Interview: Puppeteer Vinny Lovegrove Brings His Miracle Fish Puppet Theater to KING RICHARD'S FAIRE

If it’s late summer or early fall in southeastern Massachusetts, then King Richard’s Faire must be in town, and so it is no surprise that the Renaissance festival recently opened its 43rd season on an 80-acre wooded site in Carver, where it will run weekends and Monday holidays through October 20.

Visitors to King Richard’s Faire can follow tree-lined paths to a village ruled by King Richard XI, Queen Anne III, and their royal court, where they can take in performances by acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, fire-eaters, musicians, dancers, and puppeteers, all in the spirit of the Renaissance.

Puppet master Vinny Lovegrove – a Rochester native who now makes his home in Marion with his wife, Cynthia, an artisan who also works at King Richard’s Faire, and their daughter Tallulah – will bring the larger-than-life Miracle Fish Puppet Theater to the Faire for the 31st consecutive year.

By telephone recently from his home in Marion, Lovegrove talked about Miracle Fish Puppet Theater, this year’s installment of King Richard’s Faire, and more.

Tell me about Miracle Fish Puppet Theater?

I started the company in 1993, the first year I landed King Richard’s Faire. There are multiple puppeteers now, but I’m the main one. It all started when, after graduating from Old Rochester Regional High School, I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art. I was studying sculpture when I met a friend’s wife who was a theater major and she got me interested in puppetry. I’d always had a kind of performer part of me that had never seen the light of day before that.

Do you design and build your own puppets?

Yes, that started in college. I got involved in puppet design and then puppeteering. All the puppets are my originals which I create and construct.

What puppets can visitors to King Richard’s Faire expect to see this year?

I’ll be strolling the grounds doing interactive puppetry, so they’ll be able to see and meet big talking puppets. We’ll have two puppeteers, one a day, working throughout the run. The days I’m on, I’ll be doing three puppets – each one very different, depending on the time of day.

Early in the day, visitors usually have a lot of energy so I open with Hodge Podge, a kind of “Where the Wild Things Are”-type puppet. Hodge Podge is a very friendly beast. He’s childlike but he can also be gruff. At midday, I’ll switch to a big fish named Bubbles, the only female character and the only puppet that doesn’t speak. She has big red lips and blows bubbles in every direction. At the end of each day as people leave, I’ll be playing George, a 12-foot-tall purple-faced troll with hands made out of giant purple baseball gloves. George is very friendly, grandfatherly really.

Of all the puppets you have created, which is your favorite?

I love them all, but I’m especially fond of Jasper, King of the Rag Dolls. Jasper is a midday character, a high-energy clown-like character with mitten hands. He’s very kid-friendly and great for interactions. I give him a voice like the late Broadway, film, and television actor and comedian Ed Wynn, who was the inspiration for the King Candy character in the Disney animated feature “Wreck-It Ralph.”

When you’re not performing at King Richard’s Faire, what other kind of puppetry do you do?

I’m the co-founder of the Toe Jam Puppet Band, along with singer/songwriter Tom Poitras. Since 2000, we’ve been bringing Toe Jam to schools, libraries, and festivals.  What Tom and I do is kind of like an old vaudeville act. The show is fun and frenzied, with songs, puppets, humor and interactivity. The kids in the audience are very excited to be there, because a lot of different things can happen. We don’t worry about looking silly. And the kids are invited to be as much a part of the show as they like.

 Photo captions: Above, Vinny Lovegrove meets visitors to King Richard’s Faire, and, at left, appears in costume as Jasper, King of the Rag Dolls. Photos courtesy of Miracle Fish Puppet Theater.

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