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Puppeteers educate, entertain

Oct. 12, 2006

Courtesy Photo Allen Ware, a member of the Mayborn Puppeteers, performs with his puppet, Meko. The Mayborn Puppeteers' current show, "Between the Rains", can be seen at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Mayborn Museum Complex.

By LIZZA LOPEZ
Reporter

Education is a great thing. Education combined with puppetry is even better.

A year and a half ago, Rick Strot, a senior lecturer in the curriculum and instruction department, and Allen Ware, an education doctoral candidate, formed the Mayborn Puppeteers.

They are now a part of the Mayborn Museum Complex's Sensational Saturdays and perform once a month.

"The Mayborn Puppeteers itself started with Rick," Ware said.

Strot was a kindergarten teacher in Austin where he incorporated puppet shows into his curriculum.

Although he had his own puppet troop in Austin, a job at Baylor called him to Waco.

"I've been doing puppet shows at the Mayborn Museum (Complex) for the past eight years. People were getting tired of my one-man show," Strot said.

Strot incorporates the Learning English Among Friends (LEAF) program into his English as a second language course, which is how he met Ware, LEAF's coordinator.

"When I returned to Baylor to work on my doctorate, I kept on hearing about the other puppeteer," Ware said. "We finally met when I started coordinating LEAF and decided we should work together."

Ware and Strot specialize in different aspects of the puppet program and fuse their creativity together to create something that is both educational and entertaining.

"I'm working on an education degree right now, but I have both a master's and bachelor's in theatre," Ware said.

"I put artistry first and then infuse it with education, whereas Rick started as a teacher and then chose to use puppets as a teaching tool."

Ian McGuire, a psychology graduate student, handles the technical aspect of all the shows.

"I like to stay behind the scenes," McGuire said.

Ware recruited McGuire after he noticed the need for sound effects in his plays.

"The actions of the lines were initially developed through some improvisation back and forth," Ware said. "We supplemented sound effects, and that's when I decided to bring Ian along. "

Between the Rains is the puppeteers' latest production. The play was written by Strot and directed by Ware. "All of our plays have a moral twist," Strot said. "The main purpose of this show is that we have to be stewards to what's on earth, including the rainforest."

The play marks the debut of Strot's 8-year-old son, Evan, as Mari the Butterfly.

Brandi Gibson, a TSTC freshman, will play Scarlet Macaw and Bo Snake.

Gibson has been with the puppeteers for about a year now.

Strot said the idea for this play came from a similar script he had written for the Nancy Redford Group in Austin.

"In a comical way, we present a very serious subject," Strot said. "If we don't protect the rainforest now, it won't be around for our children."

Ware said he hopes to introduce the concept of using puppets in the classroom upon completing his doctorate.

"I've taught in Waco and I like this area, so I would like to see a center that fuses creativity and artistry with education," Ware said. "I think I'm pretty good at what I do and will continue to do it as much as I can."

Between the Rains will be performed at 11 a.m. Saturday in the SBC Theater of the Mayborn Museum Complex.

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