Thursday, June 26, 2014

Sophie's Smokin' Slavnosti

With three weeks under my belt, Cesky Krumlov continues to work out nicely.  I have vowed to nary wander from my bridge following an unpleasant experience playing in the town center in which the guy running a Bohemian Crystal store blasted music insanely high, definitely killing his own business, to either drown me out or get me to move.  So degrading.

But the good news is that my marionette is working!  I was having a hard time getting her to move how I wanted, but luckily there are TWO marionette museums in this town.  So I went to one of them on a rainy day, tried and failed to get in for free since it was a professional visit, and examined the wares.  Sure enough, looking at them (particularly legs and feet) gave me some ideas, and now my girl is dancing better!

Photo from my 2012 Cesky Krumlov visit
I also happened to meet an engineer who took a look at it and came up with some great solutions to improve the setup as well.  Time to take a trip to a Czech hardware store!

Improvements aside, the marionette took last weekend off.  The third weekend in June means one thing to Cesky Krumlov: Slavnosti Pětilisté Růže, or the Five-Petalled Rose celebration.  The already medieval town goes back in time and fills the squares, gardens, and theaters with era-appropriate entertainment and events.  Admission is free for people in costume, and many visitors and locals get into it and dress up.  My hostel's owner said that when her kids were babies, she covered them in knedlíčky dough and claimed they had the plague.  Whatever works!

And so the town was full of peasants, wenches, lords and ladies, monks.  Even Jesus, a jolly executioner, and a totally partied-out Mozart.  There were jesters, jugglers, snake charmers, and knights performing alongside rustic stalls selling sausages, Trdelník, warm mead, and beer.

On Friday I simply enjoyed the festivities (damn that mead is strong!), planning to busk Saturday.  I didn't think I could throw together a relevant costume in time, and planned to just wear my normal piano outfit.  But in people-watching I noticed many women wearing stuffed donut-like hats, and contemplated my inventory.  With the extra piano fabric I brought for emergencies and a needle and thread, I was able to follow the instructions on this awesome website and make a proper hat.  I stuffed it not with the hair of a dead woman as the instructions suggest, but with spare plastic bags:
 

http://www.virtue.to/articles/women_roll_hats.html

My friend and coworker Karen french-braided my hair and, with the hat on, decided my outfit would look better if I rolled up the top and rocked a hybrid belly-dancer look.  It's the rare occasion that I expose my belly (last time, for a college musical, a friend used stage makeup and expert shading to give me a six-pack), and I was glad to be in costume.  I learned that playing accordion with an exposed stomach gives you funny red marks that I have decided to call Bellow Belly.  Here are some photos of the styling session:







And Saturday I busked.  I opted to not bring my whole set-up because I wanted to be mobile.  So I walked around all day with my accordion on my back and collected tips in a basket lined with more piano fabric.

Festivals can be tricky, because heightened foot traffic doesn't always mean good tips.  Especially if folks pay admission to enter; they think all entertainment is included.  Luckily I did okay on the nice side street leading to the brewery which hosted events all day.  It wasn't mobbed, but steady foot traffic.  All the buskers were out, including several children playing "Greensleeves" on stringed instruments.


Of course, I don't have a great repertoire for medieval fairs.  Naturally I looped "Game of Thrones" as often as possible, punctuated with the odd Italian or Irish song.  At night I busted out the pop music.  Game of Thrones was a huge hit, and made me the vast majority of my tips for the weekend.  At one point, Jon Snow walked by.  That is, a guy with semi-shaggy dark hair wearing a black cloak with a fur top and carrying a sword with a white handle.  He showed signs of recognizing the song, so I asked him, "Jon Snow?"  He nodded.  So I said, "You know nothing, Jon Snow."  And he politely smiled and nodded, not understanding.  Oh come on!

Later that night, when my accordion was safely at home, I was walking to meet up with friends, and I came upon two cloaked figures in front of me.  One was humming Game of Thrones and I sincerely hope it was because of me.

I had an afternoon session, then didn't pick up again until about 22:30.  I've always said that busking is better when it's dark out, but it gets dark so late here that that doesn't happen in normal life.  But here the streets were still packed, and I did well playing until midnight when the fireworks began.  A man in a peasant outfit came by pulling a wagon full of sheep skins.  Sheep skins and an adorable little boy, also in peasant garb.  He barely fit in the wagon, lying down, and I think the idea was for me to play him to sleep.  He just watched me with his eyes open, smiling.  Warmed my heart. 

