Having created a world of unique, comedic and colourful puppets as part of his production company (Philo14), Philippe Gobeille is one of Montreal’s leading independent puppeteers, entertaining audiences of all ages in both English and French. A professional artist who not only creates his own puppets from scratch, Philippe also writes many of his own shows featuring his own puppets. Following success in 2018, Philo14 is back at the Montreal Fringe this year as a part of the festival’s English programming with The Adventures of Humphrey Beauregret: The Case’o Bianca.
The Adventures of Humphrey Beauregret: The Case’o Bianca is a very funny, charming and innovative 1-man show, performed with a number of lovable, colourful and well-developed characters, whom audiences will fall in love with by the end of the show. The show is set in a classic film noire style, with many references to Casablanca (film), as well as other fun pop-culture references.
Gobeille’s creative approach in this production features a detailed array of set pieces, great moments of interaction with audience members, stage manager and lighting technician as well as hilarious moments of breaking the fourth wall in off-stage banter from the characters while Gobeille switches puppets, never leaving a dull moment or gap in the show. The humour in this show is witty and sharp, never really falling flat or boring. The puppets are cute, colourful and very animated, reminiscent in style of the Muppets, but are unique as their own original characters.
The show features a flirtatious storyline between the bumbling, lovesick serial-dating detective Humphrey and the high-maintenance (but beautiful) drama queen Bianca. The story is sidetracked and enhanced by the hilarious zombie-like Benny, and other secondary characters. A nod goes to the story’s villain who can’t quite get his evil laugh right, showing cute frustration throughout the show. A one-man show running about an hour in length, this show is a definite must-see at this year’s Montreal Fringe festival.
To find out more about the work behind this show and Philo14’s upcoming productions, Curtains Up had the opportunity to sit down with Philippe Gobeille following Thursday’s performance.
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Curtains Up: So this is your second time with this show at the Fringe, having performed this in French last year. How is this show different from your performance last year? What has been added or changed?
Philippe Gobeille: The main difference is mostly timing, there are some different popular references, and I think the Anglophone audience is more aware of taglines from the movie Casablanca, I can use them more frequently in English. In French, I had to create more running gags throughout the show, but in English I think I can go for more popular culture references. I also have to be careful with Humphrey’s portrayal of depression in the show, because culturally between French and English, not everything resonates the same with both audiences.
I also revamped a few puppets already for this performance, and others in the show are on their way to be revamped for future performances. I did this show in 2013 as part as a laboratory in a short festival. Now it’s really to test the English material to then move on to a stage design and lighting design outside of a festival context so I can play with lighting and sets, and yeah—I really want to target teenagers and young adults with this show.
I saw that your promo advertised this show as being 18+?
Yeah, the only reason it’s 18+ is because my assigned venue is Petit Campus. I was actually on the waiting list for the Fringe this year, in 4th position. I got a phone call that the waiting list moved and I had a spot, but it was in an 18+ venue. To this I said: “Okay! Let’s explore what the effects of adulthood can deal with, regarding puppetry”.
My goal though is to keep The Adventures of Humphrey Beauregret as a 14+ show. With my company, Philo14, it’s pretty much the goal that I’ve given myself, to create shows for any age up to 14, and then also create different shows for 14 and up.
Who is your biggest inspiration as a puppeteer?
Jim Henson! I would say that Jim Henson’s universe inspired me throughout my childhood. I had Sesame Street books as a kid, but ironically I didn’t watch the TV show as much as I was reading the books as I was growing up. After Sesame Street, it was really when Avenue Q came onto Broadway that I thought “I need to be able to do this with my life, even at one point in my life—to do a musical with puppets”.
At one point, I went to Place des Arts to see a Ronnie Burkett show, and I just fell in love with the fact that Burkett was alone on stage with all of his puppets, just mastering them all. I just felt that “if he can do it, I have to try it!” I always went to his shows whenever he was in Montreal, and had the opportunity to meet and chat one-on-one with him about puppetry when he was performing his show last year at the Centaur (“The Daisy Theatre”). The whole experience, I was like a kid in a toy store.
