December 4, 2025 • 16 mins
Small Biz Shout Out featuring Franklin Haynes Marionettes—a puppet company keeping a rare and beautiful art form alive for over 30 years.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And sync in sync.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Yes, yes, I see what Elmer was doing there.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Because the video had them as marionettes.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I love. What I feel like is a lost art.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
And when we heard about Haines Marionettes through a news
and bruise, I was anxious to have them in studio
for our small business shout out. And that is exactly
who we have here today. Franklin Haines has been in
this job, this business, this game.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
For forty years.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Local guy from Newport Beach and he is the guy
behind Haines Marionettes. You can find him ha yn Ees
Marionettes at Hainesmaronettes dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Franklin, thanks for coming in.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Yeah, thank you were huge fans of you guys, totally. Yeah,
we love your show. And yeah, forty years. I feel
like I'm an old man. It's crazy, but yeah, forty years.
And I think what has made us stand for so
long is just the quality of our shows and the passion.
(01:04):
You know that all of my puppeteers put in behind
these shows are handcrafted marionettes. And you're right, it is
a lost art. And I heard before another way of
putting it. It's an obscure art. It's really hard to find.
You can find it, so it's not completely lost. But
the exciting part is, you know, making kids happy and
(01:25):
doing the marionettes. And we have like a catalog of
twelve different shows, so it really kind of keeps us going.
We keep them current. Our show right now is called
Santa's New Sleigh and it's based kind of off the
idea of Tesla. You know, Sam is going high.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Tech, getting funny.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
He gets rid of his reindeer, he can go faster.
All the kids get more presents this year. Well, lo
and behold, it breaks down. He has to push it
in the middle of the show.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Let me guess who comes to the rescue.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Yeah, yeah, is it Rudeolph.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It's his baby.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
It's his baby, baby Rudy. Oh okay. I was like,
Santa has a baby.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Well, a lot of people don't know this, but Rudolph.
How's a wife, Rita. Yeah, they have a new baby,
baby Rudy. What and he is now pulling Santa's New Sleigh.
Rudolph's baby is baby Rudy.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Oh my gosh, this is exciting.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Yeah, baby Rudy is a cutie.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Patuities. Yeah, this is not it's not a joke to
say that this is an art form. Especially in the
twentieth century, this became a massive Were there people that
you saw as a kid that Marionette's puppeteers that you
saw as a kid that made you want to get
into this?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Yeah, absolutely. When I grew up here in southern California
and some puppeteers came to our school did an assembly,
and I was mitten, and I wish I could find
out who these guys were. They were second or third
generation puppeteers from Italy, and they did this school assembly
and I just got bit by the puppet bug. And
my mom saw that in me as a little kid
(02:52):
and took me to Bob Baker Marionette. I'm gonna give
a shout out to a big fan. One of the
more memorable things in my career was actually doing a
party for him personally as a puppeteer.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So it's like, were you so nervous?
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Yeah, totally, totally yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
But that was said after.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Oh he enjoyed it, you know he.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I think all entertainers, especially puppeteers, were kids at heart,
and so you know, it just comes right out with
him and all of us. Just you see that young
the child in all of us.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
How do you come up with the ideas for the
shows and how often do they change?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Well, right now we have a catalog of twelve shows.
Like I mentioned, you can find out more about it
at puppet shows dot com at my website Puppet Shows.
I've been around for a while and you know, just
keeping up with current events and just things like with
this whole you know, electric cars and Tesla tho oh,
it'd be really cool to have a show, and you know,
(03:48):
lean it more that way. So you know, just like
any performing artists, sometimes they just pop into your head.
There's really no rhyme or reason.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
James is here as well. Your dad was involved for
a long time, right.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
Yeah, he's been doing puppet shows ever since I was born.
I'm not going to go into the euro was born,
none of that. We don't need to talk about that.
But I grew up with the puppets that Frank made.
I remember being a kid in the garage watching my
dad practice these shows. So I've grown up with these
puppets over the years. Some of them are even older
(04:21):
than I am, which, mind you, we're not going to mention.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And when I was like twenty twenty one.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
Frank he asked me, He's like, hey, would he like
to you know, you know, if I were to teach
you how to perform with marnettes, would you be interested?