I tried playing after the fireworks, too, when people were leaving.  This wasn't great, but I achieved something I hadn't done before: busking after midnight.  I ended the night on my bridge, where the day began.  These two guys came by and started talking, so we did the standard charade of identifying English as the language to speak.  One of them held out his beer to me, and said, "Tasting?"  I declined, and his friend offered me a cigarette.  When I declined that too, they asked, "But what do you need?"  I said, "Nothing."  So the first guy said, kindly mocking, "I'm happy playing on the bridge; I don't need anything!"

Over the weekend I met another performer in the oft-tiny world of buskers: Paolo Garbanzo.  He hails from Virginia although he's the official court jester of a castle in England.  It turns out we know a few people in common, and have been at the same festivals at the same time.  Go figure.  Nice to know one more person in the field!

My favorite tipper of the weekend was a local bank teller.  Twice I've gone in to change coins into bills, and this one guy has helped me, and done so very warmly.  But everywhere I go when I show up to a bank with coins or $1 bills, I can't help but hope the teller is curious about where I got it all.  Here is no different, so I was pleased when this guy walked by in normal clothes with a lady, said hello, and tipped for Game of Thrones.

Equally heart-warming was this older very friendly cop, whom I met my first day busking.  He's the one who saw me drinking out of my water bottle and asked if it was alcohol.  Fast forward two weeks of waving when he drove by on my busking bridge: this time he walked by and asked, "Where is your marionette?"  I love small towns!

I highly enjoyed the spirit of the weekend, and now, four days later, I finally cut off my admission wrist-band.  Now it's time for the music festival!  Dobrou noc!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Naming the Girl

Since the acquisition of my new marionette (see "Project #3" in this post), I have struggled to find the perfect name for her.  As a visual while you read this, here she is:


 Flaca was so easy to name.  It's an actual Mexican female name, accurately describes Flaca's appearance ("skinny"), and of course honors the great Mexican accordion player Flaco Jimenez.  She's been full of personality and perfectly Flaca from day one.

This little girl has been more challenging.  Yes, I know she's inanimate, but I just feel like I don't know her.  She doesn't project any characteristics, really, nor does she dance well.  I also feel guilty for leaving Flaca behind, so I think subconsciously I don't want to connect with this girl.

Before I got her I planned to name my next marionette "Trixie" so she could be Trixie's Tappin' Toes to follow Flaca's Flyin' Feet.  But she definitely doesn't seem like a Trixie.

So it began...the first two names I considered were Daphne and Josephine:


"Daphne" was a little too cute.  I've always loved the name Josephine, and its accordion connection comes with the Fats Domino song "My Girl Josephine."  My mother reminded me about dancer Josephine Baker as well.  So it was a good name: accordion, dancer, and favorite film character.  But, I haven't been getting Josephine vibes from her.  She's simply not my little cajun dancer girl!

So back to the drawing board.  She's an orphan, so she could be Annie, Penny (from the Rescuers), Madeline, or Pippi (not an orphan, I know).

I thought about honoring my travels, if not accordion tradition.  She could be Marina--an allusion to favorite CouchSurfing hosts Marine in Strasbourg and Marijana in Prague, as well as in reference to my current home on the water.

That led to the idea of giving her a name that sounded like "marionette."  Mirette (also a favorite children's book character), Mariette, Marianne (last name "Nett").  Mary-Annette!!!  But that's just ridiculous.

"Harriet" is cute, and would be in honor of my friend and former bandmate in Edinburgh who is providing my shelter during the Fringe in August.  She is a talented musician, but there's no accordion connection, other than myself.  I could call her "Freya" in honor of another UK friend and band-mate and stick with the F-names.

In absence of a name, I've been calling her "Little Girl," so I looked up that phrase in Czech.  "Girl" is "Dívka," which is cute.  Sticking to the Czech, "Pavla" is "small" and "Marketa," meaning "pearl" is the Czech female lead in the movie "Once."

Today, I am leaning towards "Bianca."  There are four things I like about this name:

1. It is Italian, like my accordion

2. Penny from "The Rescuers" was on my orphan-name list.  I had forgotten that Bianca is one of the mice that saves her.  This Bianca is beautiful and Hungarian, which isn't Czech but is at least an homage to this region.

