May 1, 2017

I have been working on Avenue Q since the beginning of spring quarter. The puppets seen in this production of Avenue Q, designed by Patrick Ahearn, needed to be maintained and repaired during the weeks leading up to the show. It has been my job as Puppet Master to repair them. Maintenance on the puppets varies depending on how each puppet was built.  The box puppets, which literally look like cardboard boxes that come alive, have elastic keeping their mouths from falling open, but with time this elastic wears out and falls apart.  Puppets such as Princeton, in the photo above, have a loop for actors and actresses to put their thumb in to maneuver the mouth.  Over time this creates wear on the glue holding the pieces together.  Some of these puppets need to be unstitched at the chin to reattach the loop.  Many of the puppets have Velcro that is used to attach props so it looks like they are carrying something, or keep their hand in place.  As time goes on the Velcro wears down and needs to be unstitched and replaced.  During the demanding rehearsal process the puppets have gotten a lot of use, and they have needed constant repairs. It has kept me busy, but someday it will get lots of attention on my resume as I apply for IT jobs. The show is great and it has been a ton of fun to work on.  Everyone should see it!

Zachary Santoro – Puppet Master

Sophomore, Computer Science, Class of 2020