And I said, okay, I've been doing children's entertainment a
long time, Ever since I was fifteen. I first started
getting into the you know, like Elmo costumes, I do
magic clown shows. And when and I grew up with Frank,
(04:51):
you know, as as a kid, he would come over
to our house for barbecues and everything. So when he
introduced me to the craft and he pulled some strings
for me, I was like, okay, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
That's a hard thing to just pick up and learn. Though,
like wearing the almost suit like it it's a it's
a it's a job itself to learn how to do
that well, you know, and put on suits like that.
But to be a puppet teo that's like specialized, I
would assume, and a hard thing to just pick up.
How long did it take you to get the skill
sharp enough to where you could do shows?
Speaker 5 (05:24):
I want to say a little bit over a year.
The biggest issue was things just getting tangled, because when
it comes to puppets, especially somewhere Mary nuts, are very
intricate and you can have you know, just one string
you know, go wrong or type it a knot, and
it can be really frustrating. So in the beginning, my
very first few years, you know, sometimes I would, you know,
(05:46):
be ready to start a show and I've got my puppet.
I was like, oh, it's it's tangled tank.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, yeah, how am I gonna the puppet heads fall off?
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Once in a while something like that.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You've got to ad lib through that, like, oh my
head fell offs, I don't know, make a part of this.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Right, Yeah, absolutely, and you know the show must go on,
And it's just one of those things that you know,
you just get better with it with time. The biggest
thing that's also just taught me to is just patience.
That a lot of times when a pappa would get
tangled or I'd be rushing to a gig, a lot
of times when you rush and you're not present, you're more.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Likely to mess up, So true and everything.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
Yeah versus you know, now, every once in the blue moon,
I'll have a little tangle or something I go slightly wrong.
I just take a breath and usually it's fixed. Within
a matter of less than twenty you know, ten seconds. Yeah,
and I'm good to go again.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So Pumpets Shows dot com again is where you can
find all the information. Franklin, I had a question because
the upcoming Toy Story movie, I think it's Toy Story
five comes out next summer. I believe, Yeah, really excited
and they're big, they're big enemy evil. The antagonist in
it is a tablet. I mean the technology that you
(06:58):
have to fight with, fight with, get the attention of
these kids.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Yes, you know, there's actually opposite contrary thought. I think
there's a more of a renaissance with you know, AI
and the YouTube videos. I've got boys and they're always
watching YouTube videos and of course they're online gaming and stuff. Parents, teachers,
people out there. They want live entertainment. There's a real
(07:24):
hunger for that.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Can you guys stick around for another segment because I
want to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I think that's really interesting.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
I think we're I think the pendulum has swung and
absolutely swinging back and I'm.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Here for it. Okay, we'll do that with.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
With Franklin and James here from Haines Marionette. So you
can check them out at puppet Shows dot Com and
we'll talk about that kind of a change in thought
process when it comes to entertaining your kids.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Well, by the way, booking now for the holiday events,
their calendar is going to fill up, So go to
puppet shows dot com.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
I got three puppeteers that are looking for work.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Do it a small business shout out on this Thursday,
and we have welcomed in Franklin and James from Haynes
Marionettes and you can check them out at puppet shows
dot com. They've got holiday bookings available. And we were
talking before the break Franklin, who's been in this business,
in this game for forty plus years, about how business
(08:17):
kind of, you know it ebbs and flows, and it
has taken a dip probably like Gary was mentioning with
the onset of kids tablets and screens everywhere, but that
you're noticing it kind of a resurgence of parents and
teachers and people responsible for kids programs that they want
to move back towards live entertainment, interactive entertainment for kids
(08:38):
that does not involve screens.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Right. I think the part that is important is with
