INTERVIEW: Puppeteer brings world of ‘Avatar’ to life in new Cirque show

Cirque du Soleil’s new touring production, Toruk: The First Flight, is inspired by the Avatar world created by legendary filmmaker James Cameron. Set among the unique flora and fauna of Pandora, the spectacle is drawing packed crowds throughout North America. It sets up shop in the New York City area in the coming weeks with stops at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, starting Sept. 7 and the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, starting Sept. 15.

The show’s story follows the perilous future of the Na’vi people who live on Pandora. A pending catastrophe threatens the sacred Tree of Souls, according to a press release for the show, and two Omaticaya boys team up to find Toruk, a mystical red and orange predator that flies above the skies of the Floating Mountains. Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon wrote and directed the show, which features sets and props by Carl Fillion and costumes by Kym Barrett.

Rob Laqui is one of the puppeteers who bring the flora and fauna of Pandora to life every night. His job is a tough, physical one, but the actor is living his dream on the road with Cirque du Soleil.

“I auditioned for Cirque about 10 years ago, and I auditioned as an actor for their clown auditions,” Laqui said recently in a phone interview while riding in a car in Indiana in between Toruk shows. “Then I thought, hey, I’m going to work for Cirque like tomorrow, and then over 10 years later, they called. And they had a position that sort of matched my profile because I had gotten into puppeteering and full-body and full-size, full-scale puppets. So they called me up for another audition, and I didn’t know that they were looking for specifically a puppeteer. And I just fit, and it worked. And they called, and I said, ‘Of course, a dream come true.’ And here I am in Indiana.”

Laqui is a fan of Cameron’s prolific film work and said it’s a huge honor to be attached to this visionary’s project. The world in Toruk should be familiar to people who have watched the box office hit Avatar, but the story actually takes place thousands of years before the movie’s events. So there’s a sense of familiarity and novelty in the air during Toruk performances.

The puppeteers in the highly advanced and complex production take care of the many creatures and plants that populate the expansive Cirque stage. “We’re always busy, and we’re always doing something,” Laqui said of his performance. “We’re all of the animals that you see in the production, so it’s really thrilling.”

In Toruk, there are six main puppets. These are full-scale, full-body creations that drain much of the energy of the performers. Laqui and his fellow puppeteers are top-level athletes and artists, and that’s good because the show demands a lot of them. What audiences might not realize is how much physicality and strength goes into the puppet work. Laqui said his job requires stamina and fortitude. Sometimes he needs to sit in awkward positions for a long time, and other times he needs to move rapidly around the set. His movements are sometimes un-humanlike, and he needs to learn how to change his body’s instinctual posturing and gesturing.

“I think I’m the only puppeteer that actually puppeted all six on stage at one point, so it’s really cool to be able to embody these animals,” he said. “They each have a different personality. Every puppet, every creature has its own kind of way of thinking and way of moving, so … it keeps our interest definitely to be able to do it every night and to sort of perfect what these animals are like.”

He added: “The puppeteers have their own sort of training regimen that keeps them on our game and in top physical condition,” he said. “We have also a great team of people that support our physical well-being from the catering staff to make sure that we’re getting the right nutrition to our physio department that makes sure that we can manage injuries or manage any issues that are happening with our body.”

Laqui’s role in Toruk is a professional dream come true; however, the role requires so much of his time that there are sacrifices while out on the road. Being a working artist is not the easiest job, although it is creatively fulfilling. “I think what people realize or don’t’ realize necessarily is that they see sort of the glamorous side of what could be deemed as entertainment, but in terms of living it every day, it does take a certain amount of dedication,” Laqui said. “There’s sacrifice that comes with what we do, but also, as we continue doing it, [we] realize that that sacrifice is worth it because it’s such a rare opportunity to get to do this.”

One of the challenges of Toruk is the intense touring schedule. Taqui said it’s still cool to get paid to travel, but the busy road trip keeps him away from family and friends. “It definitely takes a little bit of fortitude to sort of keep your sanity on the road sometimes,” he said. “I think the challenge is that you do move so much. Sometimes you kind of forget, especially if you’re staying in a hotel that’s sort of the same brand. You kind of forget where you are, but what’s cool is to be able to experience each city because we don’t have necessarily tons of time in between. So I think a lot of us are very savvy at trying to find something in the city to experience. Like I know for me personally I want to do at least a couple of things in each city to get a flavor of what that city has to offer, so there is a benefit to moving around so much.”

As far as performing in a show time and time again, Laqui loves the challenge. The chance to take part in a long-term touring project affords him the opportunity to perfect his puppeteering. When making a movie, an actor has a few takes, and then the scene is put away, never to be augmented again. In live theater and circus performing, there’s a chance to add nuance each night.

“The audience is going to get the best that I can deliver that day, but just by the nature of doing it live and doing it over and over again, it’s going to develop into something over time,” he said. “I’m going to find ways to be able to express more efficiently what needs to be expressed over a longer amount of time the more I do it, so I really really love having an opportunity to do a show multiple times to be able to get it right. … It’s more about the process and developing the absolute sort of journey of the expression versus the goal of it. It’s definitely a challenge, and I think some days it’s tougher. If you’re sick, if you’re injured you have to get there some way, but that’s why we get paid the big bucks because that’s part of what we do. That’s part of our job as well is to be persistent at the highest possible level of artistry.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Toruk: The First Flight opens at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Sept. 7, and the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 15. Click here for more information.