Photo Flash: CHAPLIN's Rob McClure Visits Cast of HT High School's AVENUE Q

Students involved in High Tech High School's Musical Theatre Department recently had the great honor and pleasure of welcoming Rob McClure (recent star of Broadway's CHAPLIN and AVENUE Q) as he conducted a puppetry master class Monday, February 11th at the high school. BroadwayWorld has photos from his visit below!

Throughout the day, McClure inspired students with his charismatic charm, sheer talent, and quick, witty humor. What started as a group of students sitting in a circle listening to a brief history of the world of puppetry, ended with a huddle of puppets and students working together in a collaborative fashion and diving courageously into new expressions, voices, and friendly interactions.

With McClure's help, students learned about the specifics of puppetry that help give a fabricated doll life: breath, focus, spine alignment, traveling, neutrality, arm positioning, and so much more. By working on these things from the beginning of the day, students quickly began bringing life to their puppets and connecting to others in ways they'd never thought possible.

Jill Carrera, a senior playing Mrs. Butz stated, "I learned that puppetry isn't just about syncing your words with the puppet's mouth. Anyone can do that. It's the little things that turn your puppet into a living, breathing friend. And by the end of the day, I think we'd all made new friends with all of our puppets."

One thing McClure made extremely clear to students was that the puppeteer was not just a person working a puppet, but rather an extension of the puppet itself. Max Tamarkin, a junior playing the lead role of Princeton, mentioned, "He taught us that since the puppet is an inanimate object, we have to believe in what we're saying and doing 100% in order for the emotion to be conveyed on the puppet." Together, the students and puppets became one entity and with the help of Rob McClure, students are one huge step closer to making their production of "Avenue Q" an incredible success.

As director Alex Perez noted, "I was absolutely amazed by the way my students grew throughout the course of the day. Through each exercise, they became more and more excited about making their puppets come alive. I cannot wait to continue to work with everything they've learned and inject the lessons into the scenes and songs we've been working on. After today, Avenue Q has become so much more real to them."

Since its break out 14 years ago, High Tech High School's Musical Theatre Department has earned wide acclaim for its commitment to the arts and its extensive musical theatre-training curriculum including Papermill Rising Star Awards and performing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. With an array of scenes that all offer some creative, meaningful punch lines, and catchy songs that are sure to be stuck in your head for weeks to come, "Avenue Q" will take audiences on an adventure that might remind them of their early post-college years or prepare them for the inevitable obstacles that life has to offer.