Dr. George and Ann Neff, former Rowan educators, teach six-week class in puppetry
“Puppetry is a theater form that is very attractive to children,” said Ann Neff, artist in residence at the Mullica Hill Friends School (MHFS).
Dr. George and Ann Neff have had much experience with puppetry and are bringing their knowledge to the third grade class at MHFS.
This is the sixth year the couple has taught a puppetry course at the school.
Working with third grade teacher Debbie Scarborough, the artists are teaching the children how to write a script, create scenery and props, and how to perform an engaging show.
One of the biggest lessons the children will learn, is how to work together to tell a whole, message-driven tale.
During the course, the Neffs will encourage the students to tap into their creative sides and create puppets and cultivate personalities for their creations.
During one classroom session Dr. Neff said, “In the eighteenth century, toy theater was the television set in peoples’ homes.”
All of these lessons about the history of puppetry and how a puppet show comes into being are leading to the students performing in front of schoolmates and parents the story of William Penn.
The students will be incorporating “The Peaceable Kingdom,” a painting by Edward Hicks, the nineteenth century, Quaker painter. The painting is said by some to be a vision of hopeful unity of the sects of the Quaker community.
“In addition, our hope is that students will be learning about behavior in the theater,” said George Neff, the retired thirty-eight year professor in Rowan University’s art department — Dr. Neff served as the head of the art department for 15 years. He retired in 2000. Ann Neff taught in Rowan’s art department for seven years after leading both teaching and business careers in New York City. The couple married in 1993.
Referring to MHFS, Ann Neff said, “It is just marvelous to watch these children get excited, learn and grow. The values they teach at this school are a dream to work with…I think FSMH really tries to create a peaceable kingdom here in the school.”
The Neff’s own “Dr. Neff’s Incredible Puppet Company” is a touring and teaching company that incorporates hand, rod, and shadow puppets; toy theatre and rod marionettes with music and lighting, founded in 1980.
Because they both have dedicated their lives to teaching, the company not only puts on shows, but it teaches anyone interested about the history of puppetry and all that goes into it.
“We teach puppetry whenever we get a chance,” said Ann Neff.
Well-known in the Philadelphia area, the Neff’s have travelled overseas to countries such as Holland to perform their own shows and classics like Rip Van Winkle.
The reason the school and the Neff’s feel it so important to teach puppetry to children is because, as Ann puts in “you get to do it all.” Puppetry incorporates many aspects of theater into a miniature scale.
From writing, building a set, to creating physical characters, students like those at the MHFS get a fully rounded education in theater.
Dr. Neff pointed out that, with the third graders specifically, the students also get a history lesson.
“They are learning a lot about William Penn and the painting that they see in every meetinghouse. I don’t know if they ever knew what it was. We are really going into it. By the end of the course, these students are going to know that painting very well and why the artist was considered one of the top artists in nineteenth century folk art,” he said.
With puppetry, the couple explained, children can open up without totally exposing themselves, helping them build their own creativity and personal character.
“They can say, ‘it’s not about me; it’s about this thing I’ve created,’” Ann said.
However, what is behind the puppet is the most important part.
In 1990, the Neff’s attended a memorial for their friend the late and arguably most famous puppeteer of all, Jim Henson.
While reflecting on the day in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Ann said, “There were great big pictures of him. It was nice to see. You don’t always see the man behind the puppet, the creative force.”
Puppetry is all around. The Macy’s Day Parade is puppetry, ventriloquism, on T.V. and in movies.
The Neff’s and Mrs. Scarborough will continue to guide the students on their journey to tell the stories of William Penn and Edward Hicks through March. The date for the performance is not yet set.
