Please enjoy our little handmade and homespun Fairy Tale puppet theatre in 7 scenes. This puppet show was created on Nunu’s 7th birthday as her gift to her friends and loved ones.

The Impulse for Snow White and Rose Red Puppet Theatre

Summer 2011. 6 year old Nunu is on her second year of piano lessons. Recently, she has learned 5 pieces of music with her new (since July 2011) private piano teacher, our beloved Mr. Pavel (click here to see link to his website). We enjoyed the idea of giving a gift to all our loved ones on our birthdays. So, we decided to put up a puppet show on her November 2011 birthday (when she will turn 7), where she will provide the piano music in for our puppet show scenes. Similarly, last year we did another performance for her 6th birthday, just without the piano accompaniment. The puppet show was based on the endearing story Apple Cake by Nienke Van Hichtum.

Nunu is very excited to create this puppet show and piano concert for her friends. This enthusiasm carries though her daily piano practice. We hope to include her little pianist friend Anička and perhaps a little violinist friend into our musical ensemble. Much excitement and joyful anticipation! I will post it after the event, for sure!

Fall 2011. I handmade the dolls with natural materials (cotton, wool, silk, animal pelt…). The children, Nunu, Vivi, Anička and Ashley helped make some of the props. Nunu and our 6 year old Czech friend Anička were my puppet show assistants. Nunu was dressed as Snow White while Anička was dressed as Rose Red. Nunu and Anička had been practicing their piano pieces over the months.

November 4, 2011. Nunu’s 7th birthday Puppet Show

Nunu is 7 years old today! The birthday girl her  played Dmitri Shostakovich’s Merry Fairy Tale as the Opening Theme song.

As Nunu played the opening theme song, Anička and Ashley went about in the audience with these medieval banners, beckoning the guests to take a seat.

These banners were designed and handmade by our very artistic Anička, for our puppet theatre.

“There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage.  In front of the cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose-trees, one of which bore white and the other red roses. She had two children who were like the two rose-trees, and one was called Snow-white, the other Rose-red. “

Thank you Angela Hart for the three lovely handmade needle felted pumpkins to mark the fall season!

“They were as good and happy, as busy and cheerful as ever two children in the world were.”

“They often ran about the forest alone and gathered red berries, and no beasts did them any harm, but came close to them trustfully. The little hare would eat a cabbage-leaf out of their hands, the roe grazed by their side, the deer and stag leapt merrily by them.”

” …and the birds sat still upon the boughs, and sang whatever they knew…” (a rehearsal photo)

On the actual day: The children responded to the birds on a stick scene.

When my children were newborns, I was often mystified when they would smile or laugh out of the blue. These moments brought much joy albeit with a sense of mystery. What could a newborn be thinking and amused by? I often wondered. Now that the children are older, I wonder a little less but the profound joy in seeing them think and laugh, remains.

“No mishap overtook them; if they had stayed too late in the forest, and night came on, they laid themselves down near one another upon the moss, and slept until morning came, and their mother knew this and did not worry on their account…”

“Once when they had spent the night in the wood and the dawn had roused them…” For this scene, Anička slowly moves the stars and moons across the puppet table/land. Here is a rehearsal photo. Anička had left for her Nutcracker ballet rehearsal, so Nunu posed for this scene.

“…Once when Snow White and Rose Red had spent the night in the wood and the dawn had roused them, they saw a beautiful child in a shining white dress sitting near their bed. She got up and looked quite kindly at them, but said nothing and went into the forest.”

Anička made the most charming miniature fairy tale book for this scene.

Let’s find out what the widow and her two daughters were reading that winter…

The little writer of our family decided to paginate and organize the huge tome. He forgot to first ask permission of the book binder to do so!

Now they read the story of the Frog Prince (Oh! I love this story!)

…reading “The Frog Prince” (I love those European vintage illustrations!)

they read many many words…

One evening in winter, as the snowflakes were falling outside their cottage, someone knocked the door as if he wished to be let in. Mother said: “Quick, Rose-red, open the door, it must be a traveller who is seeking shelter.” Rose-red went and opened the door, thinking that it was a poor man, but it was not; it was a bear that stretched his broad, black head within the door.

My biggest rewards in doing a puppet show are the children’s rapt expressions and their laugther. Look at the children’s reactions to the scene where Snow White and her sister Rose Red dolled up the big black bear. This image below provided me so much joy and satisfaction, making it all worth it (and more) to put up a puppet show.

Thank you lovely Amalia, our new friend, a photographer from France, for taking the photos of the audience for me!

