Last Fall, my daughter informed me that they will be having a field trip at Opera in Focus in Rolling Meadows, at a puppet show. I was nicely surprised that we have something like this so close to us, as I remember, I have really enjoyed back in my school years, the field trips to the puppets shows. For this reason, I have approached them to see who they are and what are they offering to the public. I had a nice conversation with Justin Snyder, Principal Puppeteer/Artistic Director about what is Opera in Focus, why should we consider them while planning for a family outing and what are the benefits of enjoying these shows.
What is Opera In Focus? Why is it different from a usual puppet show?
Opera in Focus is the world's only rod puppet opera. We perform grand opera in miniature with some of the world's most lifelike puppets in one of the world's most technically sophisticated puppet theaters. We've been in business in Chicago since 1958, and have been located in Rolling Meadows now for the past 26 years.
Why should we, the parents, take our kids to see your plays?
Puppet Opera is a great way to introduce young people to orchestral music, stagecraft, puppetry, costume design, set design, foreign languages, comedy and tragedy. We regularly hear from parents and grandparents who tell us that their kids or grand-kids developed an interest in singing lessons or piano lessons or joined their school's drama club after seeing Opera in Focus. Nowadays, these are art forms that many kids are not exposed to. So it's a great way to expose your kids to the fine arts and show them something they're not going to find in a cellular phone or video game.
I know that this year you are celebrating 61 years, can you tell us more about it and what events are you planning for this celebration?
We had a variety of special productions and events last year in celebration of our 60th anniversary, but we really try to celebrate each year as an important milestone, and every performance we do is really a celebration of this beautiful, unique craft that we're lucky to be a part of.
The Repertoire, how often does it change?
Typically each Opera in Focus production lasts 4 weeks. There are occasions where we will offer extended 5 week runs or limited 3 week runs, but most of our productions run for a month.
Who are the people who are playing the puppets?
Our current troupe consists of: Justin Snyder, Shayne Snyder, Beverly Snyder, and Leilani Barzyk.
Seen from the outside, it seems working with the puppets is relatively simple. What does it mean to act with a puppet?
It may seem simple to make a puppet move, but to impart emotion to that character - to make the audience, not only believe that an inanimate object has real feelings and emotions, but to also make the audience sympathize with the feelings and emotions of that inanimate object, is something that takes exceptional artistry and many years of dedicated training. When you manipulate a puppet, you have to be able to turn off your own personality and instincts and adopt the persona of whatever character you are bringing to life (which is no easy feat). Each character, like each person, should have its own unique quirks and traits. A character like Rigoletto, for example, will move and think and act very differently than a character like Gretel ... and therein lies the true artistry of the puppeteer: to be able to adapt your manipulation to suit whatever character you are performing as (regardless of that character's age, race, gender, species, etc.). That's what makes puppetry "believable", when the puppeteer ceases to exist and the puppet becomes a living, breathing entity of its own.
How do you perceive the public, mainly the kids, during the show?
We have always had an amazing relationship with our audiences of all ages. I think each age group appreciates our performances on a different level. The younger kids definitely like the action, they like to see dancing puppets, animal puppets, flying puppets, explosions/ fog/ special FX. Older kids/teens tend to respond best to the scenes they're familiar with from pop culture (Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, Little Shop of Horrors, Wizard of Oz, etc.), things they know, but presented in a way they've never seen them before. And adults/seniors tend to appreciate the more serious operas. They are more appreciative of and interested in the artistry and craft that goes into pulling our productions off.
With younger kids, when we have big field trips and such, we can usually hear them out there horsing around and being goofy before the performance starts ... but once the stage lights up, I think they're sort of mesmerized. It's something totally unlike anything they've seen before. And they appreciate it on that level. Having the backstage tour afterwards really helps them to connect with the puppets, too. They come backstage and get to ask the puppeteers all their questions, see how everything is done up close, pose for close up photos with their favorite puppets, etc. It's an interactive experience that most theaters don't offer.
For more details, please check their website: www.operainfocus.com
