As we gear up for the digital premiere of Doomscrolling, we’re turning the spotlight onto the team of puppeteers who brought its characters to life. Behind every gesture and movement on stage was a month’s worth of collaboration and choreography, and we’re grateful for the team of artists we were fortunate enough to assemble. Their creativity and dedication behind the scenes truly made these puppets come to life. Keep reading as we introduce you to the collaborators behind the magic—diving into their creative journeys, inspirations, and the unique quirks they brought to each character.
Bringing DOOMSCROLLING to the Stage
Last April, Leroy’s Place had the pleasure of sharing the development of our first full-length live puppetry performance, “DOOMSCROLLING,” at the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans (CACNO) for the 10th annual New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival. We were honored to see our characters take the stage at CACNO and humbled by the warm reception from the audiences during our (sold out!) 3-day run. We shared the venue with two other amazing acts. Jeghetto’s Workshop and Night Shade who both put on incredible shows, and we recommend following and supporting their work. The energy of the festival, the creativity of the perfomrances, and the chance to collaborate with so many talented artists made the experience unforgettable. The Giant Puppet Festival’s celebration of storytelling and artistry was the perfect opportunity to share the progress of a show that has been in the works since 2022, with the help of a generous grant from the Platforms Fund.
The Hands Behind the Puppets
With only one short month to rehearse the expanded version of our larger-than-life show, we knew we needed to assemble a team with a lot of creativity and a lot of patience. We were fortunate enough to do just that. This remarkable group of puppeteers signed on for a whirlwind production, and showed up with positivity and dedication. This show is packed with intricate choreography on one side of the stage, and massive movements on the other. Our reprisal of “DOOMSCROLLING” would not have been possible without the creativity, skill and talent of our team. Here are the puppeteers that brought this production to life:
Sean K. Downey: Sean was the muscle behind Fronda’s 4 foot-tall head, and was responsible for every turn, twist, mouth movement and reaction.
Sean is a mad artist of alleys and dumpsters, painting on pizza boxes, and scuptlting out of what he can lay his paws on. Also going by the nom de guerre, Doc Goblynne, Sean can be found on various social media platforms posting with speed of a hyperactive glacier:
https://www.facebook.com/steelwool.wookie?mibextid=ZbWKw and on instagram @doc_goblynne
Reese Johanson: As Fronda’s left hand, and our “Big Rufus,” Reese mastered the art of feeding Fronda her favorite snack (Rainbow Seeds) and communing with her pet dog Scrubbs, as well as performing some slapstick while donning an oversized, puppeteer-able dog mask. She also led our warm-ups, helping to set a positive and centered tone for each of our rehearsals and shows.
Reese is a de-disciplined performance artist whose work manifests as storytelling. Deeply sharing and listening, experiential, holistic stories. Wild, gritty, full of freedom and play, with few boundaries, these public experiences may include spatial composition, poetry, dance, installation art, ritual, technology, nature, food, drink, audience participation, object manipulation, and any other public sharing that might unfold. You can see more of Reese’s work at reesejohanson.com and on instagtam and facebook: @reesejohanson
Frawg Wilson: Frawg is the man that brought our pink, loofah-esque monster, “Scrubbs,” to life for the first time. Additionally, he was invaluable in helping to guide the adventures of “Little Rufus”.
Elijah “Frawg” Wilson lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was born and raised.
He studied music composition briefly at Louisiana State University before ultimately finding a job and passion fabricating molds for masks and props at Composite Effects, where he currently works as the mold maker. He also builds puppets and puppeteers for local theatre and production companies. When he isn’t building puppets or molds, Frawg spends his time puppeteering his own puppets under the name The Fruppets, playing guitar in the funk/jazz fusion band Breadstick Space Opera, and playing bass for fusion band Permutation. Follow along on instagram: @Frawgthedawg and @thefruppets
Nat Gove: Nat opened the show as the sentient clump of greenery, “Neil ‘The Grass’ Tyson”. She also assisted in the many adventures of Little Rufus. Nat works at Preservation Hall in New Orleans and is a generally wonderful human being.
Iris Poree: Iris was Fronda’s very busy right hand, and mastered the tedious timing of all her interactions with her giant smart phone. Iris is a vocalist, musician, hair stylist, dancer and performer, and yes, she is somehow extraordinarily talented in each of these capacities!
Dane Eskin: Dane joined us as two of the main hands behind the highly intricate Little Rufus vignettes, and we could not have pulled it off without them. Dane is a puppeteer, artist and teacher with an impeccable sense of humor.
Jacques Duffourc: Co-Creative Director of Leroy’s Place and builder of puppets large and small, Jacques used reclaimed materials to engineer the puppets and sets for DOOMSCROLLING–as he does for all Leroy’s Place characters and productions. Jacques contributed to many parts of the development, including but not limited to writing, sound and music design, and of course puppeteering.
Caitlin Davis: Special shout out to our Director! We’ve had the pleasure of working with Caitlin since 2016, and she has occupied many roles in our monster-verse. This was her first experience directing a live puppetry performance, and she notes that she is immensely thankful for the opportunity, and says DOOMSCROLLING is “the coolest thing (she’s) ever done.” We are so grateful for her time and creativity; Caitlin did a phenomenal job helping to bring this re-staging to life.
Looking Forward
As we reflect on a successful run of “DOOMSCROLLING,” we are so grateful for all of the many artists, musicians, and performers who helped us bring this vision to life. Each of them brought something unique to the production, and their collective efforts created such a memorable run at CACNO. As we celebrate the digital release of “DOOMSCROLLING,” we are reminded of the incredible work and dedication that goes into every performance.
To the puppeteers who brought this vision to life on stage, thank you for your artistry and passion !
Stay tuned as we continue development on this piece, and hopefully bring it to the stage again soon……