“When spring had come, the bear said one morning to Snow-white: ’Now I must go away into the forest, and cannot come back for the whole summer.’ I must guard my treasures from the wicked dwarfs.'”

“Snow-white was quite sorry at his departure, and as she unbolted the door for him, and the bear was hurrying out, he caught against the bolt and a piece of his hairy coat was torn off, and it seemed to Snow-white as if she had seen gold shining through it, but she was not sure about it.”

“When they came nearer they saw a dwarf with an old withered face and a snow-white beard a yard long. The end of the beard was caught in a crevice of the tree, and the little fellow was
jumping about like a dog tied to a rope, and did not know what to do.”

“Sometime afterwards Snow-white and Rose-red went to catch a dish of fish. As they came near the brook they saw something like a large grasshopper jumping towards the water, as if it were going to leap in. They ran to it and found it was the dwarf.”

Anička performing Tanetz by Goedicke for the Fishing Hole scene.

Anichka playing Tanetz/Dance by Alexei Goedicke.

Anichka spoke for Rose Red ’Where are you going?’ said Rose-red; ’you surely don’t
want to go into the water?’ ’I am not such a fool!’ cried the dwarf; ’don’t you see
that the accursed fish wants to pull me in?’

“The girls came just in time; they held him fast and tried to free his beard from the line, but all in vain, beard and line were entangled fast together.”

“As they crossed the heath again on their way home they surprised the dwarf, who had emptied out his bag of precious stones in a clean spot, and had not thought that anyone would come there so late. The evening sun shone upon the brilliant stones; they glittered and sparkled with all colors so beautifully that the children stood still and stared at them.”

“Then in the dread of his heart he cried: ’Dear Mr Bear, spare me, I will give you all my treasures; look, the beautiful jewels lying there! Grant me my life; what do you want with such a slender little fellow as I? You would not feel me between your teeth. Come, take these two wicked girls, they are tender morsels for you, fat as young quails; for mercy’s sake eat them!’

“The girls had run away, but the bear called to them: ’Snow-white and Rose-red, do not be afraid; wait, I will come with you.’”
“Then they recognized his voice and waited, and when he came up to them suddenly his
bearskin fell off, and he stood there a handsome man, clothed all in gold.”

“I am a king’s son,’ he said, ’and I was bewitched by that wicked dwarf, who had stolen my treasures; I have had to run about the forest as a savage bear until I was freed by his death. Now he has got his well-deserved punishment.

“It was amusing for me to see that when I first brought out the “bearskin” (real rabbit fur pelt) for the prince, the children in the front row simply could not help themselves and instinctively reached out to touch the material. I secretly scooted it forward so the children could feel the “bear’s soft hide”.

My two very capable assistant puppeteers: 7 year old Nunu and 6 year old Anichka.

Snow White married the bear prince and Rose Red married her brother.

Nunu played Dmitri Shostakovich‘s jaunty “March” for the finale.

Finale wedding scene. The angel child in white came to the wedding too.

Being the crown prince, the wedding was a big affair. Everyone in the kingdom was invited. The couples, their widowed mother, their pet dove, the woodland animals, owls of the night, the fish in the pond and all the merfolk denizons beneath, even the angel child of the woods came to give her blessings.

Close up view of the finale.

Right after the puppet show, we invited the children to participate in the “Acorn Candle Boat” birthday wishes at the tub of water:

Pamela handmade the loveliest little acorn candle boats specially for the children! Click below to shop at her beautiful etsy.com store PrettyDreamer ! Remember to click lots of hearts and tell your friends about her store!

PrettyDreamer’s Store

Lighting “Acorn Birthday Wish Candle Boats”. Jadyn had requested Hannah to light her birthday acorn cap boat.

First, Nunu lit a candle and made a wish for her 7th birthday. Then, Jadyn lit a candle and made a wish for her 7th year. Afterwards, each birthday girl invited a friend to light a birthday acorn boat for her until each girl has 7 boats floating in the water. The wishes they received including multiple vacations, a new ballet leotard and of course, a pony for Jadyn! Then the mommies stirred the tub with sticks and the girls chased around and blew off the candles. Yes, we have earth (muddy shoes), wind, fire and water, the basic elements today. Check.

Boy, that was fun! After that, we sang Happy Birthday and ate the prettiest birthday cake before the children went out and played on the wet grass (for the thunderstorm had passed)

The two birthday girls handed out acorn candle boats for their guests.

The children were excited to go home and light the candles in little dishes of water at their candlelit dinners at home!

PrettyDreamer

Click here to view guest photos.

Click on this picture below to see the process that was put into crafting this puppet show.

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