Although the Center for Puppetry Arts is not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about where to spend your Valentine’s Day – this year maybe it should be! During their “Oh, Poe is Me!” Valentine’s Weekend, running from February 11 – 14, guests can enjoy the classic works of Poe as only puppets can tell it.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine wanted to find out more about this unique event so we talked to several people over at the Center for Puppetry Arts including Jessie Petri and director of the show, Bobby Box.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: How did the concept of the “Oh, Poe is Me” weekend come about?
Jessie Petri : With the show running through the Valentine’s Day Weekend, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to take Poe’s themes of tragedy and “love lost” and incorporate them into an alternative Valentine’s Day event – one that doesn’t just have to be for happy couples, but also for singles who aren’t feeling so fond of love right now. Whether you are coupled up or happily single, everyone can relate to a romance gone awry, a bad breakup or an unrequited crush.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: For those who have never been to the Center for Puppetry Arts – what can they expect from this event?
JP: While the Center is certainly a wonderful place for kids, many people who have never been here before assume that shows for young children are all that we do here. Tales of Edgar Allan Poe is part of our New Directions Series, which consists of shows that are designed for teen and adult audiences. These shows usually deal with slightly darker or more mature subject matter or feature a more sophisticated brand of humor. Additionally, the “Oh, Poe is Me!” Valentine’s Weekend is one of our “Center After Dark” Events, which means that adult visitors can stop by our cash bar, wander around our exhibits, and experience a more “grown-up” side of the Center while they’re here to see a show.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: How was the Tales of Edgar Allan Poe show developed?
Bobby Box: In 1999, when the show was originally conceived, we were searching for something that would appeal to our New Direction Series audience and would develop our programming for teens. Poe’s stories are great and loved by teens and adults alike, plus we were sure that puppets would be a great medium for conveying these stories. It just seemed like a perfect fit. Originally, the show was conceived on a smaller, table-top scale. However, when we revised the show in 2003, we wanted to open it up and better reflect Poe’s psyche. We modified the script and set, placing Poe as the narrator who both tells the stories as well as helps to act them out.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: How much preparation does it take to put on a show like this?
BB: It really takes an enormous amount of planning. After the idea is conceived and the script written, we set to work designing the puppets, sets, and sounds. Then, we start rehearsals and bring all of the elements together. This production is very tightly choreographed, in terms of both the puppets and the puppeteers, who are visible throughout. The show is very clockwork. For example there are many transformations in the sets, the props and the puppets. A cupboard becomes a ship at sea; a character’s face deteriorates; a soul is entrapped in a portrait. In order to make these things happen, every detail must be carefully considered, researched and executed.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: How were the puppets for the Edgar Allan show created?
BB: All of the puppets were handcrafted in the Center’s own Puppet Workshop. For Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, the heads of the puppets were sculpted in clay and then cast in a plastic called neoprene. The bodies are carved out of foam rubber. The legs are made out of wooden dowels and jointed with steel hinges. The puppeteers use their own hands as the puppet’s hands to help handle all of the props in the show. A few of the puppets even have special tricks built into them: the cat has a blood rig in its eye, the bride has a transforming face, the old man has a light up eye and his body can be disassembled.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: What is the concept behind the show and how did you feel it would relate to Valentine’s Day?
BB: The idea behind the show is that various spirits of Poe’s character’s arise from the ruins of the House of Usher to torment the author by making him (a puppet) re-live his stories as the protagonist in them.
In real life, Poe’s love life was tragic, and his stories reflect his life experiences. He writes about love a lot, and was very interested in “matters of the heart.” In his life, there was nothing worse than losing the person that you love. And for this reason, he included such themes in his tales of horror.
Poe’s themes lent themselves nicely to a Valentine’s Day event that leaves behind the typical flowery romance that is usually associated with the holiday and instead focuses on the obsessive, tragic love that Poe’s stories are so well known for. We thought it would be a lot of fun to take Poe’s darker, slightly twisted outlook on the subject and turn it into a weekend long event that is open to couples and singles alike.
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: Since the puppet show scene in the popular movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” do you feel there’s been a resurgence of people’s interest in the puppetry arts?
BB: It’s a funny thing. Every few years, it seems that something really cool happens in the world of puppetry that suggests a resurgence, whether it’s something big like The Dark Crystal, The Lion King or Avenue Q, or something as small as Triumph the Insult Dog or the “Millennium Puppets” in Times Square. If there is a constant resurgence, then is it really resurgence? Or is it a natural tide and flow of a particular art form?
Whatever the case, waves of popularity are always welcome and appreciated. And the puppet segment from Forgetting Sarah Marshall is great!
Buzz Entertainment Magazine: How is this show unique or different from the other shows?
BB: Tales of Edgar Allan Poe is non-traditional and very different from our Family Series shows. This is a very dark show, and serious for the most part, although there are undoubtedly moments where Poe’s sardonic, macabre humor shows through… sometimes in very disturbing ways.
Besides the tone of the show, there is also the very unique element of the use of the puppeteer as the actual storyteller. Throughout the various stories, different puppeteers serve as narrators; the Poe puppet is always the main character, but he is passed amongst the entire cast as the stories are told.
Joining the puppeteers on stage is Klimchak; he composed the music and soundscape for the show. He performs everything live, just as the action unfolds, providing an interesting visual element in addition to his sound contributions.