Elderly women have 'second youth' as puppet performers

Members of amateur puppet performance group Second Youth Troupe, whose average age is 80, pose for a photo. Provided by Dangjin City

By Park Jin-hai

DANGJIN, South Chungcheong ― The Second Youth Troupe is a rare puppet troupe, comprised of eight mostly widowed elderly women with an average age of 80.

The ragtag troupe, led by Moon Young-mi, head of local children's educational theater company Naesoong, was formed last January in the small mid-western rural town of Sanseong-ri, South Chungcheong Province, by the voluntary participation of women aged between 72 and 85, who have harbored curiosity of what Moon was up to with the kids.

“After learning I am teaching acting to little kids, the whole village has shown a keen interest in my job. Starting with the old woman next door, many others said they too want to try it and I thought why not?” said Moon, who returned to her home town Dangjin 10 years ago, leaving behind her hectic city life.

“All the more, I was thinking it might be great to make an all-senior puppetry group, who would tour elementary schools and tell old tales, so that kids could rekindle their warm old memories of listening to Grandma's stories while they rested their head on her lap.”

Elderly women performing a shadow puppet show are seen behind the stage at Jeongmi Elementary School in South Chungcheong Province, in July 2018.

Village stars

During the half-hour show, four of them control puppets and another four play with shadows a the separate puppet theater right next to it, telling the repertory of the town's legends related to a large boat-shaped rock using live dialogue colored with the local dialect.

The octet began practicing in April last year and every Tuesday they gathered to practice before they stood for their first performance at Jeongmi Elementary School in July.

In front of all 27 school students gathered at a hall, they made their successful debut as a senior troupe.

In December last year, the troupe traveled neighboring Hongcheon County to participate in the amateur theater festival and won silver among younger rivals.

Shim Tae-jin, 85, poses with her puppet. Provided by Moon Young-mi

Shim Tae-jin, the oldest member, says she is having the time of her life. “When I was young, I didn't feel free as I do now, living under the same roof with a large family. I had to cook and help the 15 members of my husband's family including grandparents-in-law. I worked hard around the house and the rice field,” said Shim, who married at 19 and was widowed at 55.

“But I feel like I'm having the best time of my life. I learn new things, I travel to different places to put on a show and perform to cheering crowds. I feel like I became young again like a little kid who just entered elementary school. If my health permits, I want to advance to the second and third grades.”

Park Jung-shik, 80, a widow living alone in her hometown after her grownup children moved away for work, says joining the puppetry troupe helped her fight loneliness and depression. “When I perform at elementary schools, it is great to spend time with kids. It reminds me of my own childhood memories as well as of my grandchildren living in cities,” she said.

Missteps make fun

Support from her family was another great joy, says Park. “After our story was covered on TV and in newspapers, I received phone calls from my sons and grandchildren saying they are proud to have me as their mother and grandmother and that they cheer for my courage to try something new. Now we are the talk of the town and I can say life begins at 80.”

Yet the whole process of getting those elderly members ready for the stage was not easy. During the farming season, members' attendance was low and when the competition got near, they had a hard time remembering their lines, so that Moon decided to go with voiceover.

“Even after recording, it was not the end of it. Grannies, hearing their recorded voice for the first time, didn't recognize their voices and strongly insisted it is not theirs. All eight unanimously said their voices are not theirs and used to miss their turns,” Moon said. “When the group with puppets was performing, all four heads of the other group leaned toward the puppet team, looking at stage like spectators and missing their cues. Later, an elementary school kid who was managing the lighting system came to help by tapping on the grannies' backs to let them know when it's their turn.”

Although not as skillful as other puppet troupes made of young performers, wherever the amateur puppet troupe goes, happy laughter, applause and chattering follow.

“It is not always the great performances that please audiences. They make mistakes and these mistakes are also fun. When I came to see their practice at the community center earlier, it was side-splittingly funny. The lips of the puppets that should have moved didn't move, while the other puppets were way too energetic,” said a villager who claims to be the troupe's great fan.

Moon, who taught the troupe, says it was more meaningful to teach puppetry to the elderly than to little children.

“Working with my older students gives me a more rewarding experience. There are some local culture programs for seniors like craft and yoga classes, but they say they love learning puppetry more. Unlike those classes where the teacher teaches skills and students learn silently, they say they like the atmosphere, they laugh out loud together and chat,” she said.

“I think they like the attention they receive from people. Many of these old people didn't know how to read Korean and have been living anonymously. But now people recognize them and give them the attention they have longed for, which makes them feel like life is still worth living at 80.

“When I first mentioned the amateur theater festival in a neighboring county, I was worried about travel if they might fall or feel fatigued on the move. But now I know travel was not at all a problem but a picnic for them. Like the troupe's name, I wish those old ladies can have more happy laughs in the years ahead and have their second youth as puppeteers.”

Troupe members read a script for their puppet show at a community center in Sanseong-ri, Jeongmi County, South Chungcheong Province, in July 2018. Provided by Moon Young-mi