Fun has strings attached: Elsenpeter marionettes perform at Du Quoin library

Richard B. Elsenpeter is a strong believer in fantasy. Without fantasy, he feels children miss a vital part of their development. This is the basis behind his life-time love for puppetry.

The Elsenpeter Marionettes performed Thursday at Du Quoin City Hall, sponsored by the Du Quoin Public Library through John A. Logan College.

"The fantasy world is as necessary to the development of the mind as crawling is to walking. If a child is denied the freedom to pursue a fantasy, he is deprived," Mr. Elsenpeter said. "It serves a very important purpose."

This is the philosophy behind the Elsenpeter Marionettes. Mr. Elsenpeter heads Elsenpeter Productions (a company which has entertainers that tour the country each year). His goal is to give children an outlet for their fantasies while making a lasting impression on them.

The Elsenpeter Marionettes, headed by Elsenpeter, is a professional full-time performing Marionette company who has entertained millions of school children in live shows for over 139 years. Besides performing more than 200 plus programs nationally each year, Elsenpeter will write, produce, create and carve an entirely new program annually. The Elsenpeter Marionettes specialize in children's classics and adapt stories with which most children are familiar. Thursday's performance was "Hansel & Gretel."

The Elsenpeter Marionettes tradition of puppetry started in Elen, Germany approximately 139 years ago, by Richard's great grand father. Their traditional form of puppetry has been handed down through four generations. Richard describes his form of puppetry as the "old world style of puppetry." It's very nostalgic and is rarely seen any more in America because of its technical difficulties.

Each program is especially written for the Marionettes theatre. Every detail has been carefully designed to achieve a perfect dramatic production in miniature. Richard's skillful manipulation of the marionettes transforms the two foot tall, hand carved, wooden dolls into living characters with definite personalities.

Following the production he spent a great deal of time talking to the 70 in attendance about his art and the handling of marionettes.