouTube.
- Jeghetto’s Entertainment (home page).
- Detroit Institute of Arts (home page).
- “For the first time in over two decades, Kermit the Frog has returned to public spotlight at Detroit Institute of Arts” Dell Deaton (January 17, 2020) Saline Journal.
- “Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre demonstrated just how hard it can be to appear effortless” Dell Deaton (December 30, 2019) Saline Journal.
- “Events” Detroit Institute of Arts.
- “Puppetry in America: Puppets on Stage” The National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
- “A Brief Look Back On The Meredith Bixby Marionette Story, Part I: History Can’t Be Packed Away In A Single Box” Dell Deaton (September 20, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “A Brief Look Back On The Meredith Bixby Marionette Story, Part II: Saline Once Hosted Museum, Held Puppet Festivals” Dell Deaton (September 21, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Theatrical Dictionary: Fourth Wall” TDF (December 6, 2017) YouTube.
- “Bio” Jeghetto’s Entertainment.
- “What Is Oneness?” Roger Gabriel (Raghavanand) (February 18, 2016) The Chopra Center.