the tablets and the AI and just all this stuff
taking kids attention. They are getting further and further away
working with their own hands. You know, when I was.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
A kid, I would love to make puppets.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
You know, I wasn't taken away by video games and stuff,
and so something that's live and tangible that kids can
do is just critically important. And I think, you know,
the red flags are out when we see everybody, even
adults on their cell phones and stuff, that were just
so isolated. So as much as we can create an
(09:23):
experience that's live and where they can be a community
together as an audience and experience a shared experience, I
think that it's swinging back like the people are realizing
how critically important that is, especially in this day and
age of being so isolated.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And you don't need a lot of technology to make
your first puppet. As I was saying that, I remember
in the fourth grade we would make puppets out of
lunch bags. Obviously thinking of the puppets that are made
with just hand, with just saw that those are the
(10:01):
some of the simplest things that you can do. You
don't need I mean, marionettes are fantastic, but you start
getting three or four strings, and there's more strings than
there are fingers and you're having a hard time figuring
it out. Might be hard for a kid to understand that,
but you can start very simple.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Absolutely, that's how I did as well. You know, I
remember my first puppet'd ever made was a g I Joe,
which beats me a little bit. And I remember taking
my dad's fish in line and taking Gi Joe and
taking a knife and you know, cutting them apart and
putting them back together so he could be floppy, you know,
so I could articulate him. Yeah, And I would do
(10:36):
you know, my first show in my closet with in
a cardboard box and you know, doing for my aunts
and uncles. My mom would tell the oh, come on over,
you guys got to see a show, and I'd bring
out this puppet. Yeah. But you know, you can start anywhere,
and that that to me is a red flag. Kids
don't have that opportunity to get out there and really
create if they're being taken.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Away or a supportive mom like you had.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah. Absolutely, my mom about like absolutely not put down
the puppets.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That's different.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
But you know what, there's something to be said about
a desire for things to be real and to know
they're real. How often in recent days and weeks and
months have we looked at our phone and said, is
that real? There's that AI every day every day and
it sucks and I hate that And are we going
to be doing that forever? When you watch the magic
(11:29):
of puppetry and you know that that magic is real,
that is something that I think is at a premium
these days.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
Yeah. No, absolutely. And actually, speaking of opportunity, we actually
have an opportunity for you guys. This is actually from
Saint Nick himself. Let me just get out of sleigh
hold on. Oh Gary and Shannon puppets that we get
to make?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
What?
Speaker 5 (12:01):
So I have one for you?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
You might recognize the.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
People on, so they have their own Gary and Shannon
puppets to make.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
What on the it is? There's a lunch bag that
you're mentioning that. Oh wow, So then I put my
little face on there.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
That is so cool, so we can make our puppet
and then we can This is exciting.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It's a good thing that. It's a good thing. We
did this towards the end of the show because she's
going to be distracted. I put this face on the bag.
Oh yeah, I do right, oh I color okay, Yeah, we.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Do our shows.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
We have you know, different options where they can do
the show, and then afterwards we have an educational workshop
where we talk about the art, the science, and the
history of puppetry. And then we also have this puppet
making activity afterwards.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So your puppet yet, I haven't started yet. Now, still
listening to the you hold that up so you can
see that that one's me own, that one's Shannon right there.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Yeah. So basically we encourage kids to you know, use
their hands and get out of the screens and you know,
even something as simple as this, you know, for those
at home, well as you can't see, we have uh
these little paper handouts where we have paper bag puppets
with Gary and Shannon on there. It's very exclusive to KFI.
