PUNSCHI
Originally created by Sandglass’ Co-Founder, Ines Zeller Bass, now performed by her daughters, Jana Zeller and Shoshana Bass, Punschi is an enchanting tradition of imaginative puppetry in the tradition of German fairground entertainment! Featuring a selection of hand puppet acts, a miniature circus, general buffoonery and music, presented by these second generation international puppeteers. Punschi is an abbreviation for “Puppen Theater unter’m Schirm” or “puppet theater under the umbrella”, a fitting title as the show is performed under a giant sun umbrella. The show encourages audience participation and response. The performance can be presented as a solo (hand puppets only) or a duet (including the miniature flea circus).
Length of Show: 50 minutes
Recommended audience: ages 4 and up
KASPER AND THE COW features beloved hand puppet hero of Germany, who is known for his stocking cap and audience-engaging humor. Kasper packs to go on a journey, but before he can leave, a cow steals his suitcase. With the help of his best friend, the endearing giant Augustin, Kasper has to go on a rollicking chase to reclaim his suitcase from the cow.
(SOLO VERSION ONLY) KASPER AND THE SURPRISE is another hand puppet show featuring Kasper and Augustin. When the giant Augustin wins a tiny airplane, his buddy Kasper accidentally flies off with it. Kids delight in this dizzying, call-and-response adventure!
(DUO VERSION ONLY) FRITZI’S FLEA CIRCUS welcomes audiences into a delightful world of circus feats, presented by a tiny flea with a big personality. In this 20 minute show, you will experience Fritzi as the strong man, the high diver and even watch as he is shot out of a cannon into the audience. This miniature world invites the power of imagination, play and ear wiggling, scalp tickling, heart-warming fun.
The History of Punschi
This collection of shows is derived from the old fairground traditions of German Puppet Theater, and was originally created by Ines Zeller Bass in Munich, Germany. Kasper became a children's entertainment hero in the 1900s and the flea circus holds its roots in the traditional entertainment of European courts, and can still be enjoyed at the October Fest in Munich. Ines grew up surrounded by these cultural staples and was captured by the magical innocence of this form. Punschi made its first appearance in the early 1980s at a puppet festival in Munich, where Ines improvised her stage by stringing a rope and covering it with a dirty tarp. She used the traditional characters and created original stories. From there she played in markets and parks, political rallies, kindergartens and her children's birthday parties under her huge sun umbrella. The piece began touring internationally in 1983.
Kasper has always held a rapport with his audiences all over the world and the interactive nature of the tradition includes jokes for both children and adults, and plenty of opportunity to call out to the characters on stage, and help move the story forward.
Ines' daughters, Jana and Shoshana, grew up traveling around with these shows, helping to set up, and playing with the puppets backstage. In 2013 Ines retired from performing her family shows and handed the pieces, sets and the puppets over to her two daughters. Jana and Shoshana have combined the shows and filled them with musical interludes, snappy banter and a blessing honoring their mother and the living on of a tradition.