3. I'm a big fan of the Tintin books, and the main female character is opera singer Bianca Castafiore.

She's got a bit more bosom than my Little Girl, but their hairdos are similar, and if I'm going to sculpt my girl's personality I might as well make her a diva.

4.  Like "Flaca," "Bianca" is an adjective that describes the marionette.  My "Catching Up" post discusses the background story to why my dark-skinned puppet is at home and my light-skinned puppet is here.  It wasn't my intention to have a blonde, fair puppet, and I will be the first to admit the discomfort I feel having made this replacement.  So "Bianca" calls her exactly what she is--white--and hopefully serves as a little inside-joke to lighten up (no pun intended) the complex racially-charged component of my act.

So, for now, she'll just be Little Girl.
*************************************************************

Update: After a week, I don't feel like my girl is a Bianca.  But two nights ago I met a friend of a friend named Elvira, and the gears started turning.  Elvira (El-VEE-ra) is a great name for my girl.  Here's why:

1. Donna Elvira is a female lead in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni.  She is a strong woman who does NOT put up with Don Giovanni's womanizing.  Also, I simply love Don Giovanni, and I love Mozart, and this opera premiered in Prague, which gives the name the Czech connection.

2. Once Christmas season comes around, she'll be Elvira the Elf.  How cute is that?

3. I liked "Bianca" because it means white (see above), but according to various baby name websites, "Elvira" means white too!

Here is the Wikipedia article with other famous Elviras listed (including Donald Duck's grandmother--who knew?), and here is the Oak Ridge Boys song "Elvira," although they pronounce it differently.

We'll try it out!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Český Krumlov Part Deux

Ahoj!  I am now settled into my summer digs in Český Krumlov, in the south of the Czech Republic.  

Here's how this happened: I decided that I definitely wanted to participate in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August.  I figured air fare to Europe would be cheaper earlier in the season, so I decided to spend June and July somewhere in Europe then hop over to Edinburgh.  The Czech Republic was the obvious choice, with Iceland and Switzerland as runners-up.  Czech is an amazing and beautiful country in which I wanted to spend more time, and it's also affordable.  

My time in South America inspired me to want to volunteer at a hostel.  My accommodations there reminded me how much I love hostels, and free housing would enable me to stretch my money.  So I began emailing many hostels, including Krumlov House in the adorable medieval town of Cesky Krumlov.  I had been a guest here in the fall of 2012, and simply loved it.  So now I'm back!

First off, I'll take a rare departure from the focus of this blog and touch on my personal life: I am extremely happy here.  The hostel is so homey and lovely, and I adore my co-workers cum friends.  I immediately felt welcomed into their community, and always have someone to do things with.  I'm usually behind on my blog because I'm just lazy, but the tardiness of this post is due exclusively to my full social calendar.  This is a great place to be in the summer because the river winds through town, perfect for rafting and tubing.  The beer is cheap and delicious, so I'm doing summertime the way you're supposed to!  Working, yes, but also relaxing, being on the water, drinking [responsibly], and socializing.  I feel like it's the first time I've enjoyed summer in many years, since I'm usually working non-stop.

And the busking is falling into place.  There is a bridge that connects the touristy halves of town, and it is always mobbed.  As a result, the buskers are out.  Here I am playing on it on my first visit, in October 2012, after it snowed:


In fact, here is my old blog post about that day.

So I did my first day there, but it wasn't so good.  Lots of tourists who took lots of pictures, but not too many tips.  Here we are this time around:



The other variable was that I hadn't actually had time to test the new puppet, and she didn't really work.  Also, two cops came by to talk to me while I was taking a water break.  One of them pointed to my water bottle and asked, "Alcohol?"  Really?  So I unscrewed it for them to smell, and they were satisfied and let me keep playing.  

I haven't played on that bridge again.  I have a new bridge!  It was my hostel owner's idea, and it's been working out nicely.  The bridge is long, so I don't disturb store or restaurant owners.  It is well-trodden in the evenings, in post-dinner promenades.  There aren't a ton of people on it, but it's flat, it's busy enough, and, most importantly, it's super close to where I live.  Pulling my trolley over cobblestones has proven loud and uncomfortable, so the minimal commute is great.  I also haven't had to worry about sharing it with other buskers, knock on wood.  So I'm satisfied.  It's exhausting negotiating spots with other buskers, especially when we don't have a common language, so I'm happy to do my thing over there.

