We want to acknowledge our sincere appreciation for Mel Biske’s involvement in this interview and his contributions to fostering, nurturing and promoting a love of puppetry with so many individuals who have come to know him, most notably, Marc Dunworth for whom this foundation is named.

Why do you do what you do?

In my early years of life, I recall a fascination of playing with puppets. At the age of eight my family joined a local cub scout pack, # 3442. Dad, soon after volunteered to be the Cub Master and Mom became a Den Mother. When I moved up to the rank of Bear Cub, one of our activities was to produce a short puppet play to present at Family Pack night. Our local public library provided us with books on how to make puppets, build a simple stage and offered suggestions for plays. It was a success! We were invited to perform at other pack nights and we were hooked on puppetry. My interest in puppetry grew, mainly because that during my elementary school period our principal booked the Cole Marionettes every year. I had seen their new annual production from kindergarten on. It was when I was in fifth grade that I was not only amazed at the artistry, but I wanted to see how it was done. I then realized that this was their job and they made a living doing puppet shows! Puppetry became a part of my life. In 1961 LaVerne and I became charter members of the Chicagoland Puppetry Guild, along with George and Lucille Cole of the Cole Marionettes. They were my first inspiration and our mentors then became our friends. A story very similar to that young fifth grader Marc, that we met at St. Syms school in Chicago.

Because of the Melikin’s early influence, Marc took his skills to college and beyond. A fine arts degree with a puppetry minor and ultimately his own cast of marionette characters and variety show.

Pictured is a creation he made for the Woyzeck play at Columbia college and with

Lance the Reluctant Lion

What’s something people get wrong about your profession?

Don’t get me started. Alright, get me started! In the Spring 1967, when the Melikin Puppet Theatre National Touring Company launched our career, we were billed as, “An introduction to live theatre for young audiences, through the art of Puppetry”. Our venues sought were elementary schools, Kg-8, and public libraries. Both established supervised institutions of education and literature. We set off on our journey starting with two familiar stories, Hansel and Gretel and Rumpelstiltskin. Once we were established and managing re-bookings, we set out creating a series of classic stories such as, Rip Van Winkle, Christmas Carol and The Sword in the Stone among other classics. We then turned to creating productions based on current school curriculum. All our productions were professionally cast with relatives and well-known friends in the voice-over field of acting. Recording sessions were booked in Chicago Downtown studios under the supervision of sound engineers. LaVerne and I created all the puppets, props and scenery, built the stages, set up a lighting and sound system, transported the show in an E-150 Ford Van etc., etc., etc. ….and then, after a performance at the Harold Washington Library, downtown Chicago, a father approached us after the show while we’re striking the set and commented,” Boy, you’ve got a great job here, you perform for 50 minutes and get paid”. Obviously unaware of any of the variety of talents and hours of preparations to present a fifty-minute show.

It is a fact, it has been proven in history, that puppets have been found in Egyptian writings and tombs at least 3000 years ago. At the present time in puppet history, there exists a non-profit organization, The Puppeteers of America, founded in 1937, It consists of eight regions across the United States with each region listing numerous local guilds. The Chicagoland Puppet Guild has a current membership of 32, professional, hobbyists, and puppetry supporters. During the last twelve days of January, 2022, Chicago puppeteer, Blair Thomas, the founder and Artistic Director of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival for the fourth year (canceled last year due to COVID) presented twenty public professional performances at more than a dozen locations. In a January 19, 2022 edition of the Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg, while promoting the festival stated, “I’ve always felt an affinity to puppets. When the festival began in 2015, I threw “Puppetry Week” on my blog, and tried to explain the appeal: This odd subcellar of culture, part folk art, part vaudeville, also has appeal to me. There is a kinship between journalism and puppetry. Both require dedicated craftsman, albeit in dwindling numbers practicing a profession that neither thrives nor vanishes, but somehow remains perpetually defunct.” The Cole Marionettes, starting in 1934 and the Melikin Puppet Theatre, starting in 1967, can both account for over one hundred years of presenting memorable, professional performances. Nationwide there are younger, energetic puppeteers entering the ranks. Many libraries subscribe to the P of A quarterly publication, the Puppetry Journal and is available for updates in the world of puppetry. The P of A also maintains a web site. Speaking of the world of puppetry, there is an international organization called UNIMA, Union International de la Marionette, founded in 1929. Both organizations are in the “business” of promoting the art of puppetry worldwide. What’s something people get wrong about my profession? They tell me it’s a dying art while overlooking the history of the art form and how the present generation learns from past generations of puppeteers while they are developing their own interpretations while satisfying their artistic capabilities.

