ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF ...

are concealed by a “mask” […] as a further precaution in Ronceverte, we propped
up the masks with slats. Our precautions were well-taken. 108
This quotation reveals a peculiar moment in the history of American puppetry. Many
chroniclers agree that nineteenth-century puppeteers guarded their secrets as they traveled
about. 109
There are at least two obvious reasons why puppeteers would wish to protect their
secrets. The economic security of having one’s own unique theatrical product has been a
goal of theatre artists for as long as they have depended on a paying audience. At the
same time, the artist wishes to protect not merely her/his pocketbook, but the magic of
the theatrical event. If audience members know her/his secrets, the puppetry will not
have the same impact.
What is most fascinating about Lano is not that he took the same precautions to
protect his family’s secrets as his ancestors, but how he explains the strategy. For Lano,
it is not that he is protecting his economic security or his theatrical wizardry, but that he
is embodying the essence of the puppeteer “in those days.” Becoming a puppeteer means
becoming a sort of object-theatre magician. Magicians protect their secrets.
Certainly, Lano may simply be rationalizing his material circumstances for the
purpose of enriching his autobiography. In the words of Bourdieu, human intellect
23.
108 David Lano, A Wandering Showman, I (East Lansing, MI: Michigan University Press, 1957),
109 Certainly, this narrative will need to be reconsidered in future studies, as it may be more
colloquial than factual. It is surveyed in: Marjorie Hope Batchelder, The Puppet Theatre Handbook
(London: H. Jenkins Ltd., 1947); Paul McPharlin, Aesthetic of the Puppet Revival (Detroit: Wayne
University, 1938); Paul McPharlin, Puppets in America 1739 to Today (Birmingham, MI: Pharlin, 1936).
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