A Different Kind of Cinderella Comes to Westwood Library

Children and parents from Westwood were graced with a fairy tale Thursday morning, when Puppeteer Deborah Costine of Gerwick Puppets performed "A Woodland Cinderella" at the Islington Branch Library. 

Families gathered in front of a homemade papier mache tree stage that Costine built herself. As soon as the show began, it was evident that Costine was no stranger to performing with puppets.

"It's my job," Costine said. "I've been doing it for thirty six years."

The puppets' actions and gestures perfectly mimicked that of real people, and Costine's versatile voice enabled her to diversify and distinguish her characters.

The puppets themselves were intricate in detail with lifelike facial features and realistic hair, making it easier for the audience to interact with them as if they were real people.

Costine also made sure to involve her audience in the story, something she said gives the children a far more enriching experience. 

"I want it to have integrity, so that Cinderella is good," Costine said. "I'm doing the show for children, so for me Cinderella has to satisfy what the children want; for Cinderella to be good and Stony Lola to be bad. It reinforces the need to understand the world around them."

In "A Woodland Cinderella," Stony Lola played Cinderella's mean, conceited and annoying step sister with a loud raspy voice.  She believed that having the most possessions made her the perfect suitor for the Prince, but the Prince was only looking for "goodness," something that Stony Lola didn't possess in Costine's story.

After the show, Costine explained to the children how she made Cinderella's dress magically change after spinning her around three times. She said that after trying multiple strategies, she decided it was best to just use two puppets.

Last year, Deborah won an award from the North American Center of Union Internationale de la Marionnette, or UNIMA-USA.

"The organization's mission is to link puppeteers nationally and internationally, publish information on and for the field, offer support and technical assistance for professional puppeteers through seminars, conferences, and symposia; stimulate the general public's interest in the art of puppetry; and promote the visibility of American puppeteers all over the world," reads the UNIMA-USA website.

This fall Costine will have a new show called "Turtle's New Home."

"I got a grant from the Jim Henson Foundation to do a new show with an environmental message," said Costine.  "The main character of the story is named 'Blanding The Turtle.'"

"It's about an endangered species," Costine added.  Blanding's Turtles are endangered in Massachusetts because of habitat fragmentation."

That show will also involve a beaver and a blue spotted salamander.

Download the movie