Pinocchio has to be one of my favorite stories of all times and when Timothy Henrick, the Communications director for the Jersey City Theatre Center (JCTC) emailed me to invite me to their new puppet show I immediately responded and said “get me an interview, I am there”. I went a few days before the opening show to get the background story and a closer look at the puppets.
A few days later on Sunday, I took the family to see the show. Mini chicpea is only 2.5 and I was concerned she would be scared and not be able to sit through the whole show… She was at first clinging onto us but later really got into the show and had a blast. Honestly, for the full hour I was completely entranced by the show. It was so fun and Mike the main puppeteer was so good with the kids, so animated… I highly recommend taking your kiddo to this show, and if you don’t have a kid, borrow one for the day or just go by yourself! It’s the perfect Sunday activity.
What’s your name? Olga.
Do you want to tell me about you and what you do here? Yeah I started the Jersey City Theatre Center in 2006. At the time there was no space to perform in Jersey City, so we started JCTC and last year, we opened Merseles studios and had a successful fundraiser…..
Can you tell a little more about this show? [Laughs] Well my heart is in it, it’s the second JCTC-kids production. A few years ago, one of the artists that had an exhibition in Jersey City asked me “have you ever been to Brooklyn to Puppet works?” And I was “like Puppet works, no?” So he directed me to go and see the show and when I went I loved it.
He also mentioned, Michael who is the executive director of the company and is also Jersey City resident. I said “Michael you’re doing great work , but why in Brooklyn we have kids in Jersey City?” I was living in Jersey City at the time, as mom of two kids using double stroller going to New York to go to a program…. So I know what mothers go through…
We started JCTC- kids for mothers to take advantage of the program and I also think if you introduce children to theater early they are more likely to become theater lovers. I’ve been In theater for so long it has given me so much, so I want to give back to children, and not only to those that can’t afford Broadway , but for everyone .
How long is the show running until? June 28th and its 70 minutes long.
That’s exciting for the kids! They will be, when I went with my kids and I saw their eyes like (gasp)… it was very special, magical. I think it is great for the adults, they become kids again. I went to the puppet show and I feel that it’s absolutely magical.
When is the play go on? It’s going to be on every Sunday at 2:30 til June 28, then when we spread the word and New Jersey knows about it and we hire more puppeteer and have more original productions [laughs] maybe there will be more!
We build this special stage after Cinderella, which was the first JCTC-kids puppet works production. Cinderella received great acclaim. The stage is designed specifically for marionettes…we need places where children can come and express what they see. At this show you will be able to talk to the puppeteer and the artists and ask questions… it’s going to be engaging, not only for the kids but for the adults…. a lot of the adults came up to us and they were like thank you for bringing this here, I’ve lived in Jersey City all my life and I have never seen anything like it..
Do you have a favorite Jersey City hangout spot ? We go to Gia because its close, and we go to Romano’s because its fresh but I see a lot of new restaurants opening that look great.
Mike tell me a little bit more about yourself? How did you start puppetteering? I started from no theatre background, had a good paying job, got tired of it, so as a joke me and a bunch of my friends became voice for Elves at Macy’s on 34th Street. They gave me the idea I had fun with it, it was only for a month, I jumped in there and I was the only one who got hired, and they assigned me to puppet theater so we had a contract through Macy’s since 1976 and we were doing puppet shows there in Santa Land, except for last year because they were renovating.
I was hanging around like Pinocchio, I snuck back stage and the puppeteers weren’t there so I started playing with the puppets until the puppeteer came in the back and said “how long have you been doing this?” and I told him that I never performed in my life and that was it and on January 1st I started at Puppet Works.
Since then? I played Pinocchio, we was touring and I was getting ready to do the whale scene and suddenly I had this déjà vu ,like I already what the hell this scene was , and I’m wondering why do I remember this scene ? And I realized that I had seen the toy from Puppet works, they must have toured my school with Pinocchio. And I remember the tear down after the scene. Like who would have thought in 25 years we would be bringing this show to Jersey City .
So can you tell what people can expect? First we are going to start off with Pinocchio, then we are go into some fairy tales. We are not going to try to modernize it as much, we want to stick to the original as much as possible, and it’s a free-for-all it’s going to be very cartoony style.
What ages is it appropriate for ? Ages 3 and up. We had 2-year-old who stayed for the whole show and we had 11 year olds that got scared at certain scenes. The shows are written knowing that there are parents in the audience .
Awesome. So are you from Jersey City? I’m originally from Brooklyn, I moved to Jersey City when I was 5
What is your favorite Jersey City hang out spot? Oh yes, my front yard… outside with my dog and smoking a cigar. I’m an old guy so a lot of the places that I used to go to are long gone. But I like the Bistro, and Madam Claude.
How do you feel Jersey City has changed? A lot , I just see it modernized and see it becoming a cooler place to be. That’s one of the things that we are up to here the fact that unless a company from Brooklyn came next to PS. 27 there’s no way I was going to see a puppet show. Now there’s art galleries and theater, and puppet shows.
Are you doing this anywhere else but Jersey City? No we have a full-time business to work on, there were some discussions years ago about working at Journal Square and such but it’s very difficult to do this in those type of setting… Then Olga came to Brooklyn and saw use and she wanted to do this project, and that was enough for me because I knew she loved the art of what we do. She loved that we did standard-traditional thing from her background.
Anything else you want people to know about the show? It’s fun and it’s a marionette show and how often do you see an authentic marionette show!
Serving the youth of Hudson County is a crucial component of JCTC and JCTC-KIDS is theater and arts programming for younger children (from Pre-K to “tween” age), that feature positive messages and are specifically designed for younger audiences. JCTC-KIDS opened last year with Cinderella by Puppetworks and JCTC-KIDS begins its 2015 season with Pinocchio by Puppetworks.
JCTC-KIDS is presenting Pinocchio by Puppetworks every Sunday afternoon at Merseles Studios, at 2:30 (advance tickets/online sales: $8 for children; $9 for adults. At the door: $10 and $11; $7 each for groups of 20 or more). Pinocchio by Puppetworks runs through June 28.
For tickets visit us at: jctcenter.org or go directly to www.jctcpinocchio.brownpapertickets.com.
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