(13:23):
You know, we have a limited We still have some
copies left, only like fifty left, so if only fifty
limited edition.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
This is also a strange week because puppets actually made
the made national news this week because of the Jim
Henson the studios that were here. They took that giant,
twelve foot tall Kermit the Frog and they're sending him
to Georgia at the at the Center for Puppetry Arts
in Atlanta. That's that's got to be a big deal
(13:52):
for you guys to see puppets in the news.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
YEA, yeah, absolutely. I have always been a Jim Henson fan,
and I had a great opportunity I need to actually
meet him before he passed away. They have a national
puppet Orange what is it called Puppeteers of America. He
was the guest keynote speaker the day, and so he
was roaming around the grounds and so I was able
(14:15):
to go up to him and tell him what a
big fan I was of him, and then he ended
up passing.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
It's funny that that Shannon used the word magic just
in terms of what it is that goes on puppet Wow.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
Wow, that was really fast. Wow, that's some.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Great artwork there.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Fantastic the marionettes in the way that you are able
to manipulate them, U, there is a magic to that
in that I think a lot of people don't understand
the dexterity that it requires. And there are things that
you can make those marionettes do that would probably blow
people's minds. How in the world. It's like a card
trick almost. Yeah, it's I mean, I know how a
(14:51):
lot of card tricks are done, but I would never
be able to actually physically manipulate a deck of cards
to spit out four aces or something like that. It
does take practice.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
We actually have marionettes that blow bubbles, believe it or not,
marionettes that are on a trap piece that actually do
flips and cool. Yeah. So one of the magical parts
about our shows is that they are interactive in that
and they do things to the music right in front
of the kids, and those kinds of tricks like juggling,
I mean juggle, that's incredible.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Yeah. I also want to chime into a lot of
people and they think of puppets, they think, okay, just
kids shows, which obviously we're catered towards children, but adults
have a lot of fun with it too, actually sometimes
even more than the kids.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
All kids who are we kidds well. On the testimonials
page on the website, one of the one of I
think the greatest lines is the even the parents wanted
to stay around and watch. That's a great Gary my
puppet is lonely too.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
We need a fellow Gary puppet.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It needs a co host.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Well, he's just blank so far at this point. I'll
work on it during the break.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
Also a fun fact, we actually do have one adult
puppets show.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Oh no, no, no, what.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
It's kind of hidden on our site. It's not as
popular because obviously we're catered towards kids, but it is
pretty fun. It has like a lot of like kind
of political humor in it too, and and stuffy puppets
at night.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, that's what it's called, Puppets after Dark.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Great again. Puppet Shows dot Com is where you're gonna
find Franklin Haynes Marionette's pulling heartstrings since nineteen eighty five.
All of the ways that the different shows that you
have how to book all the public shows are listed
there as well under the come see Us tab that
you can find their puppet Shows dot.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Com on All the costumes, by the way, are stellar.
They are professionally designed constructed by a former Disney designer,
so it is top notch puppetry. Go check them out
puppet Shows dot Com.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Happy holidays, guys, Hey, thank.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
You, thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Okay,
And sync in sync.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Yes, yes, I see what Elmer was doing there.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Because the video had them as marionettes.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I love. What I feel like is a lost art.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
And when we heard about Haines Marionettes through a news
and bruise, I was anxious to have them in studio
for our small business shout out. And that is exactly
who we have here today. Franklin Haines has been in
this job, this business, this game.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
For forty years.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Local guy from Newport Beach and he is the guy
behind Haines Marionettes. You can find him ha yn Ees
Marionettes at Hainesmaronettes dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Franklin, thanks for coming in.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Yeah, thank you were huge fans of you guys, totally. Yeah,
we love your show. And yeah, forty years. I feel
like I'm an old man. It's crazy, but yeah, forty years.
And I think what has made us stand for so
long is just the quality of our shows and the passion.
(01:04):
You know that all of my puppeteers put in behind
these shows are handcrafted marionettes. And you're right, it is
a lost art. And I heard before another way of
putting it. It's an obscure art. It's really hard to find.
You can find it, so it's not completely lost. But
the exciting part is, you know, making kids happy and
(01:25):
doing the marionettes. And we have like a catalog of
twelve different shows, so it really kind of keeps us going.
We keep them current. Our show right now is called
Santa's New Sleigh and it's based kind of off the
idea of Tesla. You know, Sam is going high.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Tech, getting funny.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
He gets rid of his reindeer, he can go faster.
All the kids get more presents this year. Well, lo
and behold, it breaks down. He has to push it
in the middle of the show.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Let me guess who comes to the rescue.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Yeah, yeah, is it Rudeolph.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It's his baby.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
It's his baby, baby Rudy. Oh okay. I was like,
Santa has a baby.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Well, a lot of people don't know this, but Rudolph.
How's a wife, Rita. Yeah, they have a new baby,
baby Rudy. What and he is now pulling Santa's New Sleigh.
