Catawba College’s Shuford School of Performing Arts and the Theatre Arts Department are bringing prominent puppeteer, puppet designer, and master performer Rick Lyon to campus for Cat Chat on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 7:30 pm in Hedrick Little Theatre. This chat is free and open to the public.
It was while he was studying in Connecticut in 1986 that Lyon first met the late Jim Henson, which later led to him working for Henson as a puppeteer with the Muppets and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Rick also worked television and film projects for Columbia Pictures, New Line Cinema, ABC, CBS, PBS, The Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, and Fox.
In addition to performing, Lyon designs and builds custom puppets, including the puppets for the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q. Other projects have included puppets for Comedy Central's Crank Yankers, puppets and props for Nickelodeon's Stick Stickley, television pilots for VH1, Nickelodeon, PBS, numerous industrials, and the live national tour of PBS's The Magic School Bus. Lyon was a cast member of Sesame Street for over 15 years on PBS,
When time permits, Lyon performs live shows with his troupe, The Lyon Puppets. Performances by The Lyon Puppets feature a colorful cast of bright, eye-catching puppets, which he designed and built himself. Lyon also writes his own scripts and composes the music for his shows.
Three of Rick’s original Avenue Q puppets are now part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection. "When they're not on display, Kate Monster, Rod, and Nicky will be sharing storage lockers with some of popular culture's most famous puppet denizens, such as , Mister Moose and Bunny Rabbit for 'Captain Kangaroo,' and Jim Hinson’s original Kermit,” Rick said.