Was there one person or character in particular that inspired Bianca or Humphrey?
Yes, definitely. Bianca is slightly inspired by Miss Piggy (Jim Henson), I really like the diva persona. In previous years, I got the chance to work on a kids’ show that featured a little girl character. I ended up playing Zoe, the little girl, while my partner played all the other characters. That character’s energy connected so well with the kids, being hyper, with a ton of energy, that I thought I needed something like that for an adult character to go elsewhere that a kids show won’t allow me to go.
For Humphrey, I had an idea for him that went one way, and the fabric just went an entirely different way. I just went with it, and as soon as I picked up the puppet with my hand, I made it snort (like a gruff, clearing voice sound), and that was it, there it was. It was very out of nowhere, though I knew I wanted to do a private eye from the 1940s.
So, a private eye… with no eyes?
(Laughs) Exactly. It was because when I first presented this in the Short festival in 2013, I didn’t get time to finish his face, so I just pinned some eyebrows and it worked so well with the expression and character. Before I decided to concentrate myself on puppetry, I once considered doing a jazz-inspired cabaret show, but it was too expensive to have everyone in it, in the way I wanted it. I thought that maybe I could transpose that and pair it down to the format it is today, with puppets. Working with puppets allows me to do storytelling, with a very efficient cast number… just me! (laughs)
How did you come up with the inspiration for this show?
The Humphrey Beauregard figure took to me many years ago and I really liked multiple movies he was a part of. I thought it’d be fun to make a parody of all of his cinematography. The first chapter is Case o’Bianca, and there’s another one coming up in the future. If all goes well, I’ll be announcing it by the end of the Fringe. It was really to have that series of adventures. To have the potential to bring those puppets into those same stories, and build them a fanbase, rather than building new puppets all the time, allows me to create more stories and shows based on them.
What else do you do as a puppeteer, besides working with Humphrey?
I’ve been working in different festivals, working on giant puppetry and on street parades and stuff like that. I’ve been working community theatres who have wanted to have puppets included in their productions. I directed Shrek (WISTA) a few years back, so we introduced the dragon, we introduced the woodland creatures and every now and then, I try to slip in some puppetry. I stage-direct a vocal ensemble in Vaudreuil, and there was a kids’ medley they were singing, so at one point, I built with them, sixty mouse puppets to hint at a kids show – “Sourissimo”. I try to include puppetry in everything I do!
On the drawing board for future productions, there’s a kids’ show coming up. It’s a surprise for now. Chapter 2 of Humphrey Beauregret is brewing, and as of this fall, I’ll be giving open puppetry workshops to the public, learning how to build and manipulate puppets. More information will be on my website (philo14.com) soon!
How did you learn to build puppets? What sort of materials do you use to make them?
When I started my career in theatre, I was part of a community theatre company. Because of my studies, I had to step back and pause my work in theatre. After graduating, I just craved doing theatre again. This community company was doing Beauty & the Beast with object puppetry. I jumped on that. The year after, they decided to have a giant stock that would deliver a character at the start of the show. They looked at me and said “Phil, figure it out”. I started doodling with stuff and building it up with hoops and loops and the year after, they were like “Ok, we need a giant spectra of a ghostlike figure”. It was all a figure it out as you go type of approach.
Through trial and error, I developed a technique for working with fleece and different materials. Foam and fleece became my choice materials, since it’s easier to control how it will turn out. I’ve also done puppets with cement sculpting and papier mache, it’s not as friendly looking as fleece.
Whatever puppet I am building, I love to keep them close to my hands. I’m not much for using marionettes, which are harder to control and require more of a distance from the puppeteer.
The Adventures of Humphrey Beauregret: The Case’o Bianca runs until June 16th as part of the St.-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival, at Petit Campus (57 Rue Prince Arthur E). Please note that this show is 18+. Tickets are available at www.montrealfringe.ca, or by calling 514-849-FEST (3378)
