My Path to Janusz Korczak
Kaytek in Minneapolis 2018 with Brian
Working marionette at the library in a production of Cinderella
written by me and directed by Brian
I never wanted anything as a child except to feel like I was as smart, strong, and outgoing as the big kids. I was the youngest of five girls, a doctor’s daughter. I always felt inadequate in the wake of my older sisters. That is why I suppose I always gravitated toward the stories of those who weren’t getting a fair shake in life.
Growing up in the 1960s southern United States, I was only minimally aware that some folks didn’t have the privileges I had. I did not know the history or extent of the injustice until I was much older. As a small child, I could just feel that something was wrong, and my heart hurt for people around me.
As I got older and had friends of all races, I thought I was on the cutting edge of inclusivity. I was an actor, and I was open to everyone and everything. I still didn’t really get it, not really.
As I continued my self-focused actor’s path, my career took me to New York City and Los Angeles. I had a successful career, so they tell me, but meaningful contribution to my community was missing. I left the film/TV world, had a family, and began working in children’s theater. This led to a 20-year career in puppetry with Brian Hull housed in the Nashville Public Library. At least I was serving my fellow citizens in this job, making families happy and being artistically fulfilled through writing, building, and performing a myriad of puppet stories for Nashville’s children and their families.
One day Brian brought a book to my cubicle, Kaytek the Wizard, and said, “Look at this Harry Potter rip off.” We had a laugh. Then he said to look at the copyright…1933. He became intrigued, did a little research and before I knew it, I, too, was delving into the life, work and fate of Janusz Korczak.
Korczak’s and Kaytek’s stories struck so many chords with me: the impoverished children; the need to understand children and their development; the injustice of the Holocaust; the futility of war; the desire for children to feel that they have some control over their lives; the need to keep childhood and it’s wonder alive as long as possible; the importance of putting children in a place of honor in the world. All of it caught me and pulled me to it. Also, Brian was going to make a vehicle to showcase Korczak and his work and introduce him to American audiences whether anyone helped him or not. I decided to help him.
Now, here we are, in our own way, with puppet story versions of Kaytek the Wizard and King Matt the First, attempting to bring the life and teachings of Janusz Korczak to anyone who will listen.
For me, it all harkens back to my younger self who could only feel the injustice in the world not knowing that it was literally in my backyard in Nashville, Tennessee in the 1960’s.
There are American humanitarians’ stories that I could have embraced as closely as I have Dr. Korczak’s, but it is the focus on children that has struck such a chord with me. Bringing to light the respect and focus that children deserve is at the core of my desire to keep his name, life and sacrifice alive. His wisdom and teachings are a timeless guide for us all.
Mary Tanner is a board member of the Janusz Korczak Association of the USA. She can be reached at marytanner5@gmail.com.