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I was born before War, before Second (World) War, not the Napoleonic War, okay? In Czech,
in Czechoslovakia it was a tradition when child is about three years old, they give
a puppet theatre. Little puppet theatre, little stage with puppets. I started to play the
shows and I was hooked on it and from this time I was always playing with puppets and
making in the theatre and everything. All through my school years, I always wanted to
be actor, wanted to be puppeteer, to always do something fun. Later on, when I was working
in the mines I was in two minds, you play miners or you play puppet theatre.
When I was 18 years old, I was lucky enough to go to University of Prague to learn puppeteering.
I was specialist in puppet movement, technology, construction of puppets and then I met my
wife. My wife was dramaturgist... it means writer,
painter and everything and we went through a couple of theatres in Czech Republic and
later on in Australia... we started in Unley a puppet museum. You see all the puppets in
my home, everywhere. I've got about here, about 1500 puppets, roughly.
And I am still doing some bits and ends... no, not very much. If you use a broad Aussie
language, puppets will 'suck you in'... and when you're in, you can’t get out.