Who/what has influenced you and your work?

My who’s, who in my world of influence will be mentioned first. As already noted, George and Lucille Cole for presenting a first experience at what professional puppeteers provide: a lasting memory and an eventual supportive friendship. Admiration of puppeteer Burr Tillstrom of Kukla Fran and Ollie fame on early TV and introducing the art of bringing inanimate objects, puppets, to a level of entertainment with humans (Fran Allison) for total family enjoyment. {Interesting side note – Lucille Cole shared a memory with me about Burr. On occasion, when Burr was a young teen-ager, he would accompany them in their car for a performance. He entertained the Coles with a clown hand puppet he named Kukla.} George Latshaw, first professional hand puppeteer I had the pleasure of attending his performance at the Conrad Hilton in Chicago, in about 1961. I went back stage to meet him, mentioned my aspirations of considering entering the field and he invited me to watch his following performance from back stage, always an educational experience. George authored a book, The Theatre Student PUPPETRY The Ultimate Disguise, published in 1978. When the Melikin Puppets were invited to perform at regional or national festivals, George would always stop by for a visit. I am proud to have a first edition copy signed by George and mentioning by name, puppet images I had created. Dick Myers, hand and rod puppeteer extraordinaire. I followed his performances at national festivals. One year, I believe it was at the University of Michigan, we shared the same stage on the same bill. I watched him set up (with permission) and strike. He then watched us set up (with permission) and strike as well. He sent us a letter with a one-line review of our performance of Dicken’s Christmas Carol. His stage design inspired me to adapt to his color for a scrim plus a traditional theatrical setting for theater mini spots, creating a “stage white” with an assortment of gels placed over the lens with a control board for varied lighting effects. His sign off on mailed letters always included his original simple cartoon of a young boy holding a red balloon lowered because a bird was sitting on top. Of course, there were more influences in the profession as well as in our personal life.

Now, as to what has influenced my work? Let me begin with the obvious. Mind you when we began creating puppets, props and scenery for new productions, we did much of our script writing a year ahead to maintain a new production for sponsors who booked us every year. With two shows in the running at the start of 1967, it gave us a head start. Instead of sew-on hook and eyes for the stage drapes, we could now use Velcro! Instead of using strong glue or nails and screws for props, we could now use a hot Glue Gun! Paper mâché for puppet heads would not last. Thanks for work shops at guild meeting and festivals we learned how to sculpt clay puppet heads, make plaster casts and pour Liquid Latex in the mold eventually producing a long-lasting puppet head. Many of our early productions were of the ordinary hand puppet style. It was later noted by a few sponsors how they enjoyed our shows but for larger size audiences the puppets should be larger. Jim Henson had recently begun his career. At a national festival he presented a workshop on how to create larger puppets with polyurethane foam! Our first creation was Mr. Aesop himself with a cast of larger puppets, easier to manipulate and create expressions. With this new and improved method, we were anxious recreate two of our completed productions, The Sword in the Stone and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Why is puppetry important in our society?

