In 1982, Joyce and I signed up for a puppetry class together. It was one of only two college classes we ever shared (the other was American Sign Language). Our majors were completely different, so we sought out a class that could fulfill a general elective and give us a little fun on the side. I’m glad we did. It remains one of those bright, oddball memories we both carry to this day.

The puppets we made were built from foam, the same technique used for Muppets. This made it surprisingly easy to create one in an afternoon. We scrounged thrift stores for puppet clothing and used halved ping pong balls for eyes. I made a tall king with a prominent foam nose and a blue cape. I imagined him having a New York accent. He had foam hands, one of which I could control with a wand. Joyce made a queen. Naturally.

I was very nervous to perform, even though I was hidden behind a puppet. Somehow I got through it. Joyce being less shy handled the stage with more ease. Looking back I now realize that puppetry felt like a safe way to perform. Through an object, hidden behind a curtain. It was one of the first times I experienced the strange comfort of expressing something from behind a character.

What I loved most was the making: the craft, the foam, the creativity. It was especially fun hearing classmates’ ideas and bouncing thoughts back and forth. Joyce and I loved it so much, we hosted a few puppet-making parties with friends afterward. I always wished we could’ve added some kind of performances, but we hadn’t discovered improv yet.

That came thirty years later. We recently completed Foundation 1 at BATS Improv and are about to start Foundation 2. I often think about how fun it would be to apply those improv skills to puppetry. The seeds were planted all those years ago.

Looking at these photos now, what delights me most is how joyful and expressive the puppets are. I don’t remember much about the final performance itself, just that we passed the class so it must’ve gone alright.

And really, that’s the magic of puppetry: a foam face, a scrap of clothing, and a little courage behind the curtain.