>> WELCOME TO "CROSSROADS.

IN TERMS OF SHEER FANTASY SOME OF OUR MOST EXCITING EARLY CHILDHOOD MOMENTS WERE SPENT WATCHING OR PARTICIPATING IN PUPPET SHOWS, WHY NOT.

WHERE ELSE CAN AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD PRODUCE A THREE DIMENSIONAL THEATRICAL PRODUCTION AT SUCH A MANAGEICAL SCALE.

WHETHER IT'S CHILDREN OR ADULTS, PUPPET THEATRE HAS ITS OWN WAY OF ENRICHING OUR HUMAN RESOURCES, IMAGINATION, AND CREATIVITY.

IT OFFERS THE MEANS FOR A LIMITLESS VARIETY OF VISUAL METAPHORS TO COVER THE RANGE OF EXPERIENCE, HUMAN OR OTHERWISE.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE OLDEST ARTISTIC MEDIUMS IN EXISTENCE, PUPPET THEATRE IS EMERGING AS AN ART FORM, DUE LARGELY TO MASTER PUPPET-MAKERS WHO DISCOVER WAYS OF REWRITING THE SHORTHAND THAT IT CAN BE.

ONE SUCH MASTER HAPPENS TO LIVE RIGHT HERE IN VERMONT.

>> TEN YEARS INTO HIS CAREER, MASTER PUPPETEER, BASIL MILOVSOROFF DISCOVERED WHAT THE ANCIENTS HAVE KNOWN ALL ALONG, THAT PUPPETRY BEGINS WITH THE PUPPETEER'S IMAGINATION AND THAT EVEN THE MOST BASIC AND PRIMITIVE MATERIALS CAN SERVE AS A VEHICLE FOR THE STORY-TELLER.

A WALK INTO THE WOODS BESIDE HIS HOUSE CAN YIELD A TREASURE TROVE OF MATERIALS.

A STICK, A ROCK, OR A LEAF ALL HAVE INFINITE POSSIBILITIES.

OUR LIMITED CONCEPT OF THE PUPPETRY AS AN ART FORM IS LIMITED TO OUR EXPERIENCE.

ON IT YEARS TELEVISION HAS LED MANY OF US TO ASSUME THAT PUPPETS ARE STRICTLY FOR KIDS.

THAT THEY ARE A COMPLETELY AMERICAN CREATION, AND A RELATIVE NEW PHENOMENON.

RIGHT?

WRONG ON ALL COUNTS.

IN FACT, PUPPETRY IS THE MOST ANCIENT ART FORM KNOWN TO MAN.

THE GREEKS WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO MAKE REFERENCE TO THE PUPPETRY.

ARISTOTLE WROTE ON THE SUBJECT AS FAR AS THE FOURTH CENTURY B.C.

TWO CENTURIES LATER, WOULD BE ACTORS IN INDIA TURNED TO SHADOW PLAYS BECAUSE IT WAS TABOO TO IMPERSONATE OTHERS.

THE SUSTA ESTABLISHMENT IS A TRE TO THE THEATRE ORIGINATING SOME 900 YEARS AGO BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE PUNCH AND JUDY MADE THEIR APPEARANCE IN THE 18th CENTURY ENGLAND THAT THE POPULARIZATION OF PUPPETRY BECAME A TRULY WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON.

BASIL MILOVSOROFF AND GEORGIA STARTED MAKING PUPPETS IN 1934 WHILE HE WAS STILL A STUDENT AT THE COLLEGE.

THEIR FOLK TALE PUPPET THEATRE WHICH LASTED 20 YEARS BECAME A MUST SEE FOR PUPPET LOVERS IN THE EAST, SOUTH, AND MIDWEST.

MIDWAY THROUGH THIS 20-YEAR PERIOD, MILOVSOROFF BEGAN EXPERIMENTING WITH THE NON-TRADITIONAL POSSIBILITIES OF PUPPETRY.

>> THEY WOULD BEGIN TO FILL YOUR WAY, SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE TO PRODUCE IT.

TO THE MEASURE THAT PEOPLE EXPECT YOU TO.

AND IT IS VERY INTERESTING TO GET INTO VARIOUS CORNERS AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO.

>> MILOVSOROFF LEFT PUPPETRY ENTIRELY IN 1957.

TRADING IN HIS TOOLS AND TRUCKLOAD OF TRAVELING COMPANIONS, FOR THE LESS TIRING AND MORE FINANCIALLY SECURE LIFE OF A COLLEGE PROFESSOR AT DARTMOUTH.

