BWW INTERVIEWS: Jonathan Rockefeller, Creator & Producer Of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW Chats to BWW Sydney

By: May. 15, 2016
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Following the announcement that THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW was nominated for the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show and the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, BWW Sydney had a chat with Creator and Producer Jonathan Rockefeller. The children's show which brings four of Eric Carle's picture books to life through puppetry has recently extended it's New York season for a second time and also has an Australian production touring New South Wales and Queensland.

Jonathan Rockefeller (Photo provided)

Rockefeller has bought Carle's colourful collage characters to life with large "life sized" puppets to tell the stories of Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and The Artist Who Painted The Blue Horse. Whilst Rockefeller went to Film School, he was inspired to delve into puppetry from his childhood watching Australian television. He was in awe of Mr Squiggle creator Norman Hetherington, enjoyed the puppetry version of Blinky Bill, Sesame Street, the UK export Sooty and The Muppets. He first started to delve into puppetry as a "fun side project" when he was "bored of writing for television" and "initially approached puppetry as a device to convey a character swiftly on stage like a performer would you a mask or a costume". Rockefeller's work, which also include the parody show THANKYOU FOR BEING A FRIEND, based on The Golden Girls television series, all utilise puppets that are an extension of the performer to "work in tandem with" as opposed to traditional puppetry where the puppeteer and mechanics are hidden.

Mister Seahorse (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

Creating THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW came about from Rockefeller's desire to do something more visual and "more stimulating" to grow as an artist following the creation and licensing out of THANKYOU FOR BEING A FRIEND. He only does projects that "genuinely interests" him and he wanted to give THE VERY HUNGRYCATERPILLAR SHOW the "same level of sophistication you'd expect in an adult show". He wanted to move away from the sing-alongs, audience participation and suited 'mascots' that he dislikes about the standard model for children's shows as he believes these presentation styles "keep children's imagination in neutral rather than expanding it". He wanted his work to be accessible and not talk down to anyone, whilst also being a "beautiful piece of theatre", keeping both children and adults entertained.

Mister Seahorse (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

Rockefeller shared that he still has his original, now "very dog-eared" copy of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, indicating that the story has been in his life for "a very long time". Of all the children's books around, he chose Eric Carle's stories to bring to life because of his artwork in the books. Rockefeller loves art and has always enjoyed painting and each page of Carle's books are a "meticulously crafted piece of collage". He is drawn to the "enormously inventive" design of Carle's books which take the experience beyond just reading. The books "play with all sorts of tactile devices... holes in the pages, lights, pop ups, half -cut pages" which also provide a "fun and exciting challenge" to bring the same "sense of art and play to the stage".

The Artist Who The Painted A Blue Horse (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

Rockefeller shared that "the guiding principle" that he learnt from working with Carle and his material is to "keep things simple and elegant" which he believes is "a great haiku when creating a project for first time theatre-goers". Rockefeller and Carle regularly exchange "small drawings and paintings that have absolutely nothing to do with the show", with Rockefeller acknowledging that it is "hugely complimentary to get feedback from an artist you have always admired".

The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

At first glance, one would think that THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW was created for children but Rockefeller says that the show is deliberately created for both children and adults. He believes that the stories are "already universal" and that "they're like watching the National Geographic Channel". He has noticed that "a lot of dew-y eyed parents" can be spotted at any performance of the show as the adults are "sharing a very special moment with their child, whilst also being nostalgic with the books that they too grew up with". In designing for adults, he believes adult expectations are "more driven by conflict and the inability to communicate effectually as human beings with each other" whereas shows designed for children "start from a more open belief that everyone can and should all 'get along' together. He does note he has noticed that "children are certainly the much more appreciative audience for any 'theatre magic'"

The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

Whilst THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW is made up of four of Carle's stories, The Artist Who Painted the Blue Horse is personally quite special to Rockefeller and it is also a personal book for Carle. The book is Carle's homage to Franz Marc, "a 'degenerate' artist whose provocative colour choices stuck as an inspiration - the antithesis of growing up as a young boy in Nazi Germany". For Rockefeller, the book is about "creation and breaking artistic rules". He shares that, looking back at stories he wrote and illustrated as a 4 year old, which he intends to publish one day, he used the opening line" when I grow up I want to be an artist". He noticed that he had "almost identical characters" from Carle's book, which was published "some 28 years later. He believes that "there was certainly some zeitgeist that transpired" that bought them together to work the story into the show.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

