Rise and Shine: The puppet-filled "Waking Up!" at EMU is an all-ages feast for the eyes

THEATER & DANCE REVIEW

A photo collage of the puppets featured in Waking Up!

Puppets and costumes featured in Waking Up! at Eastern Michigan University's Sponberg Theatre. Photos culled from the show's accompanying study guide (PDF).

Color, music, and PUPPETS, oh my!

Waking Up! at Eastern Michigan University's Sponberg Theatre is a family-friendly devised show full of wonder, audience interaction, and play. It is perfect for audiences 8 and up and encourages booing, cheering, clapping, and laughing.

Senior MFA student Cameron Prevatte created and directed this piece of devised theatre—a collaborative production where an ensemble comes together to create something from scratch, without the aid of a set script. There usually aren’t traditional design elements either. For Waking Up!, nine students make up the ensemble: Jujuan Adams, William Clapp, Sebastian Dahlgren, Wesley Foster, Sarah Kucharek, Cameron Prevatte, Annabelle Rickert, Cassie Paige, and Ember Seth. 

Prevatte comes from a background in puppetry and the show is filled with them. Some are huge, some are tiny, but all are interactive and play major roles in the stories.

Waking Up! consisted of three different scenes, each with its own theme and concept. The play's titular first scene starts with three actors on the stage dressed in pajamas and snoring away peacefully. Three large eyeball puppets come in and take over the bodies of the humans. They go through the process of getting ready for the day, having breakfast, brushing their teeth, putting on mascara, and going to work. The eyeballs are learning what it is like to be a human—and the humans don’t realize they're being possessed. After going through a day together, the eyeballs leave the humans, who go back to sleep. When the people walk up the next day and see the eyeballs, they freak out at these strange creatures. But after getting to know each other, they become friends.

The second scene is called "Brainstorm!" and follows a girl who has to overcome a series of obstacles placed in front of her. She looks at each problem and finds a way to go through them. With the help of a friend—and a larger-than-life face that appears on stage—she takes the negativity around her and flips it into things that are productive and positive. 

The third and final scene is "Mind!" and has Prevatte walking on stage wearing a 4 sided box on his head, with each side of the box showing a different emotion. One side is curious and inquisitive, one is angry, one sad, and the fourth is cool and calm. As he picks up different instruments to explore their sounds, another actor comes on stage wearing a blank white facial mask that displays zero emotion. Prevatte tries to show this person how to play each instrument, but when the stranger tries the sound is dull and flat. Prevatte does some phenomenal physical acting here, swinging his head back and forth so that each emotion on the box is seen and expressed at different times. When the stranger tries to put the blank white mask on the box of emotions, it doesn’t work and is ripped off. This scene is about confronting our emotions and asking the question as to whether it is better to fully feel them or close them off and bottle them up. 

Waking Up! was a very fun break from reality, and the ensemble plays off each other with ease. With little to no “lines” in this show, trust among the ensemble must be strong and the actors must make each scene believable using gibberish and physicality. It was apparent from the start that this group of actors supported each other, were fully committed to the world, and enjoyed being on the stage. The audience participation is appropriate and not over the top, and watching the kids in the front row help rip apart paper or use a drum added to the play aspect of the show. 

While geared toward kids, Waking Up! is a show that all ages can enjoy and appreciate.


Marley Boone is a theatre professional that has been in the industry since 2015. While living in Philadelphia, she would write theatre reviews for DC Metro Arts.


“Waking Up!” runs through March 22 at at EMU's Sponberg Theatre, 124 Judy Sturgis Hill Building, Ypsilanti. More information and tickets can be found here.