Actor and puppeteer Rick Lyon
By Taelor Pickett
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY— Rick Lyon, an actor and puppeteer, will visit the University of Central Arkansas as artist in residence March 6-9.
The highlight of the residency will be a public performance and lecture March 9 at 3 p.m. in the Bridges/Larson Theatre of the Snow Fine Arts Center.
Lyon, a cast member of the original Tony Award-winning play, “Avenue Q,” will also be on campus conducting open workshops for theatre majors and minors and will work with the UCA cast of “Avenue Q” on the use of puppets from the original 2003 Broadway production of “Avenue Q.”
All residency events are free and open to the public.
“This residency will bring essential skills and knowledge to the theatre program on how to work with puppets that will be especially helpful in staging our production of “Avenue Q” for the public in April,” said Chris Fritzges, associate professor of theatre and faculty sponsor for the residency. “Puppetry within this show can be complex at times, and (Lyon’s residency) offers a great opportunity to have UCA students learn from the best through the use of Mr. Lyon’s puppets that he made for the original Broadway production.”
According to www.lyonpuppets.com, Lyon studied theatre at Penn State University and puppetry at the Institute of Professional Puppetry Arts in Connecticut and the Institut Internationale de la Marionnette in France. While he was studying in Connecticut in 1986, he met the late beloved Jim Henson, which later led to his working for Henson as a puppeteer with “The Muppets” and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
Lyon has designed and built puppets and props for “Avenue Q,” Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers,” Nickelodeon’s “Stick Stickly,” and the live national tour of PBS’s “The Magic School Bus.”
Other residency activities at UCA include:
- Open workshop with theatre majors and minors, Snow Fine Arts Center 210, March 6, 1-3 p.m.
- Work with actors cast in “Avenue Q,” Bridges/Larson Theatre, March 6, 6-10 p.m.
- Open workshop with theatre majors and minors, Snow Fine Arts Center 210, March 7, 1-3 p.m.
- Work with actors cast in “Avenue Q,” Bridges/Larson Theatre, March 7, 6-10 p.m.
- Open workshop with theatre majors and minors, Snow Fine Arts Center 210, March 8, 1-3 p.m.
- Work with actors cast in “Avenue Q,” Bridges/Larson Theatre, March 8, 6-10 p.m.
UCA Theatre’s performances of “Avenue Q” will take place April13, 14, 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. and April 15 and 22 at 2 p.m.
“The Artists-in-Residence program is designed to serve all students on campus by providing them with opportunities to interact with world-class artists,” said Dr. Gayle Seymour, professor of art history and associate dean for the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “Puppeteer Rick Lyon is a giant in the worlds of musical theatre and television. Students won’t want to miss this exciting residency.”
The Artist-in-Residence program is funded by UCA’s arts fee and is administered by the College of Fine Arts and Communication. For more information about the program, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication at 501 450-3293 or e-mail jdmiller@uca.edu.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing, as well as the School of Communication. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call 501-450-3293.