The close proximity to my pitch has made it really easy to busk a lot, since there's no commute!  Once I'm out, I don't feel obligated to play for a long time like I do in Northampton and Provincetown.  So I've been doing just 1.5-2 hours every night, which is totally enough and doesn't dictate my schedule for the day.  Usually 7-9 pm, which is full daylight here.

Here's some stuff that's happened:

June 2014
1. A big theme is that communication is difficult, since Czech is difficult.  Normally when someone says something in Czech, I just smile and nod and they walk away.  So unfortunately I'm missing all the one-liners coming my way.  But sometimes they don't walk away, or what they say is lengthy enough that it's worth a try.  So I say "Ne mluvim Cesky" (I don't speak Czech) then ask, "Anglicky?" (English?)  Then they usually respond, "Rusky?  Slovaksy?" (Or something, Russian? Slovakian? etc.).  so I say "Anglicky Or Español."  Usually they shake their heads and walk away, or speak a tiny bit of English.  The other day, though, the guy summoned his son over who speaks Spanish!  He said that Spanish is a common language that Czech people learn.  Go figure!

2. Another thing I didn't anticipate but makes perfect sense is the influx of Euros.  Folks travel through Germany or Austria before coming here, and they have leftover currency.  So I'm the perfect recipient!  In fact, over a quarter of my tips are Euros.  I'm putting them in a separate bag and calling them my "end of summer bonus."  I'll change them into Pounds when the time comes!

3. Game of Thrones continues to be a big hit.  Due to the nature of my bridge, it's easy to cater to whom is walking by at that moment and stereotype the hell out of people.  I've been pretty spot-on with my Game of Thrones recognizers, and this tune has consistently made me tips.  Including a 200 kč bill (ten dollars) and a five-Euro bill.  Can't necessarily talk about the show, though.

4. A guy stopped on his bike right in front of me.  He knew very basic English, and said "tradition."  I took that to mean he wanted a traditional song, so I played "La Vie en Rose."  I have a really nice arrangement of it, and when I phrase it and do dynamics, it can be quite nice.  So this guy started crying!

5. I had a guy who wanted to talk, but we didn't have a common language.  But he still stood right next to me, and said he wanted to sing along.  I pretended not to understand and played really obscure instrumental songs back to back, which eventually worked.  (Like "Morir Soñando.)

6. A couple who I thought might be American due to their fashion stopped on the sidewalk across from me as I was playing Katy Perry's "Roar."  They were really amorous and smooched a lot, and appeared to be muttering sweet nothings to each other.  Then the girl confirmed my suspicions and extended her left arm and flexed her hand to admire her ring.  And there I was playing a very un-romantic song.  I talked to them after, and they complimented my English!  I asked if they just got engaged, right there, and they said that they had 20 minutes ago in the park.  Sorry I missed it!  Regardless, I was still the first to find out.  I would have loved if it had happened right there; if Thomas had gotten down on one knee and I noticed right away and started out La Vie en Rose or Parlez-moi d'Amour, then when she obviously said yes and they kissed, switch to "Here Comes the Bride."  It's such a romantic town, I might have another chance yet!  Congratulations to Thomas and Meredith!  Just putting this out there: I would like to be proposed to on a bridge in the Czech Republic, preferably the Charles Bridge itself in Prague.  

7.  People CANNOT believe that I'm American.  Everywhere I play people assume I'm European, and that is no different here.  They are simply shocked.  "What are you doing here???"

8. A group came by, including a little boy with great musical taste.  He sang along, or at least mouthed, every word of "Don't Stop Me Now" followed by "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."  He disappointed me with "Take On Me" and if he had come back I would have switched to Beatles, of course.

9. There are a few unkempt looking guys who hang out around town, and one of them came by and asked me for some of my money.  When I said no, he came back a few minutes later and asked for 50% of my money.  Tempting offer.

10.  A group of guys came by, and explained that it was a bachelor party.  One guy in a red t-shirt asked me to leave him sweet words....on his shirt.  Sure!  So he passed me the marker and I added a message to the mix ("Go Red Sox," of course). 

11. Cesky Krumlov has a restaurant called Cikánská Jizba which has a live gypsy band Friday and Saturday nights.  These guys are major celebrities.  I heard them and fell in love with them as a guest last time, and found upon my return that I still remembered their faces perfectly (that bass player!!!).  So naturally I was starstruck when the violin player came by when I was playing and smiled.  Even more so when he left me a tip!  I played my best for him, of course, also tried for the first time a new Czech phrase: "Dobry večer" (good evening).  He sort of politely acknowledged me, so I reckon I pronounced it wrong.  I probably told him "My antenna fell off" or "I chew on guinea pigs" or something. 

