SLFS Review – STRINGS OF IMAGINATION

STRINGS OF IMAGINATION screens as part of The St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase on Monday, July 9th at 5:00pm at the Tivoli Theatre, 6350 Delmar Blvd.

A few years ago Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s feature length action parody TEAM AMERICA used a form of puppetry quite different than Jim Henson’s popular Muppet gang. The characters were string marionnettes similar to the work of the Anderson studios in England that specialized in children’s’ TV adventure shows such as Supercar and Thunderbirds. But string puppets did not begin with these 60’s TV staples. Marionnette shows go back centuries. The new documentary STRINGS OF IMAGINATION focuses on the modern performers and craftspeople of Bob Kramer’s Marionnettes who work out of their own theatre and workshop in St. Louis. STRINGS devotes much of its running time to interviews with namesake Kramer and his partner Dug Feltch who talk about the history and goal of the company. Intercut are bits of an actual performance attended by several engrossed families ( the little ones are quite mesmerized ). Most of the act involves the puppets singing and dancing to recordings of musical theater standards and selections from the great American songbook. The soft-spoken gentlemen don’t go in for the rowdy slapstick of many modern performers, so their presentations harken back to theatrical traditions. We also get to see them create a string performer from sketch to stage-ready finish. STRINGS OF IMAGINATION is a nostalgic journey through an art form that still entertains children of all ages.