Marjorie Batchelder McPharlin
Encyclopedia
Marjorie Batchelder McPharlin (1903-1997) was an important American puppeteer
and authority on the puppet
theater. Her two best known puppetry productions were Aristophanes
' The Birds
(1933) and Maeterlinck's The Death of Tintagiles (1937). She was the author of many books on puppetry, including The Puppet Theatre Handbook. She was the second honorary president of the Puppeteers of America. Her marriage to the puppeteer Paul McPharlin
was in 1948, a few months before his death.
marjorie
was also the creator of the hand-rod puppet which was a style Jim Henson took up for
the muppets
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
and authority on the puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
theater. Her two best known puppetry productions were Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' The Birds
The Birds (play)
The Birds is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BCE at the City Dionysia where it won second prize. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs...
(1933) and Maeterlinck's The Death of Tintagiles (1937). She was the author of many books on puppetry, including The Puppet Theatre Handbook. She was the second honorary president of the Puppeteers of America. Her marriage to the puppeteer Paul McPharlin
Paul McPharlin
Paul McPharlin was a puppeteer who created some twenty productions in Detroit between 1928 and 1937. He is remembered as a skillful performer and inventive puppet maker. He is a founding member of the Puppeteers of America. In 1929, McPharlin established the Marionette Fellowship of Detroit...
was in 1948, a few months before his death.
marjorie
Marjorie
Marjorie is a female given name derived from Margaret. It can also be spelled as Margery or Marjory.Marjorie is a medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjoram...
was also the creator of the hand-rod puppet which was a style Jim Henson took up for
the muppets
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...