Rudolph's baby is baby Rudy.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Oh my gosh, this is exciting.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Yeah, baby Rudy is a cutie.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Patuities. Yeah, this is not it's not a joke to
say that this is an art form. Especially in the
twentieth century, this became a massive Were there people that
you saw as a kid that Marionette's puppeteers that you
saw as a kid that made you want to get
into this?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Yeah, absolutely. When I grew up here in southern California
and some puppeteers came to our school did an assembly,
and I was mitten, and I wish I could find
out who these guys were. They were second or third
generation puppeteers from Italy, and they did this school assembly
and I just got bit by the puppet bug. And
my mom saw that in me as a little kid
(02:52):
and took me to Bob Baker Marionette. I'm gonna give
a shout out to a big fan. One of the
more memorable things in my career was actually doing a
party for him personally as a puppeteer.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So it's like, were you so nervous?
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Yeah, totally, totally yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
But that was said after.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Oh he enjoyed it, you know he.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I think all entertainers, especially puppeteers, were kids at heart,
and so you know, it just comes right out with
him and all of us. Just you see that young
the child in all of us.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
How do you come up with the ideas for the
shows and how often do they change?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Well, right now we have a catalog of twelve shows.
Like I mentioned, you can find out more about it
at puppet shows dot com at my website Puppet Shows.
I've been around for a while and you know, just
keeping up with current events and just things like with
this whole you know, electric cars and Tesla tho oh,
it'd be really cool to have a show, and you know,
(03:48):
lean it more that way. So you know, just like
any performing artists, sometimes they just pop into your head.
There's really no rhyme or reason.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
James is here as well. Your dad was involved for
a long time, right.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
Yeah, he's been doing puppet shows ever since I was born.
I'm not going to go into the euro was born,
none of that. We don't need to talk about that.
But I grew up with the puppets that Frank made.
I remember being a kid in the garage watching my
dad practice these shows. So I've grown up with these
puppets over the years. Some of them are even older
(04:21):
than I am, which, mind you, we're not going to mention.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And when I was like twenty twenty one.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
Frank he asked me, He's like, hey, would he like
to you know, you know, if I were to teach
you how to perform with marnettes, would you be interested?
And I said, okay, I've been doing children's entertainment a
long time, Ever since I was fifteen. I first started
getting into the you know, like Elmo costumes, I do
magic clown shows. And when and I grew up with Frank,
(04:51):
you know, as as a kid, he would come over
to our house for barbecues and everything. So when he
introduced me to the craft and he pulled some strings
for me, I was like, okay, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
That's a hard thing to just pick up and learn. Though,
like wearing the almost suit like it it's a it's
a it's a job itself to learn how to do
that well, you know, and put on suits like that.
But to be a puppet teo that's like specialized, I
would assume, and a hard thing to just pick up.
How long did it take you to get the skill
sharp enough to where you could do shows?
Speaker 5 (05:24):
I want to say a little bit over a year.
The biggest issue was things just getting tangled, because when
it comes to puppets, especially somewhere Mary nuts, are very
intricate and you can have you know, just one string
you know, go wrong or type it a knot, and
it can be really frustrating. So in the beginning, my
very first few years, you know, sometimes I would, you know,
(05:46):
be ready to start a show and I've got my puppet.
I was like, oh, it's it's tangled tank.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, yeah, how am I gonna the puppet heads fall off?
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Once in a while something like that.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You've got to ad lib through that, like, oh my
head fell offs, I don't know, make a part of this.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Right, Yeah, absolutely, and you know the show must go on,
And it's just one of those things that you know,
you just get better with it with time. The biggest
thing that's also just taught me to is just patience.
That a lot of times when a pappa would get
tangled or I'd be rushing to a gig, a lot
of times when you rush and you're not present, you're more.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Likely to mess up, So true and everything.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
Yeah versus you know, now, every once in the blue moon,
I'll have a little tangle or something I go slightly wrong.
