George O’Brien

Puppeteer

George O’Brien, a puppeteer, wore false theater teeth during his performance at 4th Avenue Food Park.

April 25, 2023 | Compilation and photos by Allessandra Inzinna

“When I was a little kid, my parents used to tell me bedtime stories. They would hold up my stuffed animals high, and they would wiggle them a little bit, make their arms move. I, of course, was exposed to ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ and ‘Sesame Street,’ and was blown away. I immediately fell in love with puppets and how mysterious they were. 

Years down the road, my dad and I went to Mexico, and I bought a marionette. I was just fascinated by trying to work this puppet with strings and didn’t realize how difficult [it was]. I looked into how ancient the craft is — thousands and thousands of years old — and it appeals to everybody, not just kids, but adults everywhere. I was in construction at the time that my father got very sick. And on his deathbed, he said to me, he said, ‘You know what, the only thing you take with you is your experiences.’ Then he says, ‘I know you’ve always wanted to be a puppeteer, just go for it. Go for it.’ 

So I did. And it was scary. But I believed in it. Once I started feeling it and believing, things just started coming my way. I do workshops, theater performances. We build and sell puppets.

Cootie Holly Wander, a gnome puppet, has a perpetual smile on her face. The drums she plays sound like wind chimes.

This is Cootie, Cootie Holly Wander. She’s one of the Boggling Hooks, a little family of gnomes. They’re trying to relay a message of peace to human beings, telling them that the balance is out of order. 

Cootie is a different shape. Notice that one hand’s kind of human, one hand’s a little weird. She’s got a hunchback, but she chose this form. And the reason why is [that] over the thousands of years she observed human beings, she noticed that those that were different — those that we might call ‘handicapped’ — were the strongest amongst us. She chose this form because she wanted to be like that. The light that’s inside of her and light that’s inside of you — that’s what matters.

 [The work], it’s very rewarding, although challenging, and sometimes you go hungry every now and then. But the experience, the joy, that I’m going to take that with me, I don’t care. That’s the bank account of the soul.”

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