Bringing inanimate objects to life through imaginative storytelling is nothing new to Raymond Carr.
The quirky, Atlanta-based puppeteer has lots of experience, from manipulating characters on the Comedy Central show “Crank Yankers” and a flamingo on Donald Glover’s FX series “Atlanta,” to literally being the man behind the Aflac duck.
He’s also a filmmaker who’s led episodes of Apple TV’s children’s show “Yo Gabba Gabbaland” and the teen sci-fi short film “Joyriders.”
Carr told UATL he has a different challenge. He’s striving to incorporate more diversity and inclusion into puppetry.
“I’m trying to push us to think bigger and push the boundaries for what we can and can’t do,” Carr said. “I’ve been a driving force in trying to get our people out there, because we often don’t see ourselves in art forms that are not just singing and dancing.”
Carr is this year’s featured artist for Puppetry NOW, an annual exhibition at the Center for Puppetry Arts showcasing work from puppeteers of color. The exhibit runs Jan. 17 through Mar. 16, and includes several of Carr’s puppets, production photos, equipment and other elements used in his film and television projects.
Credit: AFLAC Production
Credit: AFLAC Production
He’s having an exhibit preview and artist talk at the Center on Jan. 16. The exhibit’s companion production featuring Carr, “The Ninja Puppet Shenaniganza,” is being postponed until June, because Carr and his wife are expecting their first child this month.
“It was a hard decision trying to fill up that room, but it’s an amazing honor and surreal experience. It’s going to be pretty exciting,” Carr said.
Carr seems somewhat ordained for his career, literally. Born in Inglewood, California, he relocated as a child to Union City with his parents, who traveled the country together as ministers, delivering sermons to Christian faith gatherings, sometimes creatively dressed as clowns.
Credit: Raymond Carr
Credit: Raymond Carr
Carr’s interest in puppetry came from performing and touring churches with his family, though he found the religious-themed subject matter in the performances stifling. “It was limiting, because I had a pretty wild imagination as to what I could do,” he said.
Credit: Raymond Carr
Credit: Raymond Carr
He’s has been involved with the Center for Puppetry Arts since 1998, first as a volunteer and intern. He studied film at Georgia State University and performed improv at Dad’s Garage Theatre with his older brother, Jon Carr.
He also directed productions as part of the Center’s Xperimental Puppetry Theater, a program that produces original work by emerging talent.
Carr said he experienced culture shock after moving to Atlanta, but the Center provided him a safe space to nurture his ideas.
“I didn’t know that people could be artists professionally, but I had this community who saw something in me, took me under their wing, treated me as a peer and fostered my own creative endeavors,” he said.
“It was one of the few saving graces to keep me sane, because I dreamed about having my work in that amazing museum all that time.”
In 2005, he made his television debut as an assistant puppeteer on Nick Jr.’s “LazyTown.” The animated show relocated him to Iceland for a year, where he remembers being unable to find other cast, crew or residents who looked like him.
“I went months without seeing another Black person, so I was constantly representing to an entirely different culture who had never met another Black person,” he said. “I was still very sheltered, conservative and had never left the country, but it taught me that I could be on my own and do my own thing.”
Upon Carr’s return to Atlanta, he toured as part of the Center’s “Walking with Dinosaurs.” He became interested in filmmaking and started producing genre-blurring projects with monsters and creatures like “Hitori,” a 2014 mini-movie influenced by bunraku, a style of Japanese puppets with hooded attire.
“Hitori” was funded by Handmade Puppet Dreams, a film and puppet series under the Jim Henson Company, the brand synonymous with the Muppets. Heather Henson, founder, executive producer and Jim’s youngest daughter, saw Carr perform at Dad’s Garage in 2012.
Coming on as an executive producer of “Hitori,” she appreciates how collaborative, extroverted and easygoing Carr is around other creatives.
“There was a hotbed of creativity happening in Atlanta, and Raymond was one of the artists always doing cool, experimental work. He was always putting himself out there and making new stuff in the sandbox with others,” Heather Henson said.
“He has his own vision and knows it so well, but he’s very team-oriented and a community leader.”
In 2016, Carr joined the cast of Puppet Up!, the Henson Company’s improv and puppetry troupe, followed by the brand’s PBS Kids animated show “Splash and Bubbles.”
Credit: Jim Henson Company
Credit: Jim Henson Company
Last year, he became puppet captain for “Eric,” a limited series on Netflix about a 1980s children’s television show. He trained the actors to operate puppets, hired puppeteers, ensured the show was historically accurate and controlled the show’s 7-foot puppet.
Cheryl Henson, president of the Jim Henson Foundation and Jim’s daughter, appreciates Carr’s ability to adapt in any environment involving puppets and storytelling. “He’s mastered many styles and does not sit in anyone’s box,” she said.
“He’s very versatile in his approach to puppetry, film, television and makes what works best for the project.”
Credit: Jim Henson Company
Credit: Jim Henson Company
Being a sought-after talent has motivated Carr to staff and develop aspiring puppeteers from underrepresented communities at Ninja Puppet Productions, his puppet-, prop-building and production company. He said he continues to live in Atlanta because of his network and ability to be resourceful without major financial support.
“You can do a lot of really interesting work without having to bust the bank. There are people interested in putting Atlanta on the map, and they don’t necessarily need to be paid New York or Los Angeles rates to make them happen,” he said.
“It solidified my desire to make sure that I could bring the skills that I’ve learned to Atlanta and have them stay here.”
Carr hopes to connect with more historically Black colleges to expose students to the opportunities and possibilities in puppetry.
“When we don’t see ourselves in those spaces, it’s because we don’t know we can be there. I want to go wherever this is going to take us,” he said.
6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16. Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. NW, Atlanta. 404-873-3089, puppet.org.
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