Why I love my job
Lee Bryan, Puppeteer
Sunday, October 19, 2008
What I do: There’s no doubt who is in control when Lee Bryan takes the stage.
Bryan, 46, known as That Puppet Guy, is the hand inside the puppets and on the controls of his one-man puppet show.
Karl Ritzler / special
Lee Bryan, That Puppet Guy, takes his show on the road, often acting at three locations a day. Here he performs his one-man show at Zion United Methodist Church preschool in East Cobb.
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Bryan actually has 12 shows — including retelling classic folk and fairy tales, delivering ecological messages, teaching science and having silly fun — and travels mostly throughout the Southeast performing at schools, festivals, theaters, museums and special events.
“Atlanta gets the best of the best” in puppetry at locales such as the Center for Puppetry Arts, Bryan said. But other areas, where Bryan often travels, a live performance is a rarity for the children who usually make up his audiences.
“That’s a real thrill for me,” he said, when children realize, “There’s a human back there.”
With his performance and a postshow demonstration of how things work, Bryan said, “I hope I can inspire the next generation of puppeteers.”
At a show location, Bryan said, “It’s just me” to set up the stage, perform, set up and run the sound and lights, tear it down when the show is over and load up his car for the next gig, sometimes as many as three a day.
The puppets on stage may engage in some wild adventures, but behind the scenes, Bryan is frenetic, moving each puppet, making sound effects with a kazoo and whistles on a collar around his neck, flashing light switches with his elbows and starting recorded music with a foot pedal. “Imagine — a puppeteer with control issues,” he joked.
Much of his work is done before he ever goes on stage.
Bryan builds most of his own puppets, writes the scripts, paints the scenery and decorates the stage and selects music.
He also runs online workshops and builds puppet kits for sale at some performances.
On occasion, he will hire puppet and set builders, writers and a director to help him polish the shows.
“A 45- to 50-minute performance is the smallest part of the business,” he said.
Besides show production, there is also upkeep for the puppets, stage and props; booking; marketing; and administration. “But without the performances, there is no business,” he added.
What got me interested in this: “I’ve been playing with dolls [puppeteers’ term for puppets] for 14 years, much to my father’s chagrin,” Bryan said.
He said he would do puppet and magic shows in his backyard as a child and that he is mostly self-taught in both.
At the Center for Puppetry Arts, where he was hired as an intern, he learned professional puppetry and went on tour with his own shows.
Best part of my job: “Bringing families together for quality time,” Bryan said. “I like to think I’m making a difference [with children] learning about the art form, learning fairy and folk tales” in an age of computer-generated games.
Besides, he added, “When I go to work, I’m having fun.”
Most challenging part: Loading his gear into a basement or second-floor performance space where there is no elevator.
And as his own booking agent, Bryan said he has little time to develop new shows.
What people don’t know about my job: “The whole show behind the scenes,” he said. “Things seem really simple on stage, but people would be floored if they knew about the effort and practice.”
Bryan said he works like a dancer, choreographing his footwork during the performance, and he’s an actor playing all the roles in the show.
He said he learned about setting high standards for performance at the puppetry center and that it takes one hour of rehearsal for every minute of show.
What keeps me going: “A long time ago, I wasn’t supported in pursuing a theater and acting career,” Bryan said. “The Army and Six Flags [where he was a singer and dancer on stage] taught me discipline. … I get to use everything I’ve learned.”
Preparation needed for this job: “I’m a very gregarious person,” Bryan said, “but many puppeteers are very shy.” He recommended would-be performers take business classes and learn how to promote themselves, as well as getting a good business partner.
In addition, he recommended taking theater and dance classes and watching lots of theater, especially performances for children.
To advance skills in puppetry, Bryan suggested joining a local puppetry guild or the national Puppeteers of America and finding a mentor or internship.
Bryan has been a theater major at Kennesaw State University and elsewhere. In the Army, he was an electrical specialist, and he still uses those skills for stage lighting.
He has been a singer, dancer and actor in Richmond, Columbus and Atlanta. He also worked as a telephone installer, costumed performer and deliveryman.
“I’d work six nonacting jobs to support my acting habit,” he said.
- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
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