Understanding the Purpose

A while back ago, I mentioned two reasons why we decided to work on our marionette project.  The first reason was to entertain and the secondary reason was to preserve our group history.  Keeping these two goals of The Batty Puppeteers in mind; I want to expound upon those thoughts for a moment.

Why a Purpose?
It is my belief that a purpose statement should be made when starting any endeavor.  Why are you making this?  Why are you doing this project that consumes your time and finances?  People want to know "why".  Even if you are the only person that knows the purpose of your project, this tool allows you to go back to it from time to time and become inspired to continue work on a seemingly endless project.

A purpose statement should never be static; it should always grow and evolve as time passes.  The changes don't have to be earth-shaking; but they should reflect what keeps you coming back to the project from time to time.  For example, you may be working on an illuminated promissory scroll because it needs to be done.  However, over time, you may want to continue to work on illumination because you want to study a certain style or design concept that you became interested in during the creation of the first scroll.  The marionette project is no different.

To Entertain
Some events can be extremely boring or need something to keep people occupied between activities.  The events held by The Society for Creative Anachronism are no different.  By producing a marionette play for these lulls, we can help make events fun and interesting to attend.  If we can get the audience members excited about attending events, we can help all groups by enhancing the events they hold; which benefits everybody in the long run.

The idea is to entertain both young and old, and so productions that cater to all age groups is vital.  While understanding that a new spin on "Three Billy Goats Gruff" or "Snow White" could keep adult audience members interested, we also need to provide different stories in our performances that aren't directly targeted to our younger audience members.  This will allow The Batty Puppeteers to fit any need at events; be it Children's Hour or bardic entertainment.

To Teach

Our group holds a high regard for history.  However, our groups (an indeed, groups throughout most of the Society for Creative Anachronism) are loosing this history at an alarming pace.  What happened at the first Knighting Ceremony in the Principality of Oertha?  Who was the first Prince and Princess of that fair land?  What was the First Birthday Party of the Society like?  We can answer these questions by researching collected history; but what about those that don't know where to look?

Presenting our history as entertainment could be the best way to preserve that history.  Early period bards did much the same thing.  They told stories that both entertained and taught important concepts and ideas passed from one generation to the next.  These early bardics were entertaining as well as educational; that is our goal.

The Mission Statement of The Batty Puppeteers

Our mission statement, our purpose, is quite simple:

To provide period entertainment using marionettes and puppets for all groups that desire our services.  Additionally, we wish to preserve our local history and portray it in a way that is both educational and entertaining.