This a heavy subject to define in just a few words in this interview, but I’ll try. I appreciate the lead example in the question, singling out “puppetry” followed by art, etc... hopefully I can work with that incentive. Many of the arts i.e., music, literature, history, (again etc. etc.) are involved in the profession of puppetry. All the arts involve creativity through imagination and the desire to express the results. Fortunately, the choice of exploring a specific art form lies within recognizing an interest that is inborn with individuals

. Good parenting followed by recognition of artistic ambitions by teachers and instructors at all levels of education will assist willing individuals to succeed in a chosen field in the arts. Not all people are destined to enter into a full lifetime involvement in some form of the arts, but will be satisfied with a position in the work a day world and appreciate and enjoy the arts and all the etcetera’s available to them. I took a few minutes to review some of my responses in this interview and noticed examples of how the specific involvement I have in the art of puppetry came to be and how my experiences with others in society have contributed to the art of puppetry.

What did you love about your job?

It is with deep gratitude that I can acknowledge that my “job” was then, and now remembered, truly as a labor of love. Puppetry has always been a part of my life since I can remember. I believe the love evolves into a challenge; it generates the imagination leading to a step-by-step journey of assorted challenges ending up as a complete work of art. I enjoyed each phase of producing a finished production ready for rehearsal. In the mid 1960’s while I was reviving the interest in puppetry, LaVerne got caught up in the world of puppetry with me. She was a crafter as well as a seamstress. She made many of her own dresses. Her aunt was a professional dressmaker and together they made her wedding dress. It was no problem for her to sew puppet costumes. That worked out very well because I could never learn how to use a sewing machine.

What did you dislike about your job?

Sewing.

What memorable responses have you had to your work?

Many of our memorable responses came in the form of a sponsor who would return to the performing area after the show when we are packed up and ready to move on, we are thanked for a wonderful performance and asks, what do you have planned for next year? We’d like to set a date. We were frequently contacted by email or messages sent through our web site by sponsors, usually by school principals or librarians. We received an email from a Kindergarten teacher from a Chicago public school explaining she had applied for a grant for a professional company to perform for her class and received the necessary funding and would like to book the Melikin Puppets to perform our Fractured Fairy Tales production. We replied we would be delighted to perform for her class. We also asked how she heard about the Melikin Puppets. She explained that while she was in kindergarten at the school where she is now teaching, she remembered seeing the Melikin Puppets perform. We also suggested to her to invite grades one and two to the performance. She did and three years later we did a repeat performance. Edgebrook Public Library in Northwest Chicago booked our double bill Christmas show, The Shoemaker and the Elves and The Night before Christmas, the first Wednesday of December, 3rd 2003. We had a full house and the audience was very responsive. We booked the same show, the second Wednesday, the following year on December 2nd 2004. We mentioned to Jenny, the children’s librarian, that we had other shows as well for Christmas. No, we want the same show, she replied. This first Wednesday of December was locked in and the last performance was booked and performed on December 5th 2018.

What is your dream project?

I have two. One of the projects can be completed during the Summer this year. Over the years of producing shows we would rehearse them, then video the production with sound and lighting cues twice. Once from the audience point of view with stage with curtains on and once from behind the stage to record the show without curtains to follow the blocking positions for the puppeteers. We also recorded the backstage layout for the positioning of the puppets and props. The production we would like to video is, Dickens Christmas Carol. It was produced in 1969 and toured that year from late November through the end of December. We were invited to perform for the P of A Festival in St. Louis at Webster College that summer. I suggested to the performance committee chairman that many of the performing companies have Christmas programs in their repertoire but are never seen at festivals. When I mentioned our production of Christmas Carol to be on the program for an afternoon performance it would have to be discussed with the board. I believe Daniel Lord was the president at that time and he was familiar with our work. We performed and it was well reviewed. We did not have a video camera at the time and it was never recorded. We still have the complete production available. THIS SUMMER!

Mel Biske turns 90 this month and we’re delighted to be part of the celebration!

Mel Biske and the MELIKIN PUPPETS