I just take a breath and usually it's fixed. Within
a matter of less than twenty you know, ten seconds. Yeah,
and I'm good to go again.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So Pumpets Shows dot com again is where you can
find all the information. Franklin, I had a question because
the upcoming Toy Story movie, I think it's Toy Story
five comes out next summer. I believe, Yeah, really excited
and they're big, they're big enemy evil. The antagonist in
it is a tablet. I mean the technology that you
(06:58):
have to fight with, fight with, get the attention of
these kids.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Yes, you know, there's actually opposite contrary thought. I think
there's a more of a renaissance with you know, AI
and the YouTube videos. I've got boys and they're always
watching YouTube videos and of course they're online gaming and stuff. Parents, teachers,
people out there. They want live entertainment. There's a real
(07:24):
hunger for that.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Can you guys stick around for another segment because I
want to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I think that's really interesting.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
I think we're I think the pendulum has swung and
absolutely swinging back and I'm.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Here for it. Okay, we'll do that with.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
With Franklin and James here from Haines Marionette. So you
can check them out at puppet Shows dot Com and
we'll talk about that kind of a change in thought
process when it comes to entertaining your kids.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Well, by the way, booking now for the holiday events,
their calendar is going to fill up, So go to
puppet shows dot com.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
I got three puppeteers that are looking for work.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Do it a small business shout out on this Thursday,
and we have welcomed in Franklin and James from Haynes
Marionettes and you can check them out at puppet shows
dot com. They've got holiday bookings available. And we were
talking before the break Franklin, who's been in this business,
in this game for forty plus years, about how business
(08:17):
kind of, you know it ebbs and flows, and it
has taken a dip probably like Gary was mentioning with
the onset of kids tablets and screens everywhere, but that
you're noticing it kind of a resurgence of parents and
teachers and people responsible for kids programs that they want
to move back towards live entertainment, interactive entertainment for kids
(08:38):
that does not involve screens.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Right. I think the part that is important is with
the tablets and the AI and just all this stuff
taking kids attention. They are getting further and further away
working with their own hands. You know, when I was.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
A kid, I would love to make puppets.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
You know, I wasn't taken away by video games and stuff,
and so something that's live and tangible that kids can
do is just critically important. And I think, you know,
the red flags are out when we see everybody, even
adults on their cell phones and stuff, that were just
so isolated. So as much as we can create an
(09:23):
experience that's live and where they can be a community
together as an audience and experience a shared experience, I
think that it's swinging back like the people are realizing
how critically important that is, especially in this day and
age of being so isolated.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And you don't need a lot of technology to make
your first puppet. As I was saying that, I remember
in the fourth grade we would make puppets out of
lunch bags. Obviously thinking of the puppets that are made
with just hand, with just saw that those are the
(10:01):
some of the simplest things that you can do. You
don't need I mean, marionettes are fantastic, but you start
getting three or four strings, and there's more strings than
there are fingers and you're having a hard time figuring
it out. Might be hard for a kid to understand that,
but you can start very simple.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Absolutely, that's how I did as well. You know, I
remember my first puppet'd ever made was a g I Joe,
which beats me a little bit. And I remember taking
my dad's fish in line and taking Gi Joe and
taking a knife and you know, cutting them apart and
putting them back together so he could be floppy, you know,
so I could articulate him. Yeah, And I would do
(10:36):
you know, my first show in my closet with in
a cardboard box and you know, doing for my aunts
and uncles. My mom would tell the oh, come on over,
you guys got to see a show, and I'd bring
out this puppet. Yeah. But you know, you can start anywhere,
and that that to me is a red flag. Kids
don't have that opportunity to get out there and really
create if they're being taken.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Away or a supportive mom like you had.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah. Absolutely, my mom about like absolutely not put down
the puppets.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That's different.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
But you know what, there's something to be said about
a desire for things to be real and to know
they're real. How often in recent days and weeks and
months have we looked at our phone and said, is
that real? There's that AI every day every day and
it sucks and I hate that And are we going
to be doing that forever? When you watch the magic
(11:29):
of puppetry and you know that that magic is real,
that is something that I think is at a premium
these days.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
Yeah. No, absolutely. And actually, speaking of opportunity, we actually
have an opportunity for you guys. This is actually from
Saint Nick himself. Let me just get out of sleigh
hold on. Oh Gary and Shannon puppets that we get
to make?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
What?
