Puppet Lady

Our puppetry movement coach Angela Olson gives us the inside scoop on rehearsals for Into the Darkness!

Coming on board as the puppetry movement coach for Into the Darkness has been an absolute pleasure. The cast and artistic team has crafted a fantastic piece of theatre that I feel lucky to be a part of. Since the early workshops to the start of rehearsals, it has been a joy to help shape, respond to, and support this show.

As puppetry movement coach, my main job is to help guide the performers as they operate the puppets and objects in the show. I collaborate with the performers and director David Hanzal to craft a puppetry "language" of different movements and gestures.  During rehearsals, we explore the range of movements that the puppets can do by trying (and failing) A LOT. In a typical rehearsal I might ask, "Can he stand on his head? How would that look? How would he get there?" or, "What happens when you make her fly? Can she laugh maniacally?" I help to shape the scenes by looking for "sticky" spots and giving an outside perspective on how to work through them. Often times, the back stage "choreography" is just as important as what's happening on stage, and I help figure that out too. Sometimes the question isn't "What can the puppet do?", but rather, "How the hell can we get our bodies to move that way?" As puppetry movement director, I help answer those questions and untangle the human choreography side of puppet performance.

Into the Darkness utilizes puppets to tell two fairy tales in a considered and frequently ingenious way. Puppets are a great story telling tool (I'm biased) because puppets can do anything and still make it happen within reality. A puppet can show sorrow by collapsing into a puddle or elation by floating into the air - the exaggeration of these types of emotions help us (the audience) feel things in a more visceral way during Into the Darkness because we can really SEE it. With human actors, we are limited by physics and gravity, but puppets are beyond those limitations, which give them a unique allure.

I have loved every second of puppet movement coaching during Into the Darkness. The cast and artistic team has been so incredibly patient - puppetry involves many, many "takes" to find the right movement or gestures. Additionally, I have loved the generous and collaborative spirit of the team. Several times we've faced a challenge that the whole team has come together to solve. Working with puppets is a unique experience with it's own unique challenges.  You have to work within the limits of the puppet and the space, all while attempting to craft gestures and movements that transcend the typical boundaries of human abilities. The performers in Into the Darkness have faced this challenge without fear or hesitation, and I am honored to have a part in their creation.

Into the Darkness will be performed November 15-24 at Shakespearean Youth Theatre (550 Vandalia Street, Suite 306, St. Paul, MN 55114). More information can be found here.

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