12. Right when I had started one day, a guy came up to me and made an offer: he would pay me 500 kč ($25) to come play on the boat with his friends, and they would pay for my drinks.  I thought about it, and asked how long he'd want me to play for.  "You would be home around midnight."  This was 7:30.  Yeah, no thanks.  He did ask me to play some rock music as they were boarding their boat though, which I obliged.  He wanted Metallica or Joe Cocker, but had to settle for The Rolling Stones.  I got a good look at them, and they were all guys and all drunk.  Definitely the right call.

This brings me to....THE BACHELOR PARTY!

Right after my first day busking I went back to the hostel, where I was living at the time, and was greeted by my coworker and his English friend who was in town that weekend for this bachelor party.  He lives in Vienna, and was in charge of the festivities for groom-to-be Mario, who is Austrian.  I told them about my act, and he offered to pay me to play Friday night at the bar where they would be.  They would tell Mario that there would be some female entertainment, then I would play, so it would be cute.  Don't worry, there were strippers coming later.  So I agreed: I would play for a little while, make $50, and they'd pay for my drinks.  

So I showed up at the bar at 8:15 for the 8:30 gig.  The owner of the bar let me down to the space where I would perform, which was the DUNGEON.  We literally went down crooked stairs in pitch blackness to this little damp dungeon room that had an actual well in the floor with a grate over it.  It was wonderfully creepy, and my puppet setup looked great with my little lights on.  

Then I had a beer and waited.  It turns out everything was behind schedule.  The guys, a mix of Austrians, Brits, and the groom's future brother-in-law from Australia, had been rafting all day, an activity which asks a lot of a person's energy and liver (because of the drinking, yeah?).  They had finally gotten dressed and ready, and it was time for dinner.  So I waited while they went next door to eat.  Finally at 10:00 it was time to play, so they filed into the dungeon and tied Mario to a chair in front of me.  He was incredibly drunk, and in bad shape, continually threatening to doze off.  He was holding a beer that was in danger of pouring right into my box.  He didn't react to the "female entertainment" "joke" at all, although I won't comment on whether or not my marionette's lacy underwear was exposed at any point. 

Mike, the guy in charge, wanted me to play Game of Thrones, and we agreed on "The Final Countdown" as well as a bachelor-party themed song.  Neither Mike nor Mario was really processing what was going on.  Some of the guys were actually functioning as human beings, though, and fancied a singalong.  They NAILED "Don't Stop me Now."  This one guy requested something, but I couldn't understand him due to his strong accent.  "Are you from Austria too?" I asked him.  "No, mate, I'm from Liverpool!"  So it became a game of name-that-tune.  Mike asked me to play Game of Thrones for a third time.  At one point Mario tried to stand up, but not knowing he was tied to his chair, totally fell over, spilling his beer everywhere (but not really on my setup, luckily).  A high-strung young DJ was mad because he thought he had the dungeon that night, and was adamant that no one touch his stuff.  Then Mario crashed into his stuff.

Next, it was time to transition into the strippers' performance.  Only nobody knew where they were.  Mike was drunkenly trying to sort it out and sincerely asked me, "Did YOU talk to the strippers?"  Why would I have talked to the strippers?  I took my leave, and from what I heard the rest of the night was disastrous, that Mario was completely down for the count and so the strippers didn't end up performing.  And the puppy pooped on the carpet.  

So this was an interesting experience!  There seem to be a lot of bachelor parties here, maybe I should advertise.  

Overall, the busking is going totally satisfactorily.  I've just been playing accordion, for the most part, since puppet isn't quite working yet.  It's been nice to see the same faces, and be recognized both in and out of costume around town.  The bridge is used for folks' commutes, so I see the old lady walk by around 8:30 every night on her way home from swimming in the pool (as I inferred, using my great knowledge of what people look like on their way home from the pool).  I also see the super-cute guy with the shaggy golden hair who walks his equally-cute, shaggy golden dog (just like 101 Dalmatians) and the old, well-dressed man who walks by left to right several times (how does he get back to the left side??????).

This week I'm going to get the puppet up and running, then really start preparing for the Fringe.  

