BWW Interviews: Jon Ludwig, of The Center for Puppetry Arts about his career and Rudolph

Christmas is officially in the air at the Center for Puppetry Arts and with the holiday season's pending arrival comes the Center's upcoming holiday show, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™. Faithfully adapted and directed by the Center's Artistic Director, Jon Ludwig, the production is the first of its kind and is officially licensed through Character Arts LLC. Based on the beloved 1964 stop-motion animated special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™ provides the audience with the opportunity to experience the timeless tale of Rudolph and his misfit friends in a whole new way: live on stage! I recently had the privilege of talking with Jon about his career in puppetry (and with the Center) and this exciting new holiday production.

BWW: Hi, Jon! How are you? Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today.

John Ludwig: My pleasure!

Let's start by talking a little about yourself. You have had quite career in the field of puppet theater. What inspired you to pursue this line of work?

Well, I started here back in 1978. I answered an ad in the AJC saying "Puppeteer wanted, will train." I said "well, that sounds interesting," and I have been training ever since. I had a degree in theatre, but there were a million actors out there but there just weren't that many puppeteers back then. This was a great opportunity to start from the ground up and it has been wonderful.

So puppetry wasn't necessarily something that you had planned on pursuing as a career? 

I attended one puppet workshop with a puppeteer from Chicago and it kind of got me going and started me thinking about it. When this opportunity came up, I thought I would stay only a year, and it has been 32.

And you have been involved in some critically acclaimed productions over the years. Which of them stand out for you as highlights of your career?

I always think the next one is the highlight! Working with Ping Chong on Kwaidan was certainly a milestone. it was a big project. Frankenstein that we did for the Olympics that was quite fun. Avanti Davinci, the piece I collaborated with Jason von Hinezmeyer on was great too. We have done some wonderful pieces together. I always like working with Jason, and this [Rudolph] is one that I am also working with him on.

And you have been involved with the Center for Puppetry Arts since the beginning, correct?

Absolutely, they were just starting off. My first job was painting the walls green in the theatre.

That has to be exciting to have been involved for so long and to be able to watch it grow over the years.

It's amazing. I don't think any of us could have predicted back in '78 that we would even still be here, for that matter. But to have gone as far as we have, it's just incredible.

You (and the Center) have performed for countless children and families over the years. That must bring you such satisfaction to know you are reaching people at such a young and impressionable age.

It is so much fun to see the reaction from the children. I meet people now who are in their 20s and 30s who came here when they were kids and now they are working here. It's like a cycle. They are growing up and coming back.

Many of our readers likely know more about traditional theatre than they do about puppet theater. What do you see are the similarities and what makes this art form unique?

We both kind of exist in the moment, which is why people should come see Rudolph because it is happening right now. That is something we share with the stage, it is happening right now for you, with you. We always think of the audience as the last member of the company to show up. As far as differences, with an actor you are looking at them and saying "this is a person playing a character," but with a puppet the puppet is that character, it really is the thing right before you. We do share a lot of the same language (as theatre) but puppetry can also share the language of dance and film as well. We can do close ups and long shots. We can build a 20 foot person, which you can't really do with an actor on stage. We can also do miniatures for far away shots. Scale is always fun to play around with.

The productions you have been involved in are so varied. Where do you find your personal inspiration?

Sometimes it's from the material, like with Rudolph: I just loved the story and always wanted to do it. I thought they were writing it just for me. I said "I am a misfit too and I understand this so well." Sometimes it's working with others. It's all about the teamwork here because we have a phenomenal team. They are so good, anything I can think of they can probably figure it out or we as a group can come up. Also, we do works on many different levels. I definitely go to the theatre a lot, I love going to the theatre and seeing what other people are doing even if it is not puppetry. Especially in Atlanta or New York, I always try to go see something, at least once a month, if not more.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your puppetry career?

Not thinking you know it all! The biggest challenge for me is coming up with new ideas and new things. That is why we are reaching out now to the younger generation: Leading others to lead. The biggest challenge now is seeing what this next generation will do. I am really excited about that, they are blowing me away with their ideas, it's a whole different world for them. I find that a reward as much as a challenge.

So, lets talk about Rudolph. This has to be an exciting production for you to be involved in. Tell us a little bit about what has gone into producing this show at the Center for Puppetry Arts.

If you want to talk about challenges, this might be the one! This is the biggest thing we have ever done here. We have about 60+ puppets that have been built, all of them made precisely to the designs of the original puppets, down to the millimeter. Jason von Hinezmeyer has labored (and is still laboring) to get this all done. Staging has also been challenging, taking that film language, jump cuts, long shots etc., and adapting that. But that has been one of the fun things too. You get to see everybody out on stage at once and the relationships are fun to observe and are really strong between the characters. That is what the theatre brings, it's all there in front of you. Once we got past trying to adapt it exactly, we realized our version was more fun. We could realize how certain things happened. For example, we have a character, Moonracer, who is so fantastic, we had to create a pre-scene for him, otherwise he has 5 lines and then he is gone. He was too great so we found a logical thing for him to do. Everyone involved has really worked hard to get the voices right, too. Overall it really is a celebration of this wonderful film.

And is this the first time it has been adapted this way for the puppet stage?

Yes, for the puppet stage, with permission. They [Creative Arts LLC] have been really great. They have helped us all along and have guided us, and are still guiding us. They are also very hands off and have been wonderful to work with.

Is there anything else that people might expect when they come see the show?

All the characters are there. We didn't add anything weird, no strange back-stories. We have just embellished it to work for the stage. People who know it will be pleased that we haven't really monkeyed with it and goofed it up. And those who don't know it, it is just a great story in its own. It has not aged at all. You really get the best of both worlds, something new and different and something familiar. And, if they do know the songs, I hope everybody sings along!  

We may have some readers out there who are interested in a career in puppetry, but don't know where to begin. What advice would you give them?

When I started, it was a rare opportunity to be able to learn as you go. I don't think those opportunities really exist any more. So, being imaginative and hard working is important. Anything in dance, theater, mask work is really good too. A lot of people I work with are actors who learn to puppeteer over the years so they have good acting ability. They are quadruple threats, they sing, dance, act and puppeteer. I can also plug the University of Connecticut, which has a phenomenal program, probably the best in the country as far as really studying puppetry. There are so many things you can do, at your church or synagogue, boy scouts, girl scouts, etc. Just start doing it.

So, what, specifically is next for you and for the Center? What can we look forward to?

We are bringing back Body Detective, which is a science show based on the human body how it functions, done as a film noir detective story. It's a great show and a musical too.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer plays the Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. N.W., Tuesdays-Sundays, Nov. 16-Jan. 2. (Closed Nov. 25, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.)

Included in the ticket cost is admission to the Create-A-Puppet Workshop, where visitors can experience the thrill of puppetry by creating their own Flying Rudolph Rod Puppet or pick up a Create-A-Puppet To-Go Kit to continue the fun at home!

Tickets for patrons two and older are $16.00 ($14.82 + tax) and include admission to the performance, Create-A-Puppet Workshop (or Create-A-Puppet To-Go Kit), and all museum exhibits. Membership and group rates are available. ORDER TICKETS ONLINE AT WWW.PUPPET.ORG OR CALL THE TICKET SALES OFFICE AT: 404-873-3391. Make your reservations for this special holiday show today!

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