Peruvian puppeteers Ines Pasic and Hugo Suarez brought their unique performance to NC State’s Titmus Theatre this weekend.
The duo, better known as Teatro Hugo & Ines, skillfully personify their knees, feet, hands, elbows, stomachs and a handful of props into compelling puppets.
Pasic and Suarez created Teatro Hugo & Ines in 1986 and have performed at more than 300 international festivals and theaters around the world.
“I think that we are both crazy people,” Pasic said. “We hadn’t seen anyone do [body puppets]. We began with mime, and I don’t know how this happened. We just said ‘yes, OK.’”
In the beginning, Suarez thought that his knee-puppet, cleverly named Ginocchio after the Italian word for knee, would not be worthy of the puppet stage. However, after many hours of practice, Suarez was able to turn his knee into a hilariously troubled ukulele player.
“We spend a lot of hours in front of the mirror, working and working,” Pasic said.
Suarez said his relationship with the mirror is one of love and hate, but that practice and the creative process are vital when developing a new character.
“First we build the puppet,” Suarez said. “After, we study the plasticity and personality of the puppet and adapt it to a story.”
Pasic said she and Suarez are inspired by everyday life, and that it is being present in the world around them that allows them to create such rich characters.
“All days of life, this is the biggest miracle and mystery,” Pasic said. “If we are open to this, the inspiration always will come.”
Pasic also said understanding each other’s rhythm is essential to a good performance on stage.
“For me, the hardest [puppets] to bring alive are the ones when we are working together,” she said. “It has taken a lot of time for us to put together our rhythm and decide who is leader.”
Pasic and Suarez both agreed that even after 30 years of working together, they love bringing their puppets to life and sharing each of their stories with audiences all over the world.
As for their favorite puppet, Pasic and Suarez said it would be unfair to choose just one.
“They are like our children,” Pasic said. “We can’t pick a favorite.”
Alicia Michaels from Apex brought her two young children to Friday’s performance and said she had just as much fun as they did. Michaels’ favorite part of the show was when Pasic used her stomach to create Pancetta, a female puppet who was conscious of her figure.
“Honestly, that puppet was so funny to me because it reminded me of myself and how I’m always worried about my weight too,” Michaels said. “My kids couldn’t stop laughing either. The puppet’s bellybutton mouth was a hit.”
Throughout this weekend’s performances, the audience members remained engaged, filling the theater with laughter and applause.
