Puppets take center stage

Puppets take center stage

Todd Dicken has always had an interest in puppetry.

“I am from the first generation that was introduced to Sesame Street,” said Dicken, a lecturer in YSU’s Department of Theatre and Dance. “So, from a young age, I was intrigued.” 

Dicken, who graduated from YSU in 1988 with a degree in Speech Communication (with a Theatre emphasis), is now taking the lead in launching the department’s new minor in Puppetry. 

“The possibility for outreach across campus and throughout the community with puppetry is endless,” said Phyllis Paul, dean of the Cliffe College of Creative Arts and Communication. “This program can be cross-disciplinary with early childhood education, it can reach into the healthcare areas and teach students of all disciplines how to reach others using art. There are very few programs like this in the country; it is such a unique opportunity.” 

The new minor in Puppetry, open to all students on campus, includes an overview of the history of puppets in world drama and combines practical exercises in making objects come to life for the purpose of creating works of theatre. 

“Puppetry, in its purest form, is taking an inanimate object and manipulating it in a way that brings life to it; in that regard, really, anything can be a puppet,” said Dicken. “In other countries around the world, puppetry is a high art form.” 

Puppetry has been taught at YSU dating to 1970, and Dicken credits Frank Castronovo, professor emeritus, for sparking his love for and knowledge of the art form. 

“Dr. Castronovo was a member of Puppeteers of America and he introduced me to that organization when I was a student,” said Dicken. “He always made sure to share with me the quarterly journals. They had wonderful articles about all the different genres of puppetry and exciting things that are going on all over the world. It really opened my eyes.” 

When Dicken returned to YSU to work in the Theatre department in 2002, Castronovo was again instrumental in putting him back in the world of puppetry. 

“He asked me to teach the (puppetry) class with him,” said Dicken. “What I didn't know was that he was grooming me. I was just so excited to be playing in this world. The next time the class came up in rotation, I ended up teaching it on my own.” 

Dicken said the class tends a little more towards students that don't consider themselves performers. “Through what we do in class, you watch students that are perhaps introverted or insecure just open up and realize that they have something to offer. It is amazing.” 

Even before the minor was launched, the program had chalked up its first success. This past Fall, Molly Lukehart Carroll, who graduated with a bachelor of Fine Arts from YSU in 2017, was accepted into the highly-competitive MFA program in Puppetry at the University of Connecticut, the only program of its kind in the country. 

“I'm a theatre person, and I wanted to touch every base when I was at YSU, so I took the puppetry class,” said Carroll. “On the first day, Professor Dicken handed out peepers (a set of eyes that are used to create hand puppets). I was hooked.” (Learn more about Carroll’s experience in her own words on the Y magazine website.

In addition to the new minor, the Cliffe College is also introducing puppetry to the greater Youngstown area. For instance, the college’s Pipino Performing Art Series recently brought to campus performances by the Huber Marionettes and the National Marionette Theatre. The Cliffe College is planning to host Tanglewood Marionettes for a public performance on October 17 as part of the 2020-2021 Pipino Performing Arts Series, if pandemic conditions allow for public events by fall.

“We're opening up the eyes of the people in this area to this whole other aspect of theatre,” said Dicken. 

The department is now developing special topics courses to cover advanced puppetry and provide students a more in-depth look at different kinds of puppetry. 

“It's been sort of a wild ride and at times, I feel like my head's spinning,” said Dicken. “But the students seem to really enjoy what they're doing and, the support has been unbelievable.”