ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The summer reading program might be concluded for this year, but Liberal Memorial Library still has entertainment on its calendar for the community to enjoy.
Brett Crandall will be bringing his puppet show version of ‘Robin Hood’ to Liberal Memorial Library Tuesday, Aug. 6, with the show starting at 2 p.m. As Crandall tells it, he has always been a fan of telling stories.
“I’m originally from Deerfield and did school plays while I was growing up, and then I eventually went to acting school at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. It was certainly a grind and took a lot of hustle getting a career going in New York until I finally got a children’s theatre gig, which ended up inspiring me to start thinking this was where I was meant to be, because there are fewer people in the children’s theatre market, particularly in the smaller rural areas,” Crandall said. “I’d also written some work, and my first play produced while I was in New York was a take on ‘Sesame Street’ characters as real people, and that was my first foray into puppetry and learning about all of that. I was working on a production of ‘Pinocchio,’ during which I played a variety of characters, and the Blue Fairy puppet was very old-fashioned and maybe a little frightening to the audience members. I then took it upon myself to make my own puppet, and that sparked the idea of being able to tell more stories in more places if I were to have all my characters in one suitcase/bin with me, and I could play them all. Puppetry is an absolutely wonderful multi-disciplinary art form where you’re not just the writer but also the cast and the costume/design department and everyone else typically involved in a production. It’s taken a lot of my skills put together to create what I have, and it’s been wonderful to be able to do this throughout the years so far.”
Near the beginning, however, Crandall said he was unsure of a career in entertainment.
“As someone originally from the area, I certainly had dreams of being an actor when I was growing up, but I didn’t really know how to marry together those ideas of being close to family but also pursuing a career in entertainment,” Crandall said. “There’s almost a guerrilla style of my staging the show wherever I can and that novelty of having a live puppet show, so it’s a very special feeling seeing the audience members’ eyes light up when they see one puppet or another. It’s also great seeing families come to my shows and just have a good time and a good laugh.”
Crandall said another one of his goals is to increase accessibility to theatre productions.
“I’m trying to be a good example of how to tell your own story while enlisting some help from the audience and letting theatre be as accessible as possible, particularly for children, which is why I do a lot of shows at libraries,” Crandall said. “I try to line up my shows with the summer reading program theme, which was ‘Adventure Begins at Your Library’ for this year, and that’s why ‘Robin Hood’ fit so well. I’d done this show some years ago on the east coast, but there were some differences with how we staged it there. There will be a lot of participatory opportunities for the younger audience members to be volunteers and maybe cut their teeth onstage for the first time either as a member of the Merry Men or one of the other supporting characters as the show goes on.”
Crandall said he is very excited to be bringing his show to Liberal.
“The Liberal show is part of my summer closeout for this production of ‘Robin Hood.’ I’ve had a wonderful summer thus far enlisting as many children as possible as Merry Men recruits and other characters, and it’s been great having multiple chances to get children on their feet and into theatre,” Crandall said. “I also feel ‘Robin Hood’ is kind of timely at the moment, and we’re portraying it in way that’s not quite so partisan, but it’s a nice, fun and palatable way to absorb the story for the entire audience. I would encourage everyone to come and see the show and show that support for the performing arts so children can see that interest and realize this could be a potential career path for them. I want to do my part in inspiring more theatre fans, particularly younger audience members. The show is a great introduction to the ‘Robin Hood’ story. I think everyone kind of assumes everyone else knows the ‘Robin Hood’ story, but we all have to learn it from somewhere, and why not do that at the library as a play with puppets? It’s great interacting with the audience and hearing their reactions to certain parts of the show, and that’s one of my favorite parts of performing the show everywhere I go.”
Overall, Crandall said, the show should be a fun time for everyone who comes out.
“I’m really excited to be bringing my show to Liberal Memorial Library next month, it’ll be a very fun time, and everyone who comes should have a good laugh or two,” Crandall said. “And in addition to the show, I’ve also started working on a film production in the area with a horror movie featuring puppetry that will start up in early 2025, which should also be a good time. People can also find me on social media or visit my Web site, brettcrandallstudios.com to see what else I’ll be up to.”
