When A Thought Became A Vision and A Vision Became Reality

Ten months ago I was introduced to puppetry and subsequently shadow puppetry. Over the course of time, I found myself greatly enjoying puppetry and the whimsical aspects of its nature. When done well it can captivate an audience of any age and communicate thoughts and ideas in such a way that people sometimes cannot. Five months ago I was asked to explore shadow puppetry. I was not unwillingly, but I was taken aback. I was interested in it, but I didn’t think it was something I could accomplish while here in Ireland. I spent a month or so researching and collecting ideas about shadow puppetry then began to experiment creating my own. The process was a bit rushed as I was trying to have the show prepared by Easter. After Easter though is when I really began to develop the final production. I recreated or added on to nearly all 50 plus cardboard puppets. I should have timed myself to see how many hours were spent on this project, but I would guess well over 70 hours.

After all the puppets, screen, and frame were complete, a team of a few other people and myself recorded the story and added sound effects. What is great is that even if the shadows turned out to be dull, the story sounds like a reader’s theatre! Once the recording was ready, we practiced behind the screen until the story was fluid. I am incredibly proud of all that we accomplished just in creating this and so thankful to everyone who encouraged and supported me along the way. What is even more amazing is how God is using it to reach into the little hearts and minds of all the children who have seen it this month and who will see it in the coming weeks. What a beautiful thing to be a part of!

Taste of Ireland: The bodhrán (pronounced bow-rawn) is a traditional Irish frame drum made of goatskin and played by holding it in one hand and hitting it with a double-ended beater in the other.