Making a monster
By: Graysen Golter
Tags: Writing, Theatre, Journalism, Graysen Golter, Port Aransas

Ray Dillahunty stands next to the largest Audrey II puppet used for the production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at the Port Aransas Community Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 9. Dillahunty designed and built the puppet for the show. Staff photo by Graysen Golter.

For audiences at the Port Aransas Community Theatre’s (PACT) production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” the monster Audrey II is an R&B-singing, man-eating plant that frightens and entertains all at once.

Behind the scenes, the four puppets used for the plant are a testament to over a year of hard work, practice and ingenuity by more than a dozen people.

The show opened on Thursday, Nov. 4, after the PACT was closed for more than a year due to COVID-19.

Director Ken Yarbrough said the largest puppet exceeded his expectations and that the people behind it are to be commended for their work, ranking it as high as the dragon created for PACT’s production of “Shrek the Musical.”

“That dragon is legendary,” he said. “It had eyes that lit up, it had smoke that came out of its nostrils. It was the best piece that we had ever had on the stage… until Audrey II. Couldn’t be happier. (During shows,) there’s an audible gasp from the audience, then they laugh and they clap. That’s real rewarding when you know that you have done something right.”

Ray Dillahunty works on the frame of one of the Audrey II puppets used for the production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at the Port Aransas Community Theatre in early September. Courtesy photo.

The crew members behind the puppets are Ray Dillahunty and Rick Adams, puppet design and builders; Laura and John Garcia, puppet artwork and Justin Revels, Raina Smith, Aubree Boyer, and Tammy Weidemann, puppeteers. Actor Tre Minor provided the vocals for the character. Volunteers who consistently have helped with the puppets include John Krampitz, Scott Collins and Ed Tobia, Dillahunty said.

Dillahunty said there wasn’t much of a blueprint to work from when designing the puppets, but the delay the coronavirus put on the production allowed him to get creative and use unconventional means to put the Audrey IIs together.

One example is a playground slide that he got from a junkyard, using it for actors to go down when Audrey II “eats” them. Others include using a store- bought Easter egg to mold one of the smaller puppet’s mouth around and making teeth out of bits of a swim noodle.

“This, by far, is the most complicated contraption I’ve made,” he said of the largest puppet. “The best quote Rick ever said was, ‘It’s like building an airplane in midair.’ It’s just a hell of a lot of thinking out of the box.”

The largest puppet is about 4 feet wide and 6 feet long, Dillahunty said, and about 11 feet tall when it reclines into its resting position. In order to make its mouth open and close, puppeteers stand inside the mouth, behind a dark veil, while pushing and pulling two handles.

Minor had been an actor since 2006 before Yarbrough offered him the role of Audrey II in June 2021.

The role wasn’t as simple as talking and singing, Minor said, because he had to coordinate with the puppeteers to make sure the plant’s voice and mouth aligned.

One technique the puppeteers employed was memorizing Minor’s lines, he said. Meanwhile, he would practice the same line with different inflections so that he could react to the puppeteers’ movements.

“ It was a bucket- list role… (and) this is probably right at the top,” Minor said. “Playing Audrey (II) definitely has probably been one of the biggest roles that… I’ve had the opportunity to play.”

For artists Laura and John Garcia, the show was the first time they had ever gotten involved with PACT. While others handled the mechanics and structure of the puppets, the two said they enjoyed being responsible for the aesthetics and making Audrey II look “real” through painting and airbrushing.

“It was awesome,” Laura said. “I’ve seen (the puppets) grow from a piece of plaster… to this real-life thing on stage.”

Check out this edition of the South Jetty for future showtimes of the musical that ends its run on Sunday, Nov. 21.