To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Janmarie. I have worked at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo
as a puppeteer for five years under Jesse Vail's supervision.
In my experience working along side of Jesse, he has proven to
be very professional, inspirational and an asset to any project
that he takes on.
As a puppeteer, Jesse mentored under Lewis Mahlmann for many years.
With his own creative and comedic flair, Jesse has since expounded
on this foundation to create his own niche and style in puppetry.
Loved by both children and parents, Jesse's puppetry can be enjoyed
on many levels. His cartoonish signature style of puppet and prop
building is engaging to look at, taking the audience into a real-life
fantasy land. His expertise is shown in the way that he masterfully
solves creative hurdles. There is nothing that Jesse dreams that
he cannot make function. I've seen him delight audiences with
props of all kinds, from a larger-than-life elephant costume,
a neon blinking route to grandma's house, to a docile and innocent
three-inch-high Thumbelina.
As versatile as he is stylish, Jesse can abandon his cartoon puppets
and successfully produce ethnically inspired shows with broad
spans of difference. From Asian and African folktales to Greek
mythological shadow puppet shows, Jesse took unfamiliar arenas
and honed in on minute details to make spectacular end results.
Jesse's attention to detail is one of the qualities that make
him so successful. Not only in prop and puppet building, but in
his performance as well. Targeting subtleties and giving life
to inanimate objects is an art that few are capable of doing well.
Jesse does them with complete believability, even after three
shows a day, seven days week... his performances never fail to
retain freshness or to amuse an audience.
Jesse's passion and commitment to amusing parents and children
have led him to impact the community in ways other than daily
puppet shows. Seven years ago, Jesse undertook the summer puppet
camp program at Happy Hollow. He revolutionized the way that summer
camps are run. Geared toward children 5 - 9 years old, Jesse's
program is so successful that camps sell out before the summer
even begins. With up to three themes a summer, children often
plead to attend multiple camps. With unlimited creative resources,
the camps' revenue easily paid the staff, supplies, and still
had extra revenue to pay for the following year.
Though Jesse's camp was monitored by ranks of staff helpers, no
one could compare to Jesse's antics. While many people are "good
with children," few can actually meet them at a level that
encourages them to open up creatively, abandoning fears of judgment
from peers. Essentially, kids love Jesse. I've seen the shyest
of girls become big-mouthed "foo foo heads" after two
hours of camp. Even obnoxious children heed his lead and enjoy
making puppets and even performing! Children need someone who
will talk to them, not down to them, to monitor their creative
process. The summer camp program was so wildly successful that
parents rallied Jesse to open up a new camp for advanced children
who were too old to attend regular camp. There will literally
be dozens of broken hearts this summer at Happy Hollow, upon learning
that Jesse will not be their instructor. Many loyal fans will
follow him to wherever he goes. Jesse's camps have been a brilliant
program, having a positive impact on the children of the community.
Jesse has also had much impact on his fellow employees. When hiring
puppeteers, he hired applicants with love of theater who had something
to offer. This enriched the theater with people who had talent
in many areas: painting, performing, graphic arts, voice-over
acting, even musicians. Egos never got in the way at the theater,
all talent had one goal: the best possible end result, always
with the audience and children in mind. A natural leader and sensitive
supervisor, Jesse Vail has inspired the puppeteers who have come
and gone throughout the years to do better in their own artistic
endeavors. By making staff feel completely at ease, Jesse forfeited
the role of boss for the role of mentor and friend to many of
us.
I personally have considered myself infinitely lucky for getting
the chance to work under Jesse. Seeing how big of a positive impact
his years at Happy Hollow have been, I feel a sense of accomplishment
knowing that I had a small role in something bigger than I can
ever know. I would most definitely recommend Jesse to anyone interested
in giving him a leadership role in a creative environment. He
is an asset that any organization would be proud of. His expertise,
talent and inspiration will only generate positivity and success.
Please feel free to email or call me with any further questions.
Sincerely,
Janmarie