Arts and cultureTheater

Untold Stories: Illustrated Interview with Michael Lamason of Black Cherry Puppet Theater

By Breeze Hu

Published on: December 30, 2022 3:05 PM EST

Meet Michael Lamason, the executive director and co-founder of Black Cherry Puppet Theater. Michael and his friends started Black Cherry Puppet Theater in 1980. First it was a private art studio. Gradually, it became a nonprofit, offering the stage to puppeteers. They present shows, handcraft workshops and in-school residencies.
(Breeze Hu for The Baltimore Banner)
One of the reasons we started this project was my friends and I wanted to have a studio for all the tools and a proper working place. Later we began to invite puppet performers to perform, introduce them to others, and now here we are. Question: What’s the difference between Michael, the puppet artist, and Michael from Black Cherry? Answer: Well, I don’t have much time … you know, I got a theater to run. I tend to become more serious in adult stuff. For theater, we do more kids’ stuff… It’s good you can inspire young people. It’s a different energy.

I don’t have a typical daily plan— some days I spend all day in the office balancing books. Other days, I try to spend as much as I can in the workshop making things. School residency is the main duty the theater does. For performing days, I have to raise funds to pay the performers. Try to keep the theater open… Design  new shows; book artists.

I didn’t like doing virtual stuff at all [...] I didn’t have feedback from the audience, who really fed on this energy… I’m just really happy to be back and doing shows like this. The audience suspends disbelief to enter the world, so especially when you are in a theater and controlling the lighting and stuff, the audience is a huge part of the performance. They bring the puppets to life.

Puppet artists from Baltimore and elsewhere visit Michael and perform in Puppet Slams. A Puppet Slam is like a comedy sketch. Usually, they are 5-10 minute shows created in a short time, or even improvised. Question: Do you think you sacrificed part of your artist’s life for the theater? Answer: I won’t use the word sacrifice, but maybe that’s what it is. Somebody needs to do it. I want people to see other puppeteer's’ wonderful shows.

Breeze Hu is a Baltimore-based comic artist, illustrator, and storyteller. To read more of her work, visit her website or find her on Instagram @breeze_hu_art.