Stage review: Partners in mime

PINOLE, Calif. — Walking into the Fratello Marionettes workshop is like stepping into a world of imagination. There are wolves and fantastical animals of every description, and stringed people of every size and shape.

Pillowcase-like bags, one for each of the dozens of marionettes, hang from racks. Hooks in the beams allow marionettes to be hung for painting or costume fitting.

Marionettes have existed thousands of years, dating back to the days of ancient Rome and Greece.

In the Bay Area, Fratello Marionettes keep the string play alive.

"We're just like big 3-year-olds," enjoying what they do, said Kevin Menegus.

Fratello founder Menegus and Fred. C. Riley III, his partner in mime, turn Styrofoam, string and wood into magic.

They perform at schools, libraries and theaters around the West Coast. And, working from a Danville, Calif., office and a Pinole, Calif., workshop, they make their own marionettes and restore old ones to new life.

"Right now in the Bay Area, we are the only company that solely uses marionettes," said Menegus, 35. "Some puppetry companies use marionettes in their work, but we only use marionettes for our work."

Puppetry in general is on the upswing.

"In the last 10 years, there has been a definite increase in the use of puppetry," said Steve Abrams of Philadelphia, a past president of Puppeteers of America — which has 1,500 individuals and 116 member puppet companies. "'Late Late Show' host Craig Ferguson uses hand puppets that are made in (the Bay Area), and marionette builders frequently work on stop-action animation films, like 'Coraline,' or the English Wallace and Gromit films."

But "there are fewer marionettists these days than other types of puppeteers. I would guess maybe one in four or five," said Michael Nelson, past president of the San Francisco Bay Area Puppetry Guild.

Maybe it's because of the devotion needed for a company like Fratello.

"It's all handmade," said Menegus.

"We're not just puppeteers, we're painters, sculptors, seamstresses. We write the stories and the scripts — everything. Each marionette is totally handmade," said Menegus, who said that it takes a full year to plan a show, write the script, make the marionettes and to rehearse.