Family Crow: the artistry of Adam Proulx is something to crow about 12 Oct 2022
by Drew Rowsome- Photos by Dahlia Katz
Horatio P Corvus, sorter out of murders, welcomes us to the theatre before warning that if we want to leave we had better do it now. He is about to narrate a bloodcurdling tale of murder and mayhem. But most dire is that there will be puns. Lots of puns. Corvus is a crow and he is means business.
Family Crow is not only hilarious and a cracking good mystery yarn, it is a remarkable showcase for Adam Proulx (The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy, Spencer Stays Inside, Avenue Q). Proulx not only wrote the show but he also plays multiple characters who interact with the puppet. The stage setting is minimal and the fourth wall almost non-existent, but somehow when Corvus dialogues with a character, there is an interaction that conjures up a duality that would be spooky if it didn't seem so natural. Corvus critiques, and Proulx revels in, the plethora of puns using the word 'crow,' and while some are hoary, while still surprisingly funny, others are quite clever and uproarious. One character names lead to an extended riff on a pop culture figure that extends just to the point where it should tilt from exuberant hilarity into groans.
Proulx is also an expert puppeteer when it comes to manipulating the audience. He deftly mixes horror and murder mystery tropes into gags and occasionally jump scares. We are always aware that Proulx is performing and that Corvus is a puppet, but often the lines blur and we become immersed in the mystery. Proulx is subtle and quicksilver with distinctive characters (one can't help but think of Daniel MacIvor) while Crovus brazens his way into our psyche. While the reality of a puppet is always questionable, Corvus is a flesh, blood and feathers narrator. And when the big special effects arrive, we see how they are done but don't care, they work on a gut theatrical level. When Proulx finally speaks as Proulx post curtain, it is disconcerting—we have seen him as so many other people inhabiting his dapperly dressed form that there can hardly be room left for this self-deprecating beaming talent worth (one last pun) crowing about.
Proulx first made an impression on me when I interviewed Rod, one of the puppet stars of Avenue Q. Being a puppet fan I followed Proulx's booming career—Family Crow has collected awards on every stop of its tour through the world's Fringes—with interest so was excited when Family Crow was finally getting its Toronto premiere. Proulx reached out about doing some promo at the same that I reached out in hopes of an interview. And then of course life and time constraints intervened and the interview wasn't completed until just before opening night of Family Crow's Toronto run. So, though the review is minimal (but hopefully reads as the raven, er, rave, that it is intended to be) the interview provides a lot more supplementary information.
Drew Rowsome: I was first exposed to your artistry when you did Avenue Q at the Lower Ossington Theatre. Was that your introduction to puppetry?
Adam Proulx: Sort of. Avenue Q is where I started really taking puppetry seriously. I had had some basic puppetry training when I was a character performer at Walt Disney World in Florida. But Avenue Q is where I met my mentor Mike Petersen and my OG puppet friends. It's when I recognized that it was a good fit for my interests and skill set.
Did you have any idea then that you would become a world-renowned puppeteer?
Adam Proulx: Aww that's a nice descriptor. At first I really hated when people called me the puppet guy. But now I'm usually like, "Hi, I'm Adam. I'm the puppet guy." I thought of it as a tool in my toolbox then. And I suppose I still do. But it has become my brand. And truly, it also brings me such joy.
Family Crow has been a big hit for you, trailing awards, what do you credit as the key to its success?
Adam Proulx: It was interesting doing Fringe festivals this summer, one foot out of the pandemic, and one foot (and mask) in. I was a bit sheepish, because while some artists were having trouble drawing crowds like before, I was having just a great time. I think part of the success is that it is different than Netflix. By that, I mean it is better live. It is an in-person, shared experience that can't be just as good if watched online later.
The murder/murder hook is quite clever. What are your murder mystery antecedents?
Adam Proulx: The murder/murder hook is what made me write this play in the first place. My murder mystery origins come from my home town of Sault Ste. Marie. My mentor and dear friend Susan Barber (who left us in 2016) had a company called Shot in the Dark Productions. With that company, she did murder mysteries for fundraisers, corporate events, etc. When I was FAR TOO YOUNG to be doing this type of thing, Sue, who was famous for doling out more responsibility than was warranted, would hire me to perform in and help write these murder mysteries. Also, the musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is one of my favourite pieces of theatre I have ever experienced. And I suppose this is me trying to write a one-man version of it that I can fit in checked luggage.
From Poe to The Birds to Schitt's Creek, crows have a unique horror camp appeal. What inspired you to create such nefarious birds?
Adam Proulx: It's so true. From their strut to their inherent feather boas . . . somehow crows and birds generally are so camp. I call my puppeteer costume for this show 'crow drag.' There is something fabulous about birds, while still being terrifying dinosaurs if you look close enough.
When you create puppets, are they characters or are they created to fit your vision of the production? How do you achieve the creation and how long does it take?
