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Elkton couple uses 'Kingdom Karactors' in religious message
By ED OKONOWICZ

Jim and Bonnie Blank display puppets from their shows.

ELKTON, Md. - Entertainment often is used to convey a message. Kingdom Karactors, a puppet troupe based in Cecil County, uses New Testament themes to do it. Bonnie and Jim Blank, owners of Elkton's Anchor Realty, have served as leaders of the 1 ½ -year-old group, which has 23 adult members. 

The Blanks said Kingdom Karactors is designed to spread word about Jesus Christ, with humor and singing in a light and upbeat way. Their audiences include preschoolers, teens, young -adults and retirees. 

The effort started when Bonnie Blank, who had been into clowning, took her husband to a week of workshops in 1991 in Cleveland. After admitting to be a reluctant escort, Jim now refers to the Experience as "the best vacation I ever had." Among the clown techniques Jim discovered was puppetry. By the end of the workshop, the instructor asked Jim to perform with the summer session puppet troupe in Cleveland. After that experience, he was hooked. "We drove back with four puppets, which we had purchased," Bonnie said. She described the creatures as professional-size puppets, similar to those created by the late Jim Henson for "Sesame Street." From that original quartet, the Blank puppet collection has grown during the last 18 months. The Blank home holds a colorful cast of 84 puppets, which perform more than 100 public, and private shows a year. And all but the original four puppets were handmade by the Elkton couple. Because commercial puppets sell for at least $100, the Blanks decided they could make their own characters for a more reasonable price. They also are able to custom-design the characters for their roles in the troupe's shows. The couple also takes orders and sells the puppets for about $50, Jim said.

 The troupe rehearses in the Blank living room on a large, curtained, two-tiered stage measuring 8 feet wide, 12 feet deep and 8 feet high. The puppet masters, from 17 to 60 years old, come from Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Although a majority of the performances are in churches, for festivals, special celebrations and Sunday school sessions, an impressive list of appearances includes adult and child day-care centers, nursing homes and hospitals. The Blanks got into the puppet performing business because; they said there is a need for children to know about Jesus. "This is a unique way of getting their attention," Bonnie said. Despite the hard work, they both find their chosen avocation rewarding. "I enjoy the feedback and the expressions of the kids, what they get out of it," Jim said. "You can't see them from behind the-stage, but you can hear their re-actions. To hear 250 kids singing "Silent Night" was .an emotional experience. It's a ministry for us." That's why we do it." 

One of the hardest things, said Bonnie Blank, is letting go of the puppets they make. As soon as, they start taking shape, they get their own personalities, she said.. Usually, they make seven or eight: at a time. Depending upon their looks or purpose, they'll get names like Joe Cool or Julia, Roscoe or Bobbie. But we won't name the one's we're going to sell," Jim said, because you get too attached His wife agreed, "Once they get a name, they don't leave the. house. I'm very attached to my puppets. With one particular puppet most of the puppeteers won't pick her up because they know how attached I am to her." 

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