A Big Hand for the Little Man
2008 · Lincoln Land Community College
A Big Hand for the Little Man was the Fall 2008 production of Ken Bradbury's Traveling Children's Theatre class, staged through Lincoln Land Community College and Triopia. An original puppet show — a departure from the troupe's past productions in its use of puppets onstage — it told the story of a little boy who doesn't think he has any talent, but who is eventually persuaded that the ability to encourage others and make them feel good is a great talent in itself. Running about thirty minutes with a quick tear-down, the show was built to tour area elementary schools, where the student performers were, as Ken liked to remind them, "the big heroes" to the little ones.
As with all of Ken's traveling theatre work, the production doubled as a class: students conceptualized and rehearsed the show, analyzed their characters, and learned blocking, vocal and physical characterization, and the handling of costumes, props, and set pieces. Some puppets were operated by two people when a scene allowed it. The script stayed alive throughout the run — Ken noted that the joy and occasional frustration of an original play is that "you can make changes," and he trimmed monologues and reworked the Ralph scenes as rehearsals went along.
Songs
- So Good to Be Friends ("It's good to be friends… / So good to be friends! / It doesn't matter if he's there / if he's just pretend…")
- Just Between You and Me ("Just between you and me / I wouldn't change a thing / Just between you and me / I love the way that your heart sings")
Cast
- Bernie — Andrew Austin
- Eugene — Kim Troxell
- Felix — Brennan Vahle
- Conner — Michael Roegge
- Hi-Fi — Carrie Greening
- Mr. Gonzales — Andrew Austin (voice) and Kati Anderson
- Ralph — Jacklyn Robson (voice) and Michael Roegge
- Burnside — Jacklyn Robson
- Spike — Annie Schone
- Larry — Joe Strattman
- Chiquita — Catherine Smith
- Lolly — Carrie Greening
- Frizzy — Kim Troxell
- Weezy — Kati Anderson
- Maude — Annie Schone
- Leticia — Jacklyn Robson
Production Notes
The show premiered with a Friends and Family performance on Sunday evening, November 30, 2008, at 6 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran in Arenzville, hosted by Judy Roegge. It then went on the road through area elementary schools in December 2008 — stops included North Jacksonville, Westfair, Franklin, Lincoln, Murrayville, Eisenhower, Washington, and Our Saviors schools, with a December 11 performance in Bluffs. Jan Terry, an LLCC administrator, drove much of the cast in the Lincoln Land van while Ken pulled the scenery trailer.
Ken documented the production in his Puppet Talk newsletters ("Notes For the Road Trip") and in a class writing journal that included personal devotions written for individual students. He noted that Triopia and Western Illinois University were the only downstate traveling theatre groups of their kind in Illinois. Schools were sent a feedback questionnaire after each visit, both to assess the program and to evaluate the students, reflecting the class's stated goal: to educate by using the arts.