Cat Marionette used in Baba Yaga show by Molka Reich
date: label: date made
content: 1930s
name: label: maker
content: Reich, Molka
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This cat marionette from the1930s was created and used by female puppeteer, Molka Reich. The cat is made of painted canvas and paper mache and is operated by a wooden airplane control with seven strings. It has a moveable mouth and its body is very flexible.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Molka Reich, originally from New York, moved to Florida and initially was a member of the Federal Writers Project doing research on the culture and development of South Florida. She was a strong believer in puppet shows as education for young children. She became a member of the Federal Theater Project and established a marionette program in South Florida. As supervisor of the Marionette Project, she depended on donations of old cloth and accessories to make the puppets. Molka taught women from the Sewing Project, established for unskilled workers who needed employment, to help make the puppets and scenery.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Created by Roosevelt during the depression, the Federal Theater Project employed jobless theater professionals and made the performing arts available to the vast numbers of citizens who had little money to spend on entertainment. Active from 1935-1939, the Federal Theater Project produced over 2700 plays and was seen by about 30 million children and adults, most of whom had never before seen a play. FTP averaged 100 shows a week in 22 states.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Reich stayed in Florida and continued to travel and perform puppet shows throughout the state. She was especially fond of producing puppet shows for children and was a strong proponent of using puppet shows as an educational tool to teach young children life lessons. During World War II she played to service men and hospitals in addition to Saturday morning performances for children and their parents. After the war she opened two companies, one that featured acting and another for marionettes. Reich moved from Florida to New Jersey in 1956 and performed puppet shows until 1986. A collection of her puppets can be found at George Mason University, in Northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: general subject association
content: Puppetry
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Puppets
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Molka Reich
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1985.0805.01
label: accession number
content: 1985.0805
label: catalog number
content: 1985.0805.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: puppet
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: canvas (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper mache (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 in x 16 in; 25.4 cm x 40.64 cm