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Orange juice and toothpaste. Water and electricity. Babies and airplanes.
All pretty great things, but terrible when put together. Last Thursday, a nonprofit art and activism organization tested another potentially dangerous combo: puppets and karaoke.
Spiral Q held the event to raise money for its annual Peoplehood Parade, scheduled for Nov. 7. The parade is Spiral Q’s annual community arts event where dozens of neighborhood and advocacy groups march from the Paul Robeson House to Clark Park with giant puppets and banners they built with Spiral Q, culminating in a large puppet pageant.
The idea for puppet karaoke started two years ago with a pair of giant lips and an oversized microphone.
PhillyCAM had made the props for Peoplehood to represent its community radio station. Spiral Q co-director Liza Goodell said people at the organization started playing around with the puppets and singing after the parade.
“We have so many puppets from the years past and asked, ‘How can people continue to use these for something fun?’” Goodell said.
Spiral Q’s held their inaugural puppet karaoke event last year and brought it back last Thursday, with singers choosing songs and organizers searching through the nonprofit’s puppet collection for props and characters that could somehow fit the lyrics.
Inside the Pentridge Station beer garden in West Philadelphia, an oversized hammer, fish and hands were among the puppets stacked at the back of the venue. Tables at the front took donations from guests, who were encouraged to donate $25.
While a list of puppet-song pairings was provided for any in need of inspiration, in proper karaoke fashion, there was no rehearsal for participants.
It’s “a very pageanty, extra spectacle version of karaoke,” said Asa Heaps, Spiral Q’s studio and apprenticeship manager.
Heaps’ assessment rang true. Puppets and flags previously used to draw attention to various causes worked with karaoke. Puppets of cars and hearts danced along to a rendition of Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom,” and big green dollar-bill puppets helped Spiral Q’s call for donations during an intermission.
Funded through foundation grants, charitable contributions and public donations, Goodell said the Spiral Q’s roots are in helping activists create art about “their demands and their stories.” Over time, that expanded to neighborhood parades and school programs, all centered around using giant puppets, banners and other handmade art to bring people together and bring attention to community causes.
Peoplehood is the organization’s largest event of the year. Now in its 26th year, the event brings together activist, organizing, community and youth groups from across Philadelphia. In the weeks leading up to the parade, those groups come to Spiral Q’s studio to make puppets, banners and signs that represent their work. Much of the money raised by the puppet karaoke event goes toward supplies and labor to build puppets and support organizations involved in the Peoplehood Parade.
Goodell said some of Spiral Q’s three-dimensional puppets can take five or six sessions to complete, with each session lasting around three to five hours. But rather than have one artist build the entire thing, Spiral Q tries to get as many people involved as possible.
“My favorite moment is when 10 people are painting a banner together,” Goodell said. “Everyone’s section might be a little different, but if a human made it, it seems like it’s more impactful because you care enough to make this thing.”
The art doesn’t have to look perfect. Heaps pointed to a large puppet of a hammer at the event that was a bit misshapen.
“It’s really beautiful to know that a human made that,” said Heaps. “If the side of this puppet is a bit wonky, it doesn’t look exactly perfect. Who cares?”
Diana Torres first became involved with Spiral Q through a 10-week summer internship. She said the experience introduced her to community organizing and, eventually, puppets. Her first was a small Minecraft Steve made with cardboard, tape and wire.
Last Thursday, she planned to sing. “Coming to puppet karaoke and not singing? Come on,” Torres said.
She admitted she was nervous, but said the people around her made getting on stage easier.
“I like to think of this community as extended family,” Torres said. “We’re all up here making a fool of ourselves for a good cause.”
