‘We don’t do kiddie shows’: Alaskan puppeteers create theater for adults

Geppetto’s Junkyard creates puppet shows for adults. Video by Slavik Boyechko and Travis Gilmour, Alaska Public Media.

For Geppetto’s Junkyard, a puppetry troupe based in Haines, Alaska, near the Canadian border, few topics are off-limits and puppet shows are for adults.

“The first thing people assume when you say you’re a puppeteer is that you do little kiddie shows and we don’t. We absolutely don’t do kiddie shows,” said Debi Knight Kennedy, an artist and member of the troupe.

Knight Kennedy was a figurative sculpture for years before a friend suggested she could make her characters talk. At the time, she says she had something to share, and took the plunge.

“We usually try to make it so that kids can come and not get scared off, but all of our stuff has a lot of adult content,” said Geppetto’s Junkyard member Merrick Bochart.

“I was just entering menopause and thought, ‘I’ve got things to say about menopause,’ so that was my first show,” she said. “It was called ‘The Pause’ and at the end, I had ladies cheering for my characters. That’s what got me started.”

Knight Kennedy and Merrick Bochart, another member of the troupe, both describe themselves as shy off-stage, but they’ve discovered that talking through the character of a puppet opens up new worlds.

“We’re often visible when we’re doing our puppet shows, and people aren’t looking at us at all. They can see us, but they’re looking at the puppets. I think it just allows more freedom,” said Knight Kennedy. “You can be political, you can be personal, you can silly. You can say anything you want with puppets.”

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