At hearing the word “puppet,” many might automatically tune out.
Professional puppeteer Katy Williams is working to change that. She thinks there are two reasons the art form isn’t as visible as she’d like it to be: People think puppets are only for kids, and they’re too infrequently seen on stage or in films, minus Baby Yoda in “The Mandalorian,” the Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q,” with its full cast of puppets operated by puppeteers, and the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” with that devious and carnivorous puppet plant.
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“A lot of people don’t know there are 30 different types of puppetry in the world,” said Williams, founder of Katy Williams Design, “and a small percentage of those are for kids. I do primarily adult stuff. I’m on a personal mission in Colorado to get people in the theater community to see what puppets can do.”
Part of her plan includes producing the Rocky Mountain Puppet Palooza and Puppet Slam. Both events will be held Saturday at Green Box Arts in Green Mountain Falls. Each has a $5-$10 suggested donation.
The Palooza, aimed at toddlers through middle school-age kids, will feature half-hour performances, puppet crafting stations where kids can make puppets for free, interactive workshops, talent show, karaoke, a silent auction and puppet museum, with professional puppets from Colorado puppeteers.
The Slam, aimed at all audiences, will feature eight 5-minute puppet acts by puppeteers from around the state. The event will be held outside, so as the sun sets the shadow puppet acts will have a naturally dark backdrop. Shadow puppetry uses the shadow of puppets cast onto a screen. Williams will re-create a piece of shadow puppetry she did this summer with Art on the Streets, where live dancers were painted onto a downtown mural through the use of shadow puppetry.
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“It’s a curated open mic night of puppet acts,” Williams said. “You see the coolest things, types of puppetry you never imagined. Each act is so different from the others.”
Williams, who grew up in Manitou Springs, started in the world of theater as an actor. It was while participating in Fine Arts Center Theatre Company’s Youth Repertory Theatre program that she first popped a puppet on her hand. She played Kate Monster in excerpts from “Avenue Q.”
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“Being an actor is about your body and your voice. You are your tool,” she said. “What I love about puppetry is it takes that love, energy and dedication and channels it into something inanimate, and that is pure magic to me. It can be something as simple as a plastic bag, but seeing that come to life as a puppeteer is outstanding. There’s nothing like it in this world, especially seeing it live.”
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