Na shledanou!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Catching Up

Greetings from the Czech Republic!  But more on that in the next post.  It's been quite a while since I've written, and it looks like there are giant gaps in what I have posted (elf season, New Year's Eve).  Although it's too late to wrap up last year (any interesting or witty bits are long gone from my memory), I'll take a minute to update readers on the past few months.

At the end of January, I tucked my accordion into a closet at home, stocked up on altitude sickness and malaria pills, and headed on my dream trip to South America.  Ever since I started learning Spanish and discovered Andean music, I've wanted to visit my neighbors to the south to practice Spanish, hear said Andean music, and bask in the natural beauty.  Oh, and check Machu Picchu off my list.  So I spent two months in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay hiking, biking, hammock-ing, and meeting some great folks.  I bought a charango in Ecuador and learned to play a few chords over the course of the trip.

Then I returned home, busked a little in Northampton, and locked in to Professional Development mode to get ready for a big summer of busking.

Project #1: Dress
I had made my original piano-key dress in the summer of 2011 for Provincetown's "Don't Stop the Music" themed carnival, and instated it as my busking dress thereafter.  Two years later it's pretty ratty, hardly white, and gives me ample opportunity for sunburn.  It took a long time to find more piano key fabric, since Jo-ann had discontinued what I had originally bought.  After months of looking on the internet and all over New York's garment district, I found some nice wavy piano key fabric online, and bought many outfits' worth.

The new outfit is a separate top and skirt to aid in laundering and layering in colder weather.  The top covers my back and shoulders for sun purposes, and the skirt is longer than my old one for modesty purposes.  Both halves have lining!  The whole thing generally has more character than the old one:






Project #2: Theater improvements
When I set up Flaca's puppet theater, I picked up DIY self-adhesive linoleum squares at Poundland, which is of course the British equivalent of the dollar store.  These gave Flaca a nice wooden-looking dancefloor.  But they were heavy and I had done a bad job applying them so I brought the box to my artist friend Lindsay for a painted version instead.  Much better!

Before



After
 My dad provided invaluable service and expertise in various parts of the setup, including building a new controller, installing a bushing for the bell, building the aluminum dance stage, etc.

Project #3: New Marionette
After about a year of searching antique shops in the Valley, New York, and around South America, I finally found a new marionette.  The main reason for making the switch was that Flaca came from a souvenir shop and wasn't made for movement.  She was cute, but I needed someone with a wider spectrum of movement.


Then there's the issue of race.  Flaca, being Mexican, has dark skin.  Since I changed her clothes her ethnic background is no longer clear, so people just see her as a "puppet of color," as one Northampton woman joyfully proclaimed.  On the rare occasion that someone comments on this, it is usually positive; the person is glad to see a multi-ethnic act.  On the other hand, there have been a few white men who offered controversial commentary.  The first asked when I was going to get a Caucasian puppet, and the other straight-out called poor Flaca something derogatory.  Just a few weeks ago, in Northampton, a guy asked if Flaca was supposed to mock Michelle Obama.  What the?

These people didn't sway me to consider the message I was giving, but a young Northampton woman did.  She said she was offended because Flaca is Black and I'm controlling her; that she is submissive to me.  This was one person's opinion, but I started worrying.  Were more people thinking this but not saying it?  Maybe I was offending people right and left.  Flaca also looks cartoon-y, which might offend people furthermore, as a caricature.

I replaced Flaca for mechanical reasons, because I found a marionette who was really well-made and moved beautifully.  Ideally, I wanted her to have medium skin and medium hair; be racially ambiguous.  But the one I found is fair and blonde, and I ran out of time to do any other alterations.  She actually looks like me! But she just might visit the artist/beautician when we're home for new skin and hair hues.  Of course, now I'm worried that people will be offended because I DID change the puppet, that I improved the act by adding a white dancer.

I found Josephine at the Brimfield Fair, which was just a stroke of luck.  She was originally Gretel, and I bought her brother Hansel as well.  Over the week I had to get ready, I made Josie a matching piano-key dress, undid her braids, and restrung her, and Lindsay broadened her smile and repainted her socks and shoes.

Hansel and Gretel

Getting a piano dress.

Smile!

The finished effect

I didn't really have time to perfect the new setup before I left, and as of today Josephine is not working as well as Flaca.  An advantage of Flaca is that she's big and heavy, so her feet fall heavily after I lift them, making her a good dancer.  Josie is very light so she just flies around.  Looks like I have some tinkering to do!  Stay tuned for more details on my current digs.