It Must Be Magic
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 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 Mr. Richard B. 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, Mr. 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.
The Elsenpeter Marionettes tradition of puppetry started in Elen, Germany approximately 139 years ago, by Richard's great grandfather. 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 anymore in America because of its technical difficulties.
Each program is specially 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 2-foot tall, hand carved, wooden dolls into living characters with definite personalities.
The Elsenpeter program delights the young and the young-at-heart while stressing the importance of education and reading. Our goal is to give children an outlet for their fantasies while making a lasting impression on them.
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