The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-12-22

sify girl fcho manages the
company.--Photo by Wayne
Aibee, Mcbride studio.
Some Of the puppets beiotc.
Photo By Price & Carter,
Star staff photographers.
nv DOROTHY FAY GOULD
..Businaes dnnf well. never for
u.s. tho apuppetsers" cry. This Ia
only cur second reAson. Of courre.
but wa gs,c about four perform
anc~s a weak now
No spoke Mis- Ruth Kerr ~ tho
Grace Barnos rupp~t company.
seattie'n youngest and most IN.
usual and most heart touching bud.
ness concern 1, mad. up OF five
young People. barely 20. Who started
In without capital. only brains ana
energy. 20 make their fortune. Ruth
Kerr recently earned her she~pskin
at the university. From the time
she wrn ~ she Interested h~r-~lf In
drAmatics. Thete are those who stu
remember the Historical Pageant Of
Seattle" given In 1871. By students
AZ tho broadway high school. and
which nearly 1000 parents attended.
Ruth Kerr was the author Of the
pageant. Now abe II Manager Of the
Grace Barnes puppvta. and dram.
Her first venture was ~pet-r TAB.
bit" and now sbe has added 10 the
repertoire the 'pupp~t Circus and
Aladdin and tho Magic Lamp She
IL ssiil composing = dragon story for
next years program.
Grace barnes took the first ccrr>s
IN puppets ever given by the Maursos
Brownies in 1890. when they gave
"Ailc. In Wonderland" AZ the old
Cornish school. Miss narne- has
also studied at the Columbia School
~ Oppression. The Brownies first
became interested I'm puppets several
years ago In their work nj the Chi
cago Little theatre and later when
Tony 4arg. the now famous New
York puppeteer. had Mrs Browne
manage his first production Of The
Rose and tho Ring" She suii re.
ceiv~s n ROYALTY On this. Mrs.
browne originated the idea Of having
the purreterrr both work the pup.
pets and speak the lines fer them.
This idea saves half the working
fore. usually required.
The Tony sarr puppets are play.
ing In both Spokane and Portland
this senson.
The first puppets Mrs. Browne ex.
p~rsmented with were too small, and
when worn ont were replaced by new
ones 20 inches high. Tony sarr
went n step further and designed hts
doll. with caricatured features be-
cause the big notes and eycs nvs
character 10 the face and carry
better
For three seasons IRE Brownies
have riven Glasses I'm this fascinas.
ing art Of the msrionette theatre and
this little eeatile company Ia the dl.
rect result
Richard Odiin dc~igns the costumes
and scenery for these PLAYS, and
very charming and original they are
Attic not yet 20 and looking younger
than he IL. he has worked with the
Brownies from the start. He did the
settings for that first show. which
was ono of the ioveliest ever given.
lie helped with the staging OF sew.
-ral rcrertory plays the Brownies put
on. and this summer was art direc.
tor for tho rtudents' pantomIme
from the school OF the theatre. One
performance was given at tho Sunset
club.
Those who saw AFRO On Capo- NJ
the Cornish thts summer will recall
tho altogether delightful costumes
Mr., odlin designed for that. lie
carved every head for these puppets
and 0es or batiks many OF their
costumes.
lie " natural irni,ator and an
Interesting Young artist That he
will leave eventually for New York
" one OF the "of courscs'' In the
program for tho future. Nyiene
Prewitt and Alberta Langley are two
puppeteers who pull tho strings that
mako the dolls perform IN this en-.
crgetic. youthful corporation.
w s'fss NHFH wv
were starting out. We didn't make
much" one Of them admitted. ut
was all we could do to buy our light.
ing equipment and mako our dolls
and clothe them ont OF our proceeds.
or course all OF US work half time
doing advertising or something, but
soon we can devote all our time to
our company. We made 1890 this
last summer
We'll, that must have been nicer
-Oh. we didn't spend It." she re.
marked. mo, indeed; why. that paid
for the whole company TO take three
months work with the Brownes.-
Talk about putting the On pitaI back
into the firm! And Of course II your
capital Is in your head you have 10
keep 1t rcplcnished. Just now the
pupnets are on tour. oh. yes, a won.
derfnl tour to 10 cities In tho North.
west: Anacortes. Everett. Olympia,
Sedro-Woollcy, Yakima. Ellensburg.
and Portland. etc. They ara