This Wednesday, June 10th, renowned marionette artist based out of Atlanta, Georgia, known as Puppet Pants, will be performing a wordless marionette variety show at JJ’s Bohemia, which will feature an ever-changing cast of unique characters, blending comedy and music with visceral emotion and surrealist visual storytelling.
Puppet Pants is the stage name for the hyper-talented marionette artist, performer, and entertainer Adam Clarke, who regularly performs over 100 shows each year and has entertained at countless festivals, theaters, and touring productions since his first professional puppet show, performed in October of 2021.
The wordless marionette show has a Vaudeville-esque quality about it and is backed by an original instrumental soundtrack composed by Clarke himself. The entire experience is much more than just a puppet show and has received high praise from audience-goers and professional marionette groups alike, with Dave Herzog of the lauded Herzog Marionettes company stating, “I’ve been to many puppet festivals … I have rarely been so impressed.”
Clarke grew up in Texas and fell in love with puppets at an early age. He remembered seeing puppet shows at state fairs and shopping malls, where they’d have holiday puppet shows in the winter; however, he was always drawn to the marionette string puppets because they felt more magical in comparison to the "Muppet-style" puppets he had seen on TV.
He performed his first show after years of being fascinated with puppets in October 2021. According to Clarke, it was a “three-minute marionette piece with heavy dialogue and cute but crudely made puppets.” However, after continuing to work on his craft, he went on to attend the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Center in Waterford, Connecticut, where he studied under professional puppeteers.
He spent a year or so making puppets and busking on Atlanta streets while working a full-time career before ultimately going on to perform at the Southeast Regional Puppeteers of America Festival in 2024. Since then, Puppet Pants has taken off, and he has harvested a reputation as one of the best, highly detailed marionette string-puppet acts in the Southeast.
In speaking with Clarke about what all a Puppet Pants show entails and what folks can expect, he mentioned that two huge misconceptions are that it’s a show for kids, which it is not, and that it must then be a raunchy, adult show, though you’d be wrong again.
“A Puppet Pants show is a cast of marionettes that perform all sorts of tricks, like juggling, tightrope walking, trapeze acts, and a lot more, to an original instrumental soundtrack that I composed. I think the biggest misconception is that it is a show for young audiences. It’s not a kid’s show, and then when folks hear that, the second misconception is that it’s a raunchy adult show, which it is not.
It’s a show that is designed for mature audiences in that the pacing is intentional, and the presentation is elegant. I don’t wiggle dolls and tell fairytales or ask folks in the crowd what their favorite color is or to sing songs, and there’s no cursing or adult content. My show is my own take on a marionette variety show. It is wordless and focused on lifelike movement.”
Clarke went on to discuss his process of giving good life to a puppet and mentioned a fan interaction he had about one of his shows, where the fan adamantly demanded that he was not the puppeteer, reinforcing his belief in himself having faded out of focus, with the attention all on the puppets.
“A key to good lifelike puppetry is giving a puppet weight, breath, and focus. I think there’s something universal in the experience of watching an inanimate object come to life. It’s hard to look away if it’s done well. I wear all black and perform in front of a black curtain. I don’t try to hide my face or fingers, but with all of the attention on the puppet, I disappear quite easily.
Last year, I met someone who ended up telling me about their experience watching my show, but they couldn’t remember the puppeteer’s name. When I told them that they were talking about me and my show, they looked me up and down and said, “No, that wasn’t you,” which I think speaks to how easily it is for me to fade out of focus and put all the attention on the puppets."
When asked about coming to Chattanooga and any memories Clarke has of the Scenic City, he mentioned loving Mr. T’s Pizza, likely the St. Elmo location, and stated that while he has been here before to visit, this will be his first time performing here.
“I love Chattanooga. I usually visit several times a year. With this upcoming stop being part of a longer tour, I won’t have much time to spend in the area, but I love the outdoors and all of the beautiful scenery and hiking in the area. I’ve never performed in Chattanooga, so I’m really excited to be able to bring my show to a neighboring city. I think my favorite memory, while simple, was discovering Mr. T’s Pizza. I tried it on a whim, and now I go there every time I visit.
Puppet Pants has made a name for himself across the Southeast as a highly skilled marionette artist, entertainer, and performer, while simultaneously carving out a space for himself as a one-man marionette circus, with every performance delivering something uniquely whimsical, comedic, heartfelt, and insanely creative. Puppet Pants creates magical experiences with world-class puppets for fans of all ages, and his performance at JJ’s Bohemia on Wednesday, June 10th, is one not to be missed.
Puppet Pants
- Wednesday, June 10. 7:30 p.m.
- JJ’s Bohemia. 231 E Martin L King Blvd, Chattanooga.
- $10 at the door.
- facebook.com/jjs.bohemia