Speaker 5 (12:01):
So I have one for you?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
You might recognize the.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
People on, so they have their own Gary and Shannon
puppets to make.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
What on the it is? There's a lunch bag that
you're mentioning that. Oh wow, So then I put my
little face on there.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
That is so cool, so we can make our puppet
and then we can This is exciting.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It's a good thing that. It's a good thing. We
did this towards the end of the show because she's
going to be distracted. I put this face on the bag.
Oh yeah, I do right, oh I color okay, Yeah, we.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Do our shows.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
We have you know, different options where they can do
the show, and then afterwards we have an educational workshop
where we talk about the art, the science, and the
history of puppetry. And then we also have this puppet
making activity afterwards.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So your puppet yet, I haven't started yet. Now, still
listening to the you hold that up so you can
see that that one's me own, that one's Shannon right there.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Yeah. So basically we encourage kids to you know, use
their hands and get out of the screens and you know,
even something as simple as this, you know, for those
at home, well as you can't see, we have uh
these little paper handouts where we have paper bag puppets
with Gary and Shannon on there. It's very exclusive to KFI.
(13:23):
You know, we have a limited We still have some
copies left, only like fifty left, so if only fifty
limited edition.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
This is also a strange week because puppets actually made
the made national news this week because of the Jim
Henson the studios that were here. They took that giant,
twelve foot tall Kermit the Frog and they're sending him
to Georgia at the at the Center for Puppetry Arts
in Atlanta. That's that's got to be a big deal
(13:52):
for you guys to see puppets in the news.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
YEA, yeah, absolutely. I have always been a Jim Henson fan,
and I had a great opportunity I need to actually
meet him before he passed away. They have a national
puppet Orange what is it called Puppeteers of America. He
was the guest keynote speaker the day, and so he
was roaming around the grounds and so I was able
(14:15):
to go up to him and tell him what a
big fan I was of him, and then he ended
up passing.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
It's funny that that Shannon used the word magic just
in terms of what it is that goes on puppet Wow.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
Wow, that was really fast. Wow, that's some.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Great artwork there.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Fantastic the marionettes in the way that you are able
to manipulate them, U, there is a magic to that
in that I think a lot of people don't understand
the dexterity that it requires. And there are things that
you can make those marionettes do that would probably blow
people's minds. How in the world. It's like a card
trick almost. Yeah, it's I mean, I know how a
(14:51):
lot of card tricks are done, but I would never
be able to actually physically manipulate a deck of cards
to spit out four aces or something like that. It
does take practice.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
We actually have marionettes that blow bubbles, believe it or not,
marionettes that are on a trap piece that actually do
flips and cool. Yeah. So one of the magical parts
about our shows is that they are interactive in that
and they do things to the music right in front
of the kids, and those kinds of tricks like juggling,
I mean juggle, that's incredible.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Yeah. I also want to chime into a lot of
people and they think of puppets, they think, okay, just
kids shows, which obviously we're catered towards children, but adults
have a lot of fun with it too, actually sometimes
even more than the kids.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
All kids who are we kidds well. On the testimonials
page on the website, one of the one of I
think the greatest lines is the even the parents wanted
to stay around and watch. That's a great Gary my
puppet is lonely too.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
We need a fellow Gary puppet.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It needs a co host.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Well, he's just blank so far at this point. I'll
work on it during the break.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
Also a fun fact, we actually do have one adult
puppets show.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Oh no, no, no, what.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
It's kind of hidden on our site. It's not as
popular because obviously we're catered towards kids, but it is
pretty fun. It has like a lot of like kind
of political humor in it too, and and stuffy puppets
at night.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, that's what it's called, Puppets after Dark.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Great again. Puppet Shows dot Com is where you're gonna
find Franklin Haynes Marionette's pulling heartstrings since nineteen eighty five.
All of the ways that the different shows that you
have how to book all the public shows are listed
there as well under the come see Us tab that
you can find their puppet Shows dot.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Com on All the costumes, by the way, are stellar.
They are professionally designed constructed by a former Disney designer,
so it is top notch puppetry. Go check them out
puppet Shows dot Com.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Happy holidays, guys, Hey, thank.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
You, thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Okay,
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