15 YEARS LATER HE LEFT ACADEMIA AND RETURNED TO HIS REAL PASSION.

>> DOES THIS HAVE A DIFFERENT FACE?

>> NO.

>> YOU CAN TREAT THEM ROUGH, UP TO A POINT, OF COURSE.

THIS TIME, OLDER AND MORE REFLECTIVE, HE THOSE THE EXHIBITION ROUTE RATHER THAN THE TOUR CIRCUIT.

>> OH, WOW.

>> DID YOU CHANGE THIS?

>> NOT REALLY.

BUT I DID, I ACTUALLY ADDED A LITTLE DECORATION ON TOP.

THIS CONTROLS THE MOUTH.

THE REASON IS I DON'T LIKE TO HAVE STRAIGHT CONTROLS BECAUSE THIS SORT OF BECOMES PART OF THE DESIGN.

AND SOME PEOPLE AND SOME CREATURES HAVE BIG MOUTHS.

[LAUGHTER] AS YOU CAN SEE.

>> HIS FLEMING MUSEUM SHOW WAS THE BEST ATTENDED IN THE MUSEUM'S HISTORY.

>> THIS RIGHT HERE IS TO MOVE ITS HEAD IN A CIRCLE, WHICH ONCE YOU ESTABLISH THIS, AND WHEN HE SAYS NO, THIS IS MORE FROM IT.

COLUMBINE, I MADE ONCE BUT IT DISAPPEARED SOMEWHERE.

I HAD NO TIME TO REPEAT THAT EXPERIENCE.

THE NEXT IS THE CANNON BALLS.

THEY ARE DANCERS, BASICALLY.

SO I WANT GETTING OLD AND WEAK, I GUESS.

[LAUGHTER] SO, WHEN YOU HAVE A GROUP OF THIS, WITH THE DIFFERENT NOISES THAT THEY MAKE, I THINK THEY ARE MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN THE HUMAN NATIVE DANCERS.

IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF POSSIBILITIES, SIMPLY BECAUSE A MEDIUM THAT HAS NOT BEEN EXPLOITED FULLY.

WE TRY TO MORE OR LESS FOLLOW THE TRADITIONAL WAYS THAT IS THE REGULAR STAGE, OR OTHER THEATRE ART BUT IT IS A VISUAL ART, AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE THINK I OVEREMPHASIZE IT BUT BY OVEREMPHASIZING IT, I HOPE THAT I CAN CONVINCE SOME PEOPLE TO FOLLOW THIS BECAUSE THERE IS MORE FUN IN THIS.

[APPLAUSE] >> ALEXANDER, OH.

>> YOU MUST USE PROJECTIONS.

THE ART, IT'S VERY ADAPTABLE, REALLY.

>> DO YOU SEE THE PROJECTIONS HERE?

CAN YOU DO ANYTHING HERE?

>> WELL, THIS IS A PROJECTION, YOU SEE, YOU PHOTOGRAPH IT, AND IN COLOR, AND YOU PROJECT IT ONTO THE WALL.

AND PLAY AGAINST IT.

THAT'S ALL THAT THERE IS TO IT.

>> IT'S NOT HARD TO RECOGNIZE WHICH HOME BELONGS TO THE PUPPET-MAKER.

THE GREETER IS VISITED BY A WOODEN FORM RESEMBLING A DRAGON, ONE OF SEVERAL PLAYFUL EXTERIOR CLUES TO WHAT LIES INSIDE.

¦ >> OVER THE YEARS MILOVSOROFF'S ARTISTRY HAS UNDERGONE ALMOST CONSTANT REVISION AND EVOLUTION.

YET, THROUGH IT ALL, HIS TOOLS HAVE REMAINED ESSENTIALLY THE SAME.

>> NEARLY EVERY DAY SINCE 1948, MILOVSOROFF HAS PASSED THROUGH THIS DOOR TO WORK IN THE 10-BY-15 ROOM HE CALLS HIS STUDIO.

THE CLIPPINGS ON THE WALLS REVEAL THE PASSAGE OF TIME.

BUT OTHERWISE, THE ROOM HASN'T CHANGED MUCH DURING THE LAST 40 YEARS.

SOMETIMES PRIMITIVE PUPPETS ARE PRIMITIVELY DESIGNED.

