Junior League of Charlotte has Passion for Puppetry!

We've had a great time working with the Junior League of Charlotte to produce a puppet performance on healthy eating habits.



"You Are What You Eat" premiered last Fall. The show is a pastiche of every game show you've ever seen. Host Guy Goodeats guides contestants such as Jack B. Nimble, Little Jack Horner, Little Miss Muffett and the evil Junkfood Jake through a myriad of questions on good eating and exercise. Guy has the complete support staff on the game show too; the lovely Gloria Grain, the energetic Richard Slimmons and the Don Pardo-esque "Jay" are all on hand.



What's neat about this production is that members of the Junior League themselves take this show out and about all around town and perform it themselves. They set up the stage, hook up the sound system as well as manipulating the puppets.



I have found their dedication to this project to be amazing. All of the puppeteers have a great passion for this theatre form and it has been wonderful. Throughout the entire production process these performers have brought an intensity and concentration that I just think is so cool!



I went into the project with a mission. I didn't want this production to end up as just another amateurish "puppet show" with bad manipulation and a sloppy soundtrack. The Junior League Puppeteers bought into my mantra of making this show something special. The passion they bring to their performance is fantastic. We began with an intense, day-long puppet "boot camp." I think that taught them right then and there that manipulating a puppet correctly was more than just shaking a character on the end of your arm. They understand the concepts of "economy of movement," "a physical thought process," and the idea that a puppet can often say more non-verbally than verbally.



If you have the opportunity, catch "You Are What You Eat" around town here in Charlotte. It's a real hoot!