“It has all the intention of human interaction and emotion, but it lives in a different form so it dials back fear of that other human and lets you as an audience person feel comfortable.” “The puppet lives in this in-between world,” Aun said. The accessibility lies in the unique way puppetry situates itself in reality and in the imagination of its audience. On these days, Center staff adjust lighting and sound to be more even and less harsh, so that the museum and shows are more approachable. The Center offers sensory-friendly days that are particularly catered to patrons with sensory sensitivities. As such, the Center for Puppetry Arts places an emphasis on encouraging all people, regardless of ability or circumstance, to learn about and enjoy puppetry. This makes puppetry a naturally accessible medium as it is representational and a hybridization of so many different visual and aural forms. The puppet’s ability to be exactly what it is allows it to transcend human communication. Because puppetry can be this literal, Aun said that audiences “don’t have to make a leap of faith” to see characters as they are. Although his hands treated her, Aun said that his lack of a head demonstrated that he “had no eyes or ears to hear” her suffering. “Puppets are the distillation of whatever they are meant to communicate,” Aun said.Īs an example, Aun cited a show she led in which a doctor, portrayed as a headless puppet, attends to his ailing wife. While traditional theater may incorporate multiple forms like dance and song, Aun said that it is ultimately limited by what a human can be. This convergence of art forms is what separates puppetry from other forms of theatrical arts. “It is the nexus of all art … It is all the visual arts.”Ĭourtesy of the Center for Puppetry Arts. “Puppetry is fundamentally about a story, but it includes design and dance, choreography,” Center for Puppetry Arts Producer Therese Aun said. The rich history of the puppet, and its continued ability to enthrall, demonstrates the power of an object in space and movement to conjure any and all kinds of subjects and emotions. They are objects that vary in form, from marionettes on strings, to massive faces which loom above you, to a simple shadow created by light and negative space. While walking through the exhibits, I became enraptured with the puppets. These exhibits give context to an art form that has existed for millenia. Their facility includes the Worlds of Puppetry Museum, a collection that incorporates puppetry work from across the globe, including an exhibit dedicated to the work of Henson. In the 45 years since, the Center for Puppetry Arts has become one of the preeminent institutions dedicated to the education and creation of puppets. An appropriately colorful facade that houses over 5,000 puppets and puppetry artifacts and produces over 600 shows a year, Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts opened September 1978, with Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog joining founder Vince Anthony for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The frog green building of The Center for Puppetry Arts stands at the corner of Northwest 18th and Spring street in Midtown Atlanta. He glided with a silent, awe-inspiring energy across the stage. Bill became all three bodies united into one entity. Eventually, though, their bodies melded together. I tried to mentally untangle the hands controlling Bill, to understand which puppeteer was directing which part of Bill’s body. When the music began and the lights came up, three bodies entered onto the stage: two nameless puppeteers dressed in black and Bill, a head, a torso and two arms.
At that point, there was no indication that I was about to view a puppet show. The show was entitled “Bill’s 44th” and the set was a typical apartment, complete with reclining chair, television and dining room table and chairs.
While I sat with all those other people in the theater, waiting for the show to begin, I surveyed the stage. On a Sunday evening in the beginning of December, I took my seat in the audience of a somewhat modest theater surrounded by people, all of us converging to see one thing: puppets.
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