2nd Choice: Kalib and the Water Spirits

I decided to explore my new found interest in puppetry and storytelling by creating a puppet show that fit entirely into a suitcase. The element of the suitcase was very important because of it's portability–I can take the story anywhere, bring the creativity wherever I go. It includes a stage, two scenes, four marionette puppets, and a few props. The two scenes consist of ocean waves and another of a small shack with a drying rack of fish next to it. The four puppets include the young boy Kalib, the Spirit of the Seas, the Spirit of the Lakes, and the Spirit of the Rivers. The theater and scenes are crafted out of cardboard, fabric, popsicle sticks, and a suitcase. The puppets’ heads and hands are crafted out of Sculpey and then painted with acrylics, and their bodies are made out of an assortment of fabrics. Once the puppets were assembled, I used popsicle sticks and fishing line to make them marionettes. The story behind the puppets involves the water spirits searching out a human ally who will show the rest of humanity the harm they cause when they pollute the water of the world and take it for granted. Kalib’s mission is to travel the earth, teaching people about the consequences of their actions and show them how to conserve and recycle. I chose to write a story that addressed an environmental issue of our time because we spent some class time discussing these issues and how artists can present them in a new light. My decision to use basic materials like cardboard and popsicle sticks was to prove that not much is needed to create a whole other world, even if it is just one that fits into a suitcase. Lots of physical measuring and technical problems had to be addressed as well, like how to get everything to fit properly without being squished.
I wanted this piece to appeal to both children and adults, because sometimes adults need to be pulled away from the pressures of life and see things from a different perspective. The story is very important because the moral involved affects our world today, though I do admit that I feel as if I could have spent more time on the story and the actual performance but time simply ran out as far as the due date.