of Marlboro schools
Puppet masters
teach lessons
of tolerance
Performance is part
of Marlboro schools’
multicultural arts festival
By jeanette M. eng
Staff Writer
Photos by FARRAH MAFFAI Young Isaac does his homework while a stranger peeks in his window and sees the Hanukkah menorah during a scene from The Town That Fought Hate.
Fifth- and sixth-graders held their breaths as they awaited the fate of The Town That Fought Hate.
In a production that teachers called "phenomenal," "enrapturing" and "sophisticated," members of the Catskill Puppet Theater, Laurens, N.Y., taught the students that "Hate can make a lot of noise. Love and courage are usually quieter, but in the end they are the strongest."
The puppet play presented at the Frank J. Dugan Elementary School, Topanemus Road, on April 10 was only part of the K-8 Marlboro school district’s week-long Multicultural Arts Festival, which sought to bring the community together in a celebration of diversity, creativity and imagination.
Initially, some pupils may have been a bit reluctant to attend the program, but when the lights dimmed, it became clear this was no ordinary puppet show, fifth-grade teacher Geri Pincus said.
Town hall and the police discuss the problems plaguing residents of the community in The Town That Fought Hate.
"It was really cool how they did all the characters," sixth-grader Chelsea Rothman marveled.
The story was presented on a revolving stage that showcased six or seven different scenes, said John Potocnik, who founded the production with Carol Mandigo.
The show features numerous characters, some of which had mechanical eyes, brows and mouths. In the middle of the story, a 6-foot-tall horse galloped to the front with a man riding on the back. These were just some of the ways in which the Catskill Puppet Theater brought puppetry to a level for which no one had prepared.
The two-man show presented its interpretation of the award-winning book The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate. Based on an incident that occurred in Billings, Mont., in 1993, the story begins when a hate group harasses young Isaac, his family and other minority groups in town.
According to legend, the Danish king stood up to the Nazis and would not require Jewish people to wear yellow stars. Instead, everyone in town wore yellow stars so that when the Nazis (l) returned, they could not arrest everyone. In that way, the town stood together.
Inspired by legends of the king of Denmark and his people helping their Jewish neighbors during World War II, the citizens of Billings band together to stand up to the bullies and stop the bigotry that is threatening their peaceful community.
The boy in the puppet show is also named Isaac and the story opens in his bedroom. The students witness someone throwing a rock through Isaac’s window, which knocks over his menorah and lands on his bed. The family fears what this could lead to and wonders "What if Isaac had been on his bed?"
The stage then rotates to reveal a talking town hall and police station discussing the incident and planning the next step.
The residents come together in a town hall meeting to support Isaac’s family. Pupils can see through the town hall window as shadow puppets of a Native American woman and other citizens stand up to voice their concerns.
PHOTOS BY FARRAH MAFFAI A town meeting brings forth the news that Jews are not the only ethnic group being harassed in The Town That Fought Hate.
The residents, inspired by a story of people helping their Jewish neighbors during World War II, decide to do the same. Together, they create and post a sign on the town hall window proclaiming "Peace on Earth" with an illustration of a menorah.
Later that evening, pupils catch a glimpse of the villain as a balding, big-nosed, scowl-faced man creeps over to town hall. He skulks over to the sign and hurls a rock at the window, shattering a hole in it. With a scratch of his butt, he laughs wickedly and walks off.
Back at home, Isaac does not sleep in his room anymore and is scared to show his menorah. His mother, however, advises him to have courage and takes him on a drive. The stage revolves to show Isaac and his mother taking a drive through town to see every house lighted with a menorah and signs of support for Isaac and his family.
The story is dotted with musical numbers by Isaac’s toy sumo wrestlers and a soundtrack including "Peace on Earth."
Frank J. Dugan Elementary School, Marlboro, pupils (l-r) Asta Fun and Kiran Jassal smile as they watch residents stand up for each other during the Catskill Puppet Theater’s production of The Town That Fought Hate.
"This story is excellent and ties right in with the Holocaust material we’re teaching," fifth-grade teacher Carol Krimko said.
Students had many questions for Potocnik and his partner John Ryan. They asked about the religion of the "bad guy," to which Potocnik responded that he was a "skinhead" and said, "I don’t think anyone that did things like this would be religious."
Mostly, however, the pupils wanted the puppeteers to reveal their secrets.
"How does the horse work?" "How does the glass break?" and "How does the car work?" were some of the questions.
"The car is a Barbie car. We put Christmas lights inside for the headlights and we put a screwdriver through the bottom," Potocnik explained. "But inside the car is not Barbie, it’s Stone Cold Steve Austin!"
"We have a very light, foam rock," Potocnik said, explaining how the glass broke on the windows. "John makes the rock hit the window and at the same time, the sound of glass breaking is played and I hold up the hole behind the glass. Everything happens simultaneously."
The show was interesting, educational and showed that peace is better than hate, several pupils said.
The Catskill Puppet Theater has been touring internationally since 1979.
The running soundtrack of the show features Potocnik’s son as the voice of Isaac, his wife as many of the female voices, himself playing guitar and all three of them in the musical numbers.
"We always do most of the work ourselves," Potocnik said. "We’ve worked a long time to put this together and figure out how to take it on the road."
It is usually a six-month process to create a show from start to finish. Some of the other stories are The Willow Girl, Sister Rain and Brother Sun and The Villain’s Moustache.
"Performing it is the best part," Potocnik said. "It all comes together; you see the looks in the kids’ faces, and that’s why we like doing what we do."
For more information about the Catskill Puppet Theater, visit the Internet Web site www.catskillpuppettheater.baka.com.