Pulling strings: Puppet theater group preps for September show

Aug. 30—Joyce Depaw loves to perform.

When she was younger, Depaw and her wife decided to hit the road and become clowns for 13 years, learning new skills to entertain guests. Depaw formerly made puppets as a child and decided to pick the hobby up for fun and to see if it would aid in her clown acts.

After coming back to Albuquerque, Depaw realized she wanted to find a space for her talents and stumbled on the OffCenter Arts group.

Once a month, a puppet theater group from OffCenter Arts puts on a free performance for the public to watch during ABQ Artwalk. This month's show will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6 at OffCenter Arts, 808 Park Ave. SW.

Together, the group of six creates a script, props and puppets for a show.

"It's magic because we have great puppeteers," Depaw said.

Since Depaw joined the group, she has created over 100 puppets and performed in nearly 30 shows with no plans of slowing down. Sometimes, these puppets make an appearance at other events, like the Boo at the Zoo event hosted by the city.

Depaw said the puppets take 12 to 18 hours to make and making the mouth shape takes the longest.

The magic of the show starts on Tuesdays, when the group debriefs about the previous show, noting highlights and things they want to change. After, the group brainstorms for new ideas and plays around with script changes and themes they want to focus on.

The group will play around with the puppets, putting on accents and unique voices to bring life to the characters. A lot of the script writing begins with improv and the group will comment on things they like and do not. As they practice, the script begins to develop at a natural pace.

Once a script has been finalized, the group rifles through their stockpile of puppets and costumes to find the best combination of accessories. They will also use other arts and crafts material like bubble wrap for props.

"A lot of us have been together for awhile so we know each other's strengths and preferences," said Ashley Kincaide, studio manager at OffCenter.

Joe Munley is one of the puppet group veterans, having been with the group for nine years and making puppets for over 47 years. Munley needed to do something with his retirement time and found that there was a group that highlighted his skills.

Munley performs with the puppets and also writes songs for the shows.

"It's a part of my life," he said. "I'm addicted to being creative and using these plays as a way to look at the world. Imagination and intellect all come together in a powerful way."

This month, the group has created their script around a submission made by the writing group at OffCenter. The prompt was written during the height of the pandemic and the group decided to adapt the story with a fun twist.

The developing show will use a variety of puppets and puppet costumes to create a metacommentary on COVID and the script as a whole.

The previous show was themed around autism, as a former puppeteer in the group wanted to share her story about living with the disorder.

"We want to make all art accessible, so we work with any kind of accommodation like wheelchairs or noise sensitivity," Kincaide said.

Shows have been a hit in the community and the group has seen the group grow larger every week.

"Our last show had over 67 people," Kincaide said. "They're turning into standing shows because we're running out of room. We like to keep the shows free so everybody has a chance to watch without dealing with financial barriers."

The group has one common goal: to make people smile, laugh and have a new perspective on something after leaving the show.

"I like to see people smile and take whatever props we have and make them laugh and cry," Depaw said. "People can just come and enjoy a show for an hour."