YOU FIND THAT THEY CONVEYED A CHARACTER MUCH QUICKER THAN WHEN YOU ARE REALISIC ABOUT IT.

AS FAR AS SHAPING, IT IS NOT IMPORTANT AS LONG AS IT'S ACTUALLY SUGGESTS A NOSE, LET IT BE THAT WAY, YOU SEE.

IT ACTUALLY GIVES IT MORE CHARACTER.

YOU CAN, IF YOU WANT TO, YOU CAN TAKE TAKE ONE LIKE THIS, FOR INSTANCE, AND WORK IT DOWN.

SO IT WILL NOT BE SO SHARP.

YOU CAN TAKE A KNIFE OR A I SEEA KNIFE OR A CHISEL AND CRUST THIS.

THIS PUSHES THINGS TOWARDS REALISM.

IT'S ALREADY NARROWED SOMEWHAT.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE CHAINS THAT ARE VERY SHARP AND SOME HAVE NONE AT ALL.

SO, AND MAKE THE PUPPETS.

THEY ARE FULL OF NUTS AND BENDS AND SO ON, AND YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN USE.

I THINK THAT THIS PARTICULAR PUPPET IS A GOOD GYMNAST.

[LAUGHTER] >> INTEGRATING TO THE U.S.

FROM SIBERIA IN 1927, MILOVSOROFF WAS ABLE TO CREATE MANY PUPPET SCULPTURES BASED ON RUSSIAN, AS WELL AS AMERICAN FOLK TALES AND BALLET.

OTHERS HAVE NO STORY BASIS, AND ALLOW THE VIEWER TO USE HIS OWN IMAGINATION.

>> WELL, THIS IS THE FIRST PUPPETS, AND THEY SPRUNG FROM THE FACT THAT BOTH OF US GRADUATED DURING THE DEPRESSION.

AND OUR RESOURCES AFTER GRADUATION WERE LIMITED, AND I JUST HAPPENED TO SEE A FRIEND DOING PUPPETS.

SO, THE PUPPETS ARE ACTUALLY BORN IN THE UNITED STATES.

>> WHILE MOST WOULD BE BASKING IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE EARLIER YEARS, MILOVSOROFF'S MOST RECENT WORK SHOWS THAT HE STILL IS EXPLORING NEW GROUND.

HIS ATOMIC AGE MACHINES BRING THE VIEWER THE CLOSEST YET TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT HE'S TRYING TO CONVEY ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF PUPPETRY.

>> IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, YOU CAN SEE THERE INCONSPICUOUSLY, IT'S VERY CONSPICUOUS, REALLY, SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS.

WELL, THEY ARE, ACTUALLY, DESIGNED IN THE SAME SHAPE BECAUSE FROM THIS POINT OF RESISTANCE AND SO ON, THAT THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING THAT FLIES THROUGH THE AIR, PERHAPS, WITH BETTER EASE.

BUT THEY ARE THERE FOR THE PURPOSE OF GOING INTO THE UNIVERSE AND EXPLORING WHAT THEY CAN FIND, HOPING THAT THEY FIND SOME LIFE ON SOME DISTANT PLANET.

SO, BASICALLY, THOSE ARE THE INNOCENCE OF THINGS, ALTHOUGH THEY LOOK LIKE CONTEMPORARY ARMAMENTS.

ALL THIS STUFF, OF COURSE, YOU USE YOUR FANCY TO ARRANGE THE IMAGINARY THINGS, TO BRING THIS INTO MOTION.

THIS IS THE LAST, THE LATEST ONE UNFINISHED, AND I AM GETTING THERE DOWN TO THEIR DESIGN, ACTUALLY, MAKING IT SIMPLER, AND FRANKLY, I BEGIN TO SEE THE SIMPLER, THE BETTER.

BUT YOU HAVE TO GO WITH STARTING THE IDEA, AND AS IT GROWS IN YOUR MIND YOU TRY CHANGES.

THIS ONE, INSTEAD OF BUILDING ONE I BUILD SIX OF THEM.

TO TRY VARIOUS THINGS.

>> SINCE HIS STUDIO WAS FILLED, MILOVSOROFF RELIES ON MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS AND HIS OWN LIVING ROOM TO HANDLE THE OVERFLOW OF PUPPETS.

THE LATTER SOLUTION GIVES HIM AN EXCUSE TO SHARE HIS LIVING QUARTERS WITH HIS CREATIONS.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> IMAGINATION AT WORK ACTUALLY CAN PRODUCE MOST OF THE SAME THINGS.

