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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Austintown Elementary principal Thomas Lenton has brought Sadecky's Puppets to the school annually for the last 16 years. He likes to show the children the artistry of puppetry. Also, the company has character driven shows with good messages behind them.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Austintown Elementary School invited Sadecky's Puppets to the school on April 18 for three performances for all grades at the school. Pictured are puppeteers Kevin Stimeling and Will Foster with Carli Cramer's first-grade class.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Sadecky's Puppets show, "Good Fortune," told the story of Benny, a child who, at the beggining, dis not think much of his interactions with others and often came off as rude and mean. He chenged his actions after reading a fortune cookie, becoming a kind person who helps the others in the show. Pictured, a barber cut Benny's hair, which prompted Benny to tell him how poor of a job he did.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Pictured, Will Foster introduced himself and Sadecky's Puppets to the Austintown Elementary students. Foster said the job has given him a purpose and something to look forward to every day.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Sadecky's Puppets show had different scenes with various characters and three songs, including a closing song that encapsulated the message of the song and included all the characters from the story.
By ZACK SHIVELY
Austintown Elementary School invited Sadecky’s Puppets to the school for a show on April 18.
The nonprofit educational entertainment organization did three shows, one for each of the grade levels in the school. Puppeteers Will Foster and Kevin Stimeling performed “Good Fortune,” a show about being kind to people and helping others.
“At first it was just an ad in the paper, like any other job, but it has become something that defines me,” said Foster, “It gives me a sense of purpose and something to look forward to each day.” He said he loves giving the children a fun change of pace during the day because he feels that children have more complicated lives than he had in his youth.
Principal Thomas Lenton has brought Sadecky’s Puppets to the new school every year since it opened, and has invited them to his school for 16 years straight.
“I bring them in for two reasons. The first being to show children the magic of puppets ... and their program is theme based,” said Lenton. He wanted the children to appreciate the art of puppetry through a strong character based program.
The show focused on a character named Benny Fortune, who began the show as a person who did not think about how his actions affected others.
He got a fortune cookie that changed his outlook, and he became a nicer, friendlier person. He rights the wrongs he did early in the show and changed the behavior of a bully.
The puppet show included different scenes with various characters and three songs. After the performance, Foster and Stimeling brought each character out to do a bow as the students cheered.