Of the "menagerie" of 75 puppets used during the 60minute show, Rockefeller shares that the life-sized polka-dotted donkey is "without a doubt" his favourite puppet. The butterfly that forms the grand finale of the show, which has a 12 feet wide wing span, was the biggest challenge to create. The "very much not symmetrical" wing shape is "so specific and iconic" causing some design challenges and has since been redesigned to be operated by two puppeteers rather than the original three that were required to manoeuvre it.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

In taking the show from Australia to America, Rockefeller has noticed that American audiences seem to already know, or own, all four stories of the show whereas Australian audiences were generally only familiar with the Caterpillar. With American audiences, he has found that there is a wider range of age groups that come to see the show that creates a "truly wonderful atmosphere for both the performers and the audience, many of which are coming to the theatre for the very first time". I also note that on the website for the show, the theatre seems better geared for young audiences and children that may be more nervous about their first theatre experience, a service that I haven't really noticed in Australian theatre venues staging children's shows.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

To adapt to the different audience and venue in New York, the direction of the show was completely changed and some of the puppet designs have been given more organic movement which resulted in Rockefeller having to essentially "start all over again", taking inspiration from Rockefeller's "very first sketches of the show from five years ago". There is a new set, staging and new music scored to punctuate the new direction which has in turn lengthened the show by seven to ten minutes. Whilst Rockefeller loves what he and his team achieved with the original Australian show, he is "exceptionally proud" of where they have ended up with the New York show which will also be the production that will open in the UK later in 2016.

The Very Lonely Firefly (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

In addition to the puppet show, Rockefeller also teamed up with Eric Carle Studios to produce and direct an animated version of 10 LITTLE RUBBER DUCKS. The work, narrated by Bernadette Peters, made it's debut at UK's Bath Film Festival in December 2015 and has gone on to receive "Official Selection" status for a number of International Film Festivals. Rockefeller shared he found Peters to be a "beautiful human being that anyone would want to be their drinking buddy". The acclaimed actress, who also has an interest in writing for children, was "an absolute consummate professional" and "totally understood the direction we were taking the voiceover in". He also shared that between takes they shared "wonderful discussions about life, musical theatre, animals, and Sondheim". Rockefeller has hinted that he is working on "a pretty exciting follow-up project" but stayed tight lipped beyond this little titbit of information.

When asked about his greatest influences and mentors, Rockefeller expresses his gratitude to Baz Luhrmann, for whom he worked as assistant when he was 18 years old. Luhrmann and Catherine Martin were "undoubtedly huge influences" on the young Rockefeller as he was growing up "both personally and professionally". His time working for Luhrmann exposed him to the duo's creative processes over several years while he worked out where he "wanted to fit creatively in the world". Rockefeller has said that he is in the process of writing a satirical novel inspired by his time working with Luhrmann. Also, as already indicated, Eric Carle's art and philosophies on design have also been "hugely influential". He is also greatly influenced by art, books and old movies due to his own background in film and photography. He is always "cross pollinating cinematic ideas" into his work in different ways.

For those that see Rockefeller and his puppetry as an inspiration, he recommends that they start with inanimate objects. Whilst he admits that it sounds strange, "manipulating objects to give them 'life' is the best practice". He suggests to "literally start with a newspaper and try to make it breathe". For those that are interest in "muppet" puppetry, he recommends "buy a cheap puppet online and practice, practice, practice in the mirror - and work on those arms so they can stay in the air for long periods of time while moving your fingers".

Whilst THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW is having amazing success in New York, is touring Australia and is set to open in the UK, Rockefeller has also teased BWW with the news that he is working on "two new really exciting (secret) projects right now in the same vein as THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW". He has also been "very vested in working with a great team of people to develop an adult puppet show" which they hope to debut later in 2016.

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW

www.hungrycaterpillarshow.com

AMERICA:

New York: Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre (410 West 42nd Street)
Tickets: $49.75* - $67.25 (Premium Seats) (*Lap seat tickets required for those under 1 year old)
Bookings: Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200

AUSTRALIA:

Dubbo: Dubbo Regional Entertainment Centre
12 May - 10am, 12pm, 6pm
13 May - 10am

Port Macquarie: The Glasshouse Port Macquarie
17 May - 11:30am, 1:30pm, 6pm

Gold Coast: The Arts Centre Gold Coast
20 May - 10am, 11:45am, 1:15pm
21 May - 10:30am, 2pm
23 May - 10:30am

Toowoomba: Empire Theatre Toowoomba
26 May - 9:30am, 11:30am, 6pm
27 May - 9:30am, 11:30am, 2pm

Sydney: The Playhouse, Sydney Opera House
24 September - 9 October
10 am and 12 pm Daily
3pm shows on 24th and 25th September.

UNITED KINGDOM

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