THE MAIN THING IS TO KEEP AWAY FROM THE REPEATING REALITIES BECAUSE THE PUPPETS ARE MADE TO MAKE REAL THAT IT IS THREE DIMENSIONAL, THE IMAGINATION.

PEOPLE REALIZE THAT WE WILL BECOME RICHER BY THAT EXPERIENCE.

>> IT WAS ONCE THE STUFF OF CIRCUS SIDE SHOWS, A RECEPTIBLE CONSISTING OF OVERWAITING, PAST, PRIME, FORMER ATHLETES WOWING SMALL-TOWN AUDIENCES WITH THEIR DUBIOUS SHOWS OF STRENGTH.

WHO HAVE THOUGHT THAT WEIGHTLIFTING WOULD BE AS POPULAR AND DOWNRIGHT FASHIONABLE AS IT HAS IN RECENT YEARS.

ALWAYS A SLAVE TO FASHION, OUR OWN DECEPTIVELY MUSCULAR PERSON HAS BECOME AN UNLIKELILY PERSON OF THE IRON GAME.

LET'S JOIN OUR LIFE FOLLY COMMENTATOR DURING A PARTICULARLY TRYING WORKOUT.

>> I AM NOT GYM WORKING ON MY MUSCLE DEFINITION.

IF YOU CARE IT CHECK IT OUT, A MUSCLE IS A FIBROUS TISSUE USED TO ADD MOTION TO THE BODY.

HOW IS THAT FOR MUSCLE DEFINITION?

GET IT?

I WILL HAVE TO ADMIT, YOU WOULD KNOW IT BUT I DON'T SPEND AS MUCH GYM TIME AS I SHOULD.

BODY BUILDING IS THE TYPE OF CAREER THAT YOU ALMOST HAVE TO TAKE YOUR WORK HOME WITH YOU AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW.

AND ANOTHER THING, I THINK IT'S GETTING TOO COMPETITIVE.

YOU SEE THESE BODY BUILDING COMPETITIONS AND BACKSTAGE EVERYBODY IS GETTING PUNCHED UP AND READY, AND THE COMPETITORS ARE USING PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE ON EACH OTHER.

THEY ARE WALKING BEHIND EACH OTHER SAYING, YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT I STAY AWAY FROM IT, AND YET I HAVE TO ADMIT BODY BUILDING HAS BEEN VERY GOOD TO ME.

FOR ONE THING I MAKE GOOD MONEY AT IT.

YOU PROBABLY NOTICED THERE IS NO LOGO OR NAME OF A NATIONAL CHAIN OF GYMS ON MY SHIRT HERE.

AND I SPEND A HEALTHY CHECK IT KEEP IT THAT WAY, AND ALTHOUGH I DON'T WORK OUT THAT MUCH, ONE PART OF MY BODY IS VERY WELL DEVELOPED, AS A MATTER OF FACT, OVERDEVELOPED.

MY ANKLES.

I DON'T MEAN THIS WAY, I MEAN IN LENGTH.

MY ANKLES ARE SO LONG MY SHINBONES HAVE BEEN DONATED UPON MY DEATH TO THE CORNELL SCHOOL OF MEDICINE SO THE DOCTORS CAN USE THEM AS STICK BALL BATS WHEN THEY TAKE A BREAK.

TAKE A LOOK AT THESE BABIES.

NOW, THAT'S THE LENGTH OF A TYPICAL ANKLE.

RIGHT HERE IS WHERE THE CALF MUSCLE SHOULD BE STARTING.

IT DELINEATES THE END OF THE ANKLE, AND YET, NOTHING.

STILL NO CALF MUSCLE.

STILL NONE.

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE.

IT'S NOT UNTIL WAY UP HERE THAT THE MUSCLE STARTS, FROM HERE TO HERE, AND IT IS STRAIGHT ANKLE.

AND THAT'S WHY, EVEN THOUGH I AM LISTED AT 6'2", WITHOUT THESE BABIES, I AM JUST 5'8".

IF YOU THINK IT'S EASY GOING THROUGH LIFE WALKING AROUND ON A PAIR OF STILTS, YOU ARE MISTAKEN.

EXCUSE ME NOW.

>> FOR MORE CLASSIC PROGRAMS, VISIT VERMONTPBS.ORG/FROMTHEARCHIVES.