:PowersSlice;

:Jan 4, 2006;

:People;

:3

Back to the drawing board

Man rebuilds puppets, arts organization after hurricane

BY GINA GRATE The Slice

When artist Ryan Ballard builds a puppet, it involves more welding and pyrotechnics than fur and stuffing. Call it animated sculpture. Ballard has designed and constructed animated puppets that spew special effects like smoke, fire and bubbles, or spray water on an audience. “I studied performance art and puppetry and kinetic sculpture,” Ballard said. “So I started building sculptures that move, and the puppetry kind of evolved out of the sculpture.”

    For three years, Ballard ran Razzamataz, a performing arts organization, in New Orleans. He taught workshops, performed in schools, galleries and at birthday parties and put on rowdy shows at adult venues.

    His puppets are so impressive that six months after putting on his first show in 2002 to about 12 people, he was doing street events for up to 10,000 people.

    Along with his girlfriend, Meghan Kaiser, he moved to Colorado Springs in November to become coordinator for the gifted and talented program at Palmer High School.

    It wasn’t a move he expected to make.

    The new resident of Old Farm lost two art studios in the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina, including more than $100,000 worth of special effects and welding equipment, all his hand-crafted puppets and production materials.

    “It was terrible — there was nothing left,” he said. “I managed to save a bicycle.”

    Although many of his New Orleans colleagues moved to New York for its worldrenowned performing arts community, he chose Colorado Springs so he could ski and start rock climbing. And while his friends have struggled to find support and places to live in New York City, Ballard found funding and assistance to rebuild Razzamataz in Colorado Springs. “Colorado Springs has been incredible,” he said. “All the arts organizations have come to bat for me.” The Bee Vradenburg Foundation gave him a grant to buy new welding and special-effects equipment, and Chuck Murphy, owner of Murphy K T Construc- tion, donated an empty office building off South Circle Drive to house his new studio. Directors of Cottonwood Art Academy have invited him to do workshops in their building.

    A brand new Razzamataz will debut at the Smokebrush Foundation, 218 W. Colorado Ave., on April 1, then make a round of performances throughout the city.

    “I’ve already started building new puppets,” he said. “A lot of them have internal aluminum frames that are welded. For the show, (I’m) developing a magic show — puppets that can sneeze and cry, puppets that can bleed, breathe fire, have eyes that light up and spin and move, puppets that can smoke. I’ve done puppets that can do almost anything.”

    Reflecting his artist’s instincts, Ballard’s work is changing the way people think about puppetry.

    “Everybody always thinks puppetry is just the Muppets,” he said. “Actu- ally, it’s more like robots. Usually, the first time people see one of my shows, they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea the puppets were going to breathe fire.’ People don’t expect the puppets to start interacting with them most of the time.”

    The shows use humor to deliver messages about social issues like poverty, smoking and crime.

    “I find that humor is a good way to address some of these really painful issues. Some of this stuff bothers me,” he said.

    Many of his shows center on the puppets trying to put on a magic act that gradually falls apart, every trick going wrong.

    Ballard has big dreams for bringing New Orleans musicians and performing artists to Colorado Springs, and taking Razzamataz on the road, to New York and back to New Orleans, where it started.

    “New Orleans is so special, and if I can bring some of that with me, then everybody’ll win.”

    c Reach Gina Grate at 636-0296 or

    gina.grate@gazette.com On the Web

www.razzamatazproductions.com

GINA GRATE The Slice Old Farm resident Ryan Ballard moved his performing arts organization, Razzamataz, to Colorado Springs when he lost everything in the New Orleans floods in September. With grants and assistance from Colorado Springs arts supporters, he’s rebuilding his special--effects puppets, which use welded metal frames and spray water, shoot fire and blow smoke. Ballard lost his original Gator character. This new and improved model is flame- and, especially, waterresistant.



Razzamataz, Ryan Ballard’s central puppet character, vanished in the New Orleans floods. Ballard is rebuilding the magician puppet. GINA GRATE/The Slice