Adam Proulx: This puppet was designed specifically for the project. I wanted a puppet to play with that was sort of like the Zazu puppet in the Lion King musical. I developed a prototype in Australia when I was doing a residency with The Puppetsmithery. When I came back, I started to chip away at a working version of the puppet. I would work on it, and then get busy at the theatre I was working at, leaving it on the shelf for months at a time to stare at on the daily, thinking of solutions and improvements. It took me the bulk of 2019 to build it a feather at a time. More generally, it depends on the puppet. Sometimes they are fast and come out as fully formed characters that surprise even me. Sometimes I painstakingly work to achieve some particular aim with a character. Overall though, I'd say 40 -100 hours is average.
When you perform with the puppets, how real do they become? Do they ever tell you what their personality is?
Adam Proulx: I think playing in the mirror with puppets is the best way to figure out a voice and vibe for a character. In my gut, I know when it all sits right and when it doesn't . . . even if it's not what I originally intended. In terms of how real they become, I think that I think of them as less real than everybody else does. If I have them in my guest room when visitors are arriving, I have to remember that that is creepy for anybody who is not me. And if I take one off and throw it cavalierly in a suitcase, I have to remember that that frightens the children.
Do they ever upstage you?
Adam Proulx: If I'm doing my job right.
How does doing a solo (if a show with puppets can be considered a one-man show) show compare to working with an ensemble like Avenue Q or divas like Fay and Fluffy?
Adam Proulx: At the risk of sounding dramatic, it is just more pressure in every single way. It's my writing, it's my puppet, it's my performance. If someone hates it, or if something horrible happens, it is decidedly my fault. People like my Avenue Q castmates or the incredible cast of Fay and Fluffy on Family Jr. can really make you feel supported, and prop you up, and give you energy to feed off of. It's beautiful. A solo show is also beautiful but it's a much more insular game. Luckily I have my director Byron Laviolette [Chautauqua] to support me. I hope that I get to keep doing both, because they both feed my creative soul in different ways.
What is it in the Canadian water that has created puppeteers like you and Ronnie Burkett (Forget Me Not, The Daisy Theatre) that have elevated puppetry into an eloquent art form?
Adam Proulx: I am a proud member of Ronnie's #hausofgeppetto. I have always and will always bow to Ronnie's work and am so grateful for the support and kindness he has shown me and countless others in the puppetry world. Why does Canada breed people like me and Ronnie? Is it because Ronnie and I are both gay kids from the North? Is it because we had female voices inside of us but didn't want glue stick on our eyebrows? Is it because we had things to say and were smart enough to know how to make people listen? I don't know. But I am so grateful for Ronnie for doing SO MUCH DAMN work to blaze a trail so that I get to show up and get lumped into a category with him which is beyond flattering.
What do you hope that audiences get out of Family Crow?
Adam Proulx: Most of my shows have a social message or a moral. This is not that show. Frankly, after the three years we've had, I don't have that in me. This is a silly show, filled with crow puns and a fun mystery. Don't get me wrong, I think the writing is solid and the puppet work is worth taking note of. But this is my fun comedy show. I think the success of the play shows us that this is exactly what we need right now. People are happy to come and see some good writing, some good puppetry, and some solid theatrical storytelling.
What has been your favourite and/or most unexpected reaction to Family Crow?
Adam Proulx: One of the funniest things about this show is how nobody recognizes me afterwards even though I'm completely visible out there. I had a conversation with a woman at the closing night of Orlando Fringe. I was wearing a crow shirt, and a crow button, holding two awards with the name of my show on them and, after about five minutes, she said, "And what was your show called, honey?" I told her, and she said, "Oh! I loved it! I saw it twice!" So, she had spent two cumulative hours staring at me, and could not place me. And she wasn't the only one. In Montreal, I was picking feathers up off the stage while packing up, and two guys came up to me and asked if the guy who did the show would be coming out. Maybe they meant the bird.
How did you come to join the Red Sandcastle Theatre family?
Adam Proulx: Eldritch Theatre is now the resident company of the Red Sandcastle Theatre. This is their first full season as a company, and I'm so honoured to be opening it as a guest artist. Like many of us in the theatre community of Toronto, I have been seeing fun, quirky stuff at Red Sandcastle for years; and as a puppet and horror fan, I have been seeing Eric Woolfe (As You Like It) and his stuff with Eldritch Theatre for years as well. Eric and I got talking when the show really took flight (if you will) at Orlando Fringe about how we could bring this show to Toronto audiences for the Halloween season.
What can we look forward to from you in the future?
Adam Proulx: There's so much on the go, it makes my head spin. After this run of The Family Crow is done, I turn my focus to my residency with Tarragon Theatre through its Greenhouse program. I am developing a whole show based around flip sequin fabric. And, let me tell you, I'm surrounded by some amazing artists and I think what we make is going to be so unique and lovely. Also, I'm working on a bit of documentary puppet theatre show about my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. That will also happen in the first half of next year. Then I will be doing another big tour of The Family Crow in 2023. There are also a bunch of other theatre and film and TV projects over the next while. It's a time of abundance for me and I feel very fortunate. And tired. Fortunate and tired.
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