Happy #TechTuesday, everyone! Today we have the pleasure of sharing our interview with actor, director, teaching artist, and prop manager extraordinaire Martha-Grace Moore. As multi-talented as she is, she’s been up to a lot since we last spoke to her last season. Read on to find out more!
Encore: Welcome back to the Front Row Blog! Since our last interview from the 2016/2017 season, which shows have you worked on and which staff roles have you stepped into with Encore?
Martha-Grace: Thanks for having me! It’s been a busy season for Encore, and I’ve been fortunate to have been along for the ride. I’ve gotten to continue my Teaching Artist work this season, and I just finished as Co-Director on The Lion King Jr. This fall, I was the writer, director, and one of the actors in Jungle of Bungaloo (a new work for the very young), I’m working as the Props Manager this season, and I’ve gotten to work on puppets for many of this season’s shows.
Encore: On which show are you currently working?
M-G: Right now, I’m busy working on the props and puppets for James and the Giant Peach. There are going to be tons of fun puppets in this one, and I’m very excited to see this kooky story brought to life!
Encore: What interested you about creating props and puppets?
M-G: While I was studying abroad in London during undergrad, I had the good fortune of being able to see War Horse at the Royal National Theatre, which absolutely blew my mind. The Handspring Puppet Company worked on that production to create life size horse puppets that are some of the most amazingly expressive puppets I have ever seen. That show has really stuck with me. I love that puppets can be this amazing tool for exploring character and expanding the storytelling experience.
Encore: Where/how did you learn your techniques?
M-G: I had actually never worked on puppet-making before Bungaloo, so my process has incorporated a great deal of trial and error, phoning a friend (which often means popping into the staff offices to get second opinions on ideas and designs), and researching basic puppet structures that I can work on and add to. This season, I have tried to re-use existing materials as much as possible, which has often been an excellent spring board to get the ideas flowing. Sometimes it’s easier to see where the puppet is headed if it starts as a material or object that already has shape and form.
Encore: What has been the most satisfying moment of the puppet-making process for you?
M-G: I love the moment when I realize that something is actually going to work. Most of the time, this happens when the puppet just looks like a weird skeleton of wires and rods, but when I get to that moment when the interior mechanism works, it’s the best feeling because I know that the puppet will have life onstage. It has also been satisfying for me to be able to re-use materials, and even puppets, from show to show. Drew the Spider from Bungaloo will be making a cameo appearance in James, and the giraffes from Lion King might make an appearance in Seussical this summer…
Encore: What’s been the most challenging or complex piece you’ve created?
M-G: The most challenging piece I’ve created this season was Pru the Bat in Bungaloo. It was the first puppet with a moving piece that I ever built, and it took a lot of tries to get her wings to articulate and flap. The most complex pieces I have worked on so far were the giraffes in The Lion King Jr. We had several people working on those puppets because they were so huge and needed many brains firing at full capacity to make successful designs. The baby giraffe with wiggling ears was so cute it made me want to cry.
Encore: Any advice for young creators who might be interested in puppetry?
M-G: Experiment at home with recycled materials, take classes and workshops in puppetry, and go see productions that incorporate puppets! It is such a wonderful theatre medium, and all you need to get started is the desire to learn more.
Many thanks to Martha-Grace for taking the time to share her process with us. Be sure to check out her excellent puppets in Musical Theatre Intensive’s upcoming production of James and the Giant Peach, running April 6th-15th. Click here to order your tickets today!
Photos by Aileen Pangan and A.K. Nell. Graphic design by Aimee Pangan. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.