Puppet Master Bernie Beauchamp enters The DM Zone for an interview with host Dianemarie Collins. We have known Bernie for many years having worked with him both as a contractor and also as a performer. His marionettes have provided us with great entertainment for major festivals like the Cinco de Mayo celebration for Reno, Nevada which attracted over 120,000 visitors and more!
Bernie Beauchamp has a number of great characters that he brings to life with his marionettes. Using tracks for music and vocals, Bernie can make his puppets dance, sing, act and so much more! This is becoming a lost art, so if you get the chance to see Bernie in the Reno/Lake Tahoe region or even catch him on a national tour, he is well worth your time. He is a Puppet Master.
#marionette #puppet #puppetmaster #BernieBeauchamp #puppeteer #howdydoody #pinocchio #TheDMZone #DianemarieCollins @DMCollins
About Marionettes (from Wikipedia)
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette’s puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms of theatres or entertainment venues. They have also been used in films and on television. The attachment of the strings varies according to its character or purpose.
With the rise in popularity of television and film, marionettes found a rise in popularity especially in children’s programming. The story of Pinocchio and its Disney adaptation (Pinocchio), which was released in 1940, is a story about a marionette. In 1947, Howdy Doody introduced marionettes to children’s television, with Howdy Doody (the main character) being a marionette, as well as some other characters.
Puppetry is an ancient form of performance. Some historians claim that they predate actors in theatre. There is evidence that they were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread, and other string-controlled objects. Wire-controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have been found in Egyptian tombs. Marionette puppetry was used to display rituals and ceremonies using these string-operated figurines back in ancient times and is used today.
