by Tony James » 25 Feb 2009, 13:46
That's very helpful and interesting Chris. Thank you.
Figs 3 and 4 show positions which many seem to favour. These positions give maximum movement and freedom from fouling the backcloth. They sacrifice the visual advantages which, to my mind, are the chief virtues of the hands-in-front technique.
That's an interesting comment.
Eye contact is not something I have working hands above. It gave me great concern when I first started. I had always worked children through maintaining eye contact and apart from Punch, I still do. Because I don't have it once inside the frame, I'm not certain what it is I'm missing. What advantage I might gain from it.
Clearly it would be useful on the odd occasion when something unexpected happened but mostly the show bats on. Because I can't see the audience I suspect my other senses are sharpened and I am more acutely aware of slight and unusual differences occurring.
Obviously I don't generally direct comments to or conversation with a particular individual in the audience so I'm not even aware if I am missing a presentational trick here. I say generally because occasionally a child will come forward and engage a conversation with Punch or Joey but I don't need to be able to see them to reply. And there's always the odd especially loud individual response from one direction and a figure can direct a reply in the same direction and again, I don't need to see the individual to do that.
I would have thought that the real day to day advantage of a hands in front compared to a hands above was the smaller, lighter frame to carry and store, quicker and easier erection and covering, practical height and size for indoors domestic use and when outside, the easier dressing and securing, especially in breezy conditions.
I would suspect it is easier in a practical sense to move from hands in front to hands above. I could see myself feeling very restricted by that gauze. I wonder how many said that when hands in front first became popular?
And on that point, when did hands in front start to become popular and replace hands above?
Tony James
Magic With A Punch!