Buffalo Spree Magazine

THEATER
More puppets for grown-ups
By Mark Ciemcioch

Those walking into Avenue Q expecting to see puppets teach us about sharing and the letter ‘R’ will be in for a surprise. The puppets of the Tony-award winning Broadway production (at Shea’s Performing Arts Center April 29–May 4) have something else up their sleeves. Set in the outer boroughs of New York City, Avenue Q follows recent college graduate Princeton as he meets several other disillusioned puppets finding their way through life. With songs like “If You Were Gay,” “The Internet is for Porn,” and “I’m Not Wearing Underwear Today,” the comedy musical is definitely geared toward adult audiences. Actors manipulate the puppets onstage, as they interact with other puppets and the human “characters” in the show. Philadelphia native Maggie Lakis is one of thirteen cast members working puppets backstage and offering vocal support during ensemble songs. She joined after performing in several productions in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area, and recently took time out from the busy touring schedule to answer some questions.

What’s your role in the ensemble?
We do a lot of backstage singing to fill out the sound and group numbers. We also do backstage puppetry. Once a puppet appears in the window, then there’s obviously somebody back there doing the work. In one song, we go out into the balcony with puppets so you get to see them up close.

Are the puppets that appear back stage in the actual production?
Yes. Instead of having the puppets “change costumes,” there are several different versions of the puppet. Each puppet is assigned a job and has a certain spot in the show. Some are just in the windows, some are used by the actors on stage, and there are others that go into the audience.

What other puppet experience did you have before this?
Very little, actually. Before 2006, I had none, and then all of a sudden, I had The BFG show at the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia where I basically had a puppet version of myself. At that time, my boyfriend Rob [McClure] had just got the part of Nicky in the Broadway production of Avenue Q. He got offered [the Princeton role] in the tour, and I said, “Do you think I could audition?” I did, and had to go to puppet camp to learn their style, because it’s very different.

What’s puppet camp like?
It’s two or three days, depending on time constraints. It’s the first time you really get to work with the Avenue Q puppets. In other auditions, we have a “ghetto puppet” where they can see if you can make the mouth move and whether you have the promise of being “teachable.” After your third audition, they decide whether you’re ready for puppet camp, and it’s still a part of the audition process. You get the very puppets you will use if you get in the show. You learn how to make them speak, look like they’re alive and walking. It starts with the very basics in making the puppet look like it’s breathing and alive. You also learn about focus. Since you can’t really see where your hand is looking at, you need to trust where your hand is looking, so the puppet is looking at the characters it’s supposed to be looking at on stage. It’s one of the main points you learn from puppet camp, because you can make it look alive, but if it’s looking at the wrong place, it’s very distracting. It’s intense, because if you’re not used to doing it, you realize what kind of stamina, arm, and hand strength you’re going to need to do the show.

What kind of reaction do you get from audiences? Do you ever get people who are expecting Sesame Street and are totally shocked by what it is?
It depends, but some people just don’t do enough research. We have it on all our posters, but I think some people are (season) subscribers who have tickets already and don’t really look into it. Those are the people where it’s a roll of the dice whether they’ll like it. We always tell people it’s for adults and to bring their sense of humor, because it’s risqué. But it’s all stuff that people can identify with, problems that everybody has encountered in life.

What’s your favorite moment in the show?
In the song “Purpose,” the character Princeton decides he needs to find his purpose in life. He’s moving into his apartment, singing around all these boxes, and all of a sudden, the boxes come to life to sing backup for him. That was the first moment where I thought, “This is a great show.”

On occasion, Mark Ciemcioch wouldn’t mind random boxes telling him what to do through song. He blogs at mildmanneredblog.wnymedia.net.

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