I visited Lisa Sturz, from Red Herring Puppets the other day. Lisa is the Puppet Master and Proprietor of Red Herring Puppets. Red Herring Puppets is one of the latest additions to the Tucson Mall. Lisa has been delighting children and adults with her puppets most of her life. She started early, like 12, and obtained an MFA in Puppetry from UCLA. She creates puppets from small to enormous for plays, theatre, film, and TV as well as special events. Lisa’s alter ego is Rowby, a charming, friendly, green alien who is the head greeter and MC for many of the puppet shows.
Lisa is also busy making masks and props for the upcoming Dia de Los Muertos event on November 7th this year. Red Herring Puppets will be leading mask-making workshops at the ANNEX downtown (westbound light rail stop) on Sundays from 5:30 to 7:30 October 3, 10, 17 & 24. They are FREE to the public.
The “store” in the Tucson Mall is Lisa’s workshop, as well as the theater and gift shop. Costumes, puppets, and props line the walls. It is not fancy but does not need to be. It is here, she builds the puppets and sets, from the bottom up in the back room. In the hour and a half I spent with Lisa at the theater our conversation covered a wide range of topics, mimicking the event to be held this weekend. We bounced from subject to subject and finally settled on the reason for my visit. I wanted to learn more about this upcoming puppet show for adults.
This weekend and next, Red Herring Puppets will be putting on a show, Puppet Cabaret, for grownups, yes ADULTS. Known in puppet circles as a Slam, it is a variety show of several vignettes, lasting 5 minutes or less. Puppet Cabaret will feature a range of subjects including Humor, Music, Philosophy, Satire, and from the heart. We hope you can attend this sure to be an entertaining hour or so. Masks will be required.
Last week we posted a video of Lisa demonstrating a little background into her love for all things puppets. Be sure to watch “Red Herring Puppets: Keeping the Art of Puppetry Alive“, then visit her website below for more information about the troupe. You can buy your tickets for one of two weekends, starting Friday, October 1 and ending Saturday, October 9th. Hansel & Gretel is scheduled for Saturday, October 30.
Red Herring Puppets
4500 N Oracle Road (Tucson Mall) Suite 421 (Second Floor near Forever 21)
828-273-1488
Email:Â lisa@redherringpuppets.com
