The Art of Puppetry with Ramon Abad
How a generation of youth, families, and Filipino Americans are finding their creative voice through puppetry in San Francisco
Ramon Abad is the only Filipino American theater artist in San Francisco who has been consistently dedicated to the art of puppetry since the mid 90s. He is a proud Filipino American puppeteer, artist, and teacher who has written puppet plays, hand-made puppets and performed solo shows throughout the US and the UK.
For some, the immediate reaction to the word “puppet” is an image of a Muppet-style hand puppet. Yet, Ramon’s work involves using non-traditional, modern puppetry like object manipulation, video projection and pop-up book style characters to tell transformative stories. He creates theater with play as a significant part of his process and values how the initial spark of discovery creates spaces where individuals and groups are given room to enjoy themselves by simply having fun.
In 2020 and 2022, his works were featured in the United States of Asian America Festival (USAAF). This year, for USAAF 2024: Be(long)ing Here, he is a Featured Artist presenting his new work Duck Soup,a one-hour immersive theater experience for children and families that engages the audience by guiding them to various sections of the theater, where they witness short stories brought to life through captivating puppet performances. The title of the show, "Duck Soup", is Depression-era slang for something that's "easy to do" or a "piece of cake." No actual ducks will be cooked. Tickled perhaps, but not cooked!
Duck Soup premiers Saturday, June 8 & June 15, 11:00 am–12:00 pm & 3:00–4:00 pm and Sunday, June 9, 11:00 am–12:00 pm & 3:00–4:00 pm at Bindlestiff Studio, 185 6th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 (map)
Community promo code $15 adult tickets/ $5 kid tickets using code Duck24
APICC: Ramon! Thanks for talking story with us. Let’s start at the beginning. Tell us how your creative work in puppetry got started! When and where were you and what was motivating you at the time?
RAMON ABAD: My journey into puppetry began in the early 90's when I was a student at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and happened to walk into a free Balinese shadow puppet performance inside one of the main halls on campus. I saw a small cloth screen illuminated from behind by the flickering light of an oil lamp. One person animated the cast of puppets and performed an amazing range of voices. A live Balinese gamelan orchestra provided musical accompaniment. There happened to be young children in front of the screen and everyone in the hall was laughing along with the story being told with shadow puppets. I was transfixed! Even though I was a film student at that time, I had a gut reaction that this was exactly the type of audience engagement that I was looking for. It was like seeing an early prototype of cinema come to life!
Immediately after this experience, I set about to make a version of my own. With no mentors in our Filipino American (Fil Am) community teaching the art of puppetry, I had to learn by taking the first steps by myself. Decades before Google, I was tutored by library books on the basics of puppet making and eventually joined the shadow theater company ShadowLight Productions as my formal training into puppetry. I was compelled to pursue this art form because I saw the need to create distinctly Fil Am puppets.
By word-of-mouth, I began performing my own solo puppet shows at Fil Am festivals in San Francisco. At the time I saw the void of live theater for Filipino American children in the Bay Area. This work for creating quality theater for youth and involving the diverse voices of many Bay Area communities continues in my practice to this day.
APICC: You have over 20 years of creating transformative, community centered puppetry. What have you seen change over time and what changes in your community have you valued the most?
RAMON ABAD: Children deserve to learn and be entertained from resources beyond pads and devices. Movies and TV for children have definitely changed since the 90s when I started my puppetry practice. There are more BIPOC characters in movies like Pixar’s “Soul” and LGBTQ+ narratives like Disney’s recent “Strange World” and, just last year, a milestone was achieved when Sesame Street introduced its first Filipino American puppet character named “TJ”. However, most kids experience these divergent narratives on electronic devices.
Theater is the original immersive experience where acting, singing, stage design and dance are presented to the audience in an organic tactile way. Despite the advances in representation in mass culture, I still recognize the lack of diversity in live theater for children, specifically in the Bay Area. I contend, there are more opportunities for kids to experience live theater than in the once-a-year viewing of “The Nutcracker” or “The Christmas Carol.”
In the early 2000’s I lived in London, England for several years and was fortunate to have worked with several children’s theater companies as a puppeteer. I was amazed to experience firsthand the quality and the diversity of theater for children there! In returning to San Francisco, I was motivated to begin a project specifically for children at Bindlestiff Studio, inspired by the children’s theater I saw in the UK.
I was fortunate to have been included in APICC’s USAAF 2022 to produce and direct “Pickles! The Bindlestiff Kid Show.” With “Pickles!” I wanted to push the notion of inclusivity by involving young kids to be the playwrights of the three stories of the show. It was my attempt to include the voices of actual children to be in a show for children. Kids were also puppeteers, musicians and narrators alongside grown ups which was a first for a theatrical production at Bindlestiff.
I was hoping that the intergenerational experience of the hybrid of ages would work some magic. Based on the overwhelming response from adults, kids, and family, who were audiences of the shows, I believe that this amount of risk-taking and experimentation paid off!
APICC: What lessons do you take away from your life work as a puppeteer?
RAMON ABAD: The idea of “inclusivity” continues to be a very important component to my puppetry practice. With “Pickles!” I commissioned three kids who were in the ages of 8 to 11 years old at the time to be the playwrights of the three stories. From knowing beforehand a little of each of these kid’s interests, I knew they were natural storytellers. So, I set about for them to work with a dramaturg in gathering their ideas and writing their scripts. None of the kids have ever done anything like that! APICC was able to provide an opportunity for me to work with these young storytellers and hopefully encourage a future generation of playwrights as well.
The idea of “inclusivity” continues to be a very important component to my puppetry practice. The experience of involving kids in the creative process with adults in “Pickles!” from USAAF 2022 has prompted me to push the concept further in my new play that I’m directing for this year’s USAAF 2024. For this year’s project entitled “Duck Soup,” I am assembling a design and maker team composed of kids, teens and grown-ups.
“Not only do I believe youth have a definite voice that needs to be amplified, but I also contend that children also have the potential to be great designers.”
Ramon Abad
Not only do I believe youth have a definite voice that needs to be amplified, but I also contend that children also have the potential to be great designers. As a working theater and art teacher in San Francisco schools, I constantly see the work of some amazing young visual artists. I have direct experience of how given a little encouragement, kids who have the interest can develop into very accomplished designers and artists.
My new project aims to make space for kids to also be designers in order to exercise their interest in painting, sculpture and illustration. I want to involve kids and teens in the decision making process in the design of the puppets and stage sets for “Duck Soup.”
Learn more about Ramons work at www.ramon-puppetry.com and get tickets for his show Duck Soup at Bindlestiff Studios coming up on Saturday, June 8 & June 15, 11:00 am–12:00 pm & 3:00–4:00 pm and Sunday, June 9, 11:00 am–12:00 pm & 3:00–4:00 pm!
The 27th Annual United States of Asian America Festival: Be(long)ing Here presented by API Cultural Center presents up to 20 different programs reflecting the artistic accomplishments and cultural diversity of San Francisco’s Pacific Islander and Asian American communities. Check out our website for the full festival calendar!
