ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF ...

effectively capture the nonlinear performance style of minstrelsy. The single visible set
of control rods on the second figure from the left, and visible strings on the hands and
knees of three of the figures, suggest a very modern style of manipulation, at least for
Fig. 5. Douglas Hayward. “D’Arc Christy Minstrel Marionettes.” Copied from: John
Phillips, “The Origin and Progress of W. J. Bullock’s Royal Marionettes,” Puppetry
Yearbook 4 (1998): 160.
1870. Each set of jaws appears to be jointed to the head, allowing for the appearance of
speech, whether achieved by a separate string or by bobbing the head. The second
technique might suggest that each object employed two operators. Both are equally
possible, especially since Bullock’s company numbered in the twenties. 47 Without extant
puppets, it is impossible to be certain. However, both show evidence of sophisticated
46 Quoted in Ibid: 151.
47 Paul McPharlin, The Puppet Theatre in America: A History, 1524-1948 (New York: Plays Inc,
1949), 157. Though the number may not have been fixed, by the time of the company’s residence in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, it employed a total of twenty-five, including puppeteers, musicians, and stage
hands.
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