Genna Beth Davidson

NCPG: BOARD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
(As asked by Dino...)

What’s your elevator pitch of what you do? Who you are? 
I keep it simple and just say “I’m a puppeteer.”

How long have you been involved with the NCPG? Why are you involved?
I have been a member of NCPG since 2020 I think. I joined while in graduate school as I needed a bigger puppetry community and was home sick. I’m involved because I learn so much from staying connected and sharing in the community. I also just really love the folks who join the guild, such great people!

What is a highlight moment from being with NCPG?
I think my first make-a-thon with NCPG. I was still at UConn and working on one of my puppets for my MFA show. It was so wonderful to be in the NCPG community during that time. I got so much help as I proto-typed my dog puppet. And I remember giving the folks on the call a video tour of the Puppet Lab of UConn that weekend. Peter Court in particular was so grateful for getting to see some of the special stuff there. It helped me feel connected because here was a whole group of people appreciating the amazing history of our puppet ancestors as much as I did.

Most influential puppeteer on your life?
Gosh! There are so many puppeteers that have influenced my life at this point. Two in particular come to mind: Heidi Rugg and David Lane. Both have been mentors to me and helped me grow on my journey becoming a puppeteer, maker, storyteller, etc. David was the first person who taught me how to build puppets when I went to the New England Puppetry Intensive in 2015. Up until that point, I was figuring out how to build puppets on my own. And more recently Heidi, who I perform with regularly, has been showing me the ropes in all kinds of ways: performing, touring (how to pack a cooler!), and how to take your story-ideas and turn them into real puppet shows!

Proudest puppetry moment?
My proudest moment so far has been performing my MFA show Replay at UConn in 2022. It was a long haul (partly due to COVID) through difficult terrain to make that vision a reality and tell an epic personal tale through wordless puppetry and dark clowning.

Most unusual puppet build?
I think the most unusual puppet build I’ve had to date is the one I’m doing right now for Round House Theater’s A Hanukkah Carol. Of the many puppets I’m building for the show, I have to build a Hanukkah Future puppet that is a giant Alexa-knockoff device.

Biggest puppetry disaster?
My first puppet slam was a disaster. I was still in my early twenties and had just started my journey into puppetry. I think the slam was in February that year, and I had been dumped by a romantic partner the month before the slam (right after Christmas!). Instead of canceling my involvement, I said to myself “Self! You are not going to let this break-up have ANY impact on your life.” (I was in denial.) And that included the choice to do a slam that I was totally underprepared for. I was up until 3am the night before the slam making a bird puppet out of a glove and fabric and soda bottles, etc. At 3 am I thought I had an AMAZING puppet. I did the
slam and it was a disaster for so many reasons, and then a week later as I was sitting in a pile of shame over the whole thing, I looked at that bird puppet and realized how terrifying it was. HAHAHA! Now it’s funny to me, but back then it was mortifying.

Hardest part about the professional life you’ve chosen?
I think it’s really hard to constantly deal with other people relegating puppetry to children’s fare. I think it’s really hard to get respect from our society and culture. I think it’s really hard for us to do puppetry well when it demands so much practice and so many different skillsets and we constantly encounter people who do not know that puppetry is a profession. I think it’s hard to manage my own expectations and other people’s expectations about what puppetry can and can’t do.
​
Goals? Dreams? Vision for your future?
I’d like to see us all return to deeper connections to land and each other. I think puppetry can help do that through the stories we choose to tell and how we tell them, from what we make our puppets out of to how we approach our audiences.

Words you live by?  Advice to other creative spirits?
“The work is hard. Do the work.” -Nicholas Rose, ballet dancer

Whatever resources you have available to support your work, take them! And then pay it forward as much as possible.

What caveat do you have for a puppeteer NOT to do?
Don’t keep the dreams in your head from appearing before your eyes. Let those imagined beings and stories see the light of day!

Anything else you’d like to share with NCPG membership?
Hmmmm…..talk to your puppets and listen to them.
 
Why do you think Dino is THE best puppet character?
Obviously it’s that je ne sais quoi shade of green Dino fuzz that makes Dino THE best! And the handsome accent, I think.