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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
They’re clunky and heavy, and many classrooms have replaced them with sleeker and more modern technology.
However, the overhead projector has not become obsolete yet.
Vinny Lovegrove, a visiting puppeteer at the Dover Town Library, proved on April 18 that overhead projectors are perfect for puppet shows.
As dozens of children and their caregivers shuffled into the library’s Community Room, Vinny arranged an assortment of plastic sandwich bags on the table. Inside each little baggie was an entire story for the children to enjoy.
He flipped the switch on the overhead projector, lit up one of the room’s walls, and began the story of “The 12 Little Pigs.” The children, though, were quick to inform Vinny that there are, in fact, only three pigs in the classic story.
Vinny reached into one of the plastic bags and then placed several cheerios on the projector. He arranged the pieces, which were projected as tiny black rings on the wall, around one of the cutouts of a pig, continuing the story with the first pig making his house out of cheerios.
Once again, though, the children knew Vinny’s tale had gone awry. So, the projector puppeteer quickly disposed of the evidence by eating the cheerios, and gave the narrative another try by placing the first two pigs on the projector, which made their homes out of drinking straws and Q-tips, respectively.
The children howled with laughter with every unexpected turn in the story, but continued to inform Vinny of the traditional plot points of “The Three Little Pigs.” After finally getting the third pig’s brick house correct, he surprised the children with an ending in which the pigs teamed up to create a business making wolf stew.
Vinny kept the children entertained through another story, which he told in a Southern accent, about a bug’s adoption by a human family. Throughout the story, Vinny kept the children involved by asking them to sing the phrase, “born a bug.”
For the final story during the puppet show, Vinny recounted the tale of a feisty roll of bread named Mr. Bun, who runs away from home and escapes from the many creatures that wanted to eat him.
Although puppets may not be the first thing that comes to mind at the thought of an overhead projector, Mr. Vinny’s Puppet Show proved to be an innovative and hilarious way of utilizing one, and an excellent source of entertainment for the children during their school vacation.
