Pulling the Strings : Puppet Master Keeps Magic of Childhood Fantasy Alive

By CHRISTINE ZIAYA

March 11, 1988 12 AM PT

The magic of marionettes first touched Douglas Seymore when he was 4. He watched with glee as the figures danced in a department store window. Today, at 50, Seymore is intent on keeping that magic alive.

In his weekend shows presented at The Enchanted Forest Theater in Woodland Hills, the puppeteer brings to life all sorts of delightful creatures: Cinnamon Bear, who blows up a balloon and floats through the air; Hildegard the Hippo, who roller-skates her way around the stage at top speed; and The Hot Cats--Patty, Laverne and Shirley--who harmonize like The Andrew Sisters and dazzle like The Supremes.

There’s a smoke-puffing dragon, a tightrope walker, a piano player, a juggling clown, a scarecrow who can grow tall or shrink, and a panda who balances atop a ball. Last but not least is Seymore’s favorite marionette--Merlin the magician.

For Seymore, who builds the marionettes, props and sets, being a puppeteer is a way of life.

“It’s very demanding work,” he said. “But I guess it’s my deep desire and love for the theater--and my desire to have an effect on other people--that keeps me going. To see the joy in the audience’s eyes . . . it’s hard to describe that feeling.”

Seymore never consciously visualized himself as a puppeteer, even though by the age of 6 his interest in marionettes was quite strong. Every Saturday he would take the bus to Nashville’s downtown public library to attend puppet shows given by puppet master Tom Tichenor. The young child’s enthusiasm for the art form so touched Tichenor that he taught Seymore how to work with puppets and soon invited the boy to try his hand at performing.

At 11, while living in Columbus, Ohio, Seymore came down with pneumatic fever. The illness kept him bedridden for nearly a year. It was during this time that he became an avid TV viewer of such puppets as Howdy Doody and the marionettes of Bil Baird.

“When I saw all those puppets, I watched and analyzed them, making mental notes,” Seymore recalled.

When he was well enough, Seymore began making his own marionettes. Because Seymore’s father was a salesman, the family often moved. “It was difficult making new friends all the time,” Seymore said. “So the puppets became my friends.”

Today Seymore owns more than 300 marionettes, several of which have been manufactured in his North Hollywood garage--a space converted into a workplace. His puppet creations have appeared in commercials for McDonald’s, Sears and Pepto-Bismol. In

December two puppets fashioned after actors Ed Begley Jr. and William Daniels appeared on the TV series “St. Elsewhere.”

Ranging in height from 24 to 36 inches, the puppets can weigh as much as 45 pounds--as do Seymore’s jousting knights. Because the process for making the figures is a tedious one, lasting as long as six weeks, the cost of a single marionette is upwards of $1,000.

After the initial design for the puppet is formulated on paper, Seymore sculpts the figure’s parts in clay. Plastic molds are then made, and neoprene, a rubber-like substance when it dries, is poured into them. Because neoprene has a tendency to shrink as much as 10%, each section must be allowed to “cure” for at least 16 hours. Then the most difficult step of the procedure begins--the carving, sanding and filing.

“Getting it all to fit together, so the joints move smoothly, the eyes turn right and the mouth moves naturally, takes a lot of time,” Seymore said.

Before Seymore decided to make puppeteering his full-time career, he was involved in producing plays for small, local theaters. More than once, he and his now deceased partner, Paul Johnson, had problems with actors. Thinking that they would have a lot more control over things if they could literally pull the performers’ strings, Seymore and Johnson made the switch to puppet theater.

“Much to my surprise though, I learned puppets can be just as hard to work with as real actors,” Seymore said. “They’re going to do what they’re going to do, when they want to do it.”

In late March, “Camelot,” a production featuring 50 marionettes controlled by three puppeteers, will open at The Enchanted Forest. Among the highlights, said Seymore, will be a sword swallower, folk dancers and his jousting knights.

The Enchanted Forest is at 20929 Ventura Blvd. in Woodland Hills.