Puppeteering

Illustration: Ilana Kohn

Date: March 21, 2009 12:45:14 PM EDT
To: inyc@timeoutny.com
Subject: Puppets! Muppets! Oh My!

Hey Time Out,
New to NY by about nine months (from Los Angeles) and recently got into puppetry/Muppetry as a part of my creative process. Are there any great classes on puppets (both how to build one and acting with one), theater companies which specialize in the craft, and possible museums of the craft that I could be clued in on? Thanks —Sierra

"Some might say that NYC is a very puppety town, or the puppety town," says puppeteer Jonathan Cross (also known in performing circles as Johnny ClockWorks), the artistic director of the Cosmic Bicycle Theatre and ClockWorks Puppetry Studios (cosmicbicycle.com). But that doesn't mean that it's easy to pull the right strings, so to speak. "Strangely enough, given the sheer number of puppeteers in the city at the present moment, there is only one permanent puppet theater in Manhattan today," says Cross, pointing to the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, which does children's programming. Despite the dearth of dedicated spaces for the art, New York has its puppet classics (both Avenue Q and Sesame Street are on New York's map, remember) and puppet masters, including Cross and premier puppeteer Basil Twist. For those that are seriously dedicated to experimenting with the craft, the key is initiative; look into apprenticeships—which is how Cross honed his technique—and keep a close tab on the many puppet companies.

Performances

If you thought waking up as a giant insect was a far-out idea, imagine using Czech marionettes to explore the life and mind of Kafka himself. Puppet Kafka begins Wednesday 22 at the HERE Arts Center (145 Sixth Ave between Dominick and Spring Sts; 212-647-0202, dramaofworks.com/kafka), featuring found-object puppets and marionettes. For bawdier audiences, Puppetry of the Penis at Comix (353 W 14th St between Eighth and Ninth Aves; 212-524-2500, puppetryofthepenis.com) on Wednesday 22 is "a grand repertoire of genital gesticulations." Seeing a smoking penis trick satisfies a curiosity you didn't know you had. Wonderboy at the Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Ave at 19th St; 212-242-0800, joegoode.org) starts April 23. A creative collaboration between Twist and the Joe Goode Performance Group, it's the story of a boy whose gift of intuition causes him to feel like an outsider, told through puppets and dance.

Companies

While children's puppet theater groups are more common, there are a number of all-ages companies to follow. Great Small Works (greatsmallworks.org) has been around for more than a decade and takes pride in its varied performances, from giant puppet pageants to miniature "toy theater" shows. The traditional Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (czechmarionettes.org) uses marionettes mostly made in Prague, and their next production, The Revolution, will go on stage in November. Kevin Augustine's Lone Wolf Tribe (138 South Oxford St between Atlantic Ave and Hanson Pl, Fort Greene, Brooklyn; 718-398-3701, lonewolftribe.com) is an innovative troupe; actor-director Augustine experiments not only with new techniques, but story lines. His newest production, The Hobo Grunt Cycle, includes dogfighting and tramp clowns, and has a workshop performance in May.

Classes

Better your puppet-making skills and the planet with free workshops from Earth Celebrations (120 Warren St at Chambers St; 212-777-7969, earthcelebrations.com). They take place every Saturday through May 2, then on May 9 the giant papier–mâché puppets become part of the Hudson River Pageant, an ecological-awareness festival. The Lone Wolf Tribe's workshops incorporate the company's foam rubber techniques, and participants leave with the puppet heads they sculpt; the next $50 class is May 17. The Puppetry in Practice Center (Brooklyn College, 2900 Bedford Ave at Campus Rd, Flatbush, Brooklyn; 718-951-4240, puppetryinpractice.com) was originally based around bilingual education, but now has a broader mission and has a puppet museum. They don't have adult workshops scheduled at this time, but they are known to teach classes on creating festival puppets, doing stop-animation and mask-making.

Above and beyond

• Bookmark websites from the Jim Henson Foundation (hensonfoundation.org), which has a Puppet Happenings newsletter, and Puppet Hub (puppethub.com) for updates from the puppeteer community.

• Carbo-load at the Spaghetti Dinners series organized by Great Small Works. First started in 1978, the series includes pasta, performance and puppet talk.

• Practice your best snicker for Slutty Puppets at the Galapagos Art Space (16 Main St at Water St, Dumbo, Brooklyn; 718-222-8500, galapagosartspace.com) on May 26; it's just what it sounds like.

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