Why Puppets?

Ok. So, why puppets? They are weird. People who play with puppets are also weird. Why start making puppets or aspire to perform with them?

A quick synopsis on who I am. I’m a professional flute player and flute maker. Obviously, I am uniquely qualified to be a puppeteer!! (Here’s hoping the flute players don’t find this…) No. Really, I grew up in the 80s. As a kid all of my favorite movies had puppets. On top of that, my father and I were always playing with puppets. I never thought a lot about it. Like whether or not I was good at it. I just played with them and had a lot of them.

Fast forward to 2017. My friends and I go to DragonCon in Atlanta GA every year. It was there that I discovered DragonCon’s “Puppetry Track.” It is like a mini puppet convention within a larger pop culture convention. When I was there I bought a puppet. It was made by Stacy Gordon of Puppet Pie. I brought him, who I named DJ, back to my friends and immediately tried him out. They freaked out! He was moving in too “lifelike” a way! I was doing it!

Between 2017 and now I have tried a lot of puppet-y things. I have taken a couple of classes at the Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline MA. I have also taken part in many puppet panels at numerous DragonCons. I have learned a lot, but I am ready to dive in deeper.

What I have found in puppetry is a new way to perform. I can bring a character to life without worrying about whether or not I am going to hit the right notes. In fact, mistakes make it more fun. Interacting with people though a puppet is different every time I do it. And people smile! They also talk to puppets in ways they would not normally interact with a “human,” which is often a pleasant surprise for them.

My plan for Mill City Puppet Company is to take new steps into the puppetry world that I have not taken yet. I plan to bring a new group of characters to life based in Lowell Massachusetts. This blog will serve as a place for me to document what I am learning, since I have a lot to learn. I will be learning about puppet building, performing and recording. Hopefully what I share here will be helpful for others as well!