Memorizing lines, rehearsing choreography and meshing as a cast are tasks the Syracuse University Department of Drama is used to.

Working with puppets is not.

In its production of the Tony Award-winning musical, “Avenue Q,” the students had to spend hours working with the iconic characters.

“At first, it’s all very odd, since our cast is primarily trained as actors, and working with puppets is an entirely different skill set,” said Brian Cimmet, director the Department of Drama’s production. “This particular show, having been written with puppets in mind, is stylized in such a way that it really only makes sense with puppets. I can’t imagine an all-human version of ‘Avenue Q.’”

“Avenue Q” is the final show of the 2014–15 season for the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Drama, and will have its opening night on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex. The show will last through Saturday, May 9.

The Broadway musical looks at important dilemmas of a recent college graduate, named Princeton, who moves to New York City. There, Princeton discovers his purpose in life after meeting a series of interesting characters that help him overcome his obstacles and battle his inner demons.

Cimmet said the drama department has been preparing for this show for more than a year now. Some of the preparation includes research, such as exploring how the puppets will work, as well as focusing on the production and thinking about how the stage is set up and how scenes will flow.

“This is a ridiculous comedy, and can only be brought to life with freedom,” Cimmet said. “This group of actors is amazingly creative and inventive, and in order to keep an atmosphere that fosters such creativity, there’s been a great deal of silly and goofy and crazy and so on.”

Even though many of the actors in the show have not had prior experience puppeteering, students like Stephen Gordon, a junior musical theater major, said the transition process from human to puppet was seamless.

For Gordon, said it was “a really fun challenge” to develop and find the certain techniques that would work.

“I found that if somebody who is watching rehearsal or the show comes back and says that they were watching the puppet the whole time, then I know that I am doing my job — they are not focused on me, the actor, but rather the character that I am trying to portray,” Gordon said.

On the other hand, it posed a little bit of trouble for other actors. Working with puppets for the first time was not an easy task for Madison Polyak, who said puppeteering has a lot to do with building stamina and endurance.

“You basically have to have your arm up for an extended period of time and especially playing a character whose on stage so frequently, my right arm has gotten significantly stronger than my left arm,” said Polyak, a junior musical theater major.

Both Polyak and Gordon said they enjoyed being able to portray their respective characters, Kate Monster and Rod. Polyak, who has always wanted to play the role of Kate Monster, said she sees a lot of herself in the character because they are both passionate about their beliefs.

Gordon said his character “carries a lot of heart in the show” in the way that he is a conservative Republican but also gay, though no one else knows it.

“As the show goes on, he is able to overcome his obstacles and cultivate great relationships and come out on top,” Gordon said. “That kind of journey is very relatable to a lot of people — it certainly is for me — and it’s great to be able to go on that journey with him.”

Cimmet expressed the same sentiment and said “Avenue Q” tackles real issues in life.

“Sure, it’s puppets and it’s stylized and it’s a musical, but at the heart of it, it’s about the young 20-somethings starting their lives, and learning what it’s like to grow up in the world,” Cimmet said. “This show is blunt, it’s honest, it gets to the point and doesn’t sugarcoat the tough stuff.

“And it’s funny as hell.”

Published on April 22, 2015 at 10:18 pm

Contact; tchuang@syr.edu