July 9 — Tarragon Theatre, Toronto. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to see a bit of theatre for a change – a puppet show, no less, called the Zucchini Club. The weather made me late, so I missed the opening and found it hard at first to key in on what was going on. The usher told me that the show usually has a no-late-entry policy—a policy I soon understood. The theatre was full of raucous laughter and over-the-top, exaggerated, energetic puppets. Disoriented at first, I fumbled to grasp the story unfolding in Pasquale Provolone’s wildlife-overrun yard.

The Show

Once oriented, the premise clicked: Pasquale Provolone is desperately guarding his zucchini (not a euphemism!) from a colourful cast of urban critters such as:

• The Great Garbagini (a floppy-fingered raccoon magician), who “dragged” audience member “Ori” onstage, crowning him with bunny ears as a “uniform.” Three failed guesses to divine Ori’s number later, the bit landed somewhere between awkward and absurdist gold.
• Francine Pipi, a Pepe Le Pew-inspired drag queen skunk, brought queer flair but leaned on lazy “pipi” = peepee humour. My French-Canadian ancestry cringed—though creator Mantia’s Italian roots are up for satirical jabs too (Provolone as a last name?).

The performance had the vibe of an improv show meets Shari Lewis and Lambchop. It was quirky and charming, and I admire the earnestness of Mantia, as well as the technical skill that went into the puppet show. There was audience interaction evocative of kids’ shows, but all of us “goombas” were adults from what I could tell.

It followed a familiar, cozy format: when Pasquale and Maria are gone, the cast of animals get up to silly shenanigans in the backyard.

• Political spice surfaced via Step Mother Goose and her right wing to “Make Fairytales Great Again!”—a highlight for my politically-minded self.
• Visual wit shone: Mort Livingston’s opossum “ascension” as a 2D cutout, Pasquale miming digging, and the glorious dumpster-fire design of comic Milton Squirrel.
• Characters had distinct ways of entering and exiting the scene, which helped sell their individuality as people.

The design of the stage itself was a mixture of what I would imagine a cartoon would depict as a puppet show and a miniaturized version of some of the more hippy-adjacent theatre I’ve seen over the years. Green turf and curtains framed the performance space of the puppets.

Overall, the Zucchini Club is a scrappy, inventive garden romp! I’d seal my approval with papier-mâché glue for its heart and chaos (even if Francine’s “pipi” jokes fell flat). I liked the heart behind the show, and its humour worked for me more than it didn’t. Mantia brings a decent, but not insane, range in voices, making each character sound unique but definitely staying within a certain energy and tone.

Behind the Scenes

Reached via email a couple of days after the show, Mantia shared more of his & the show’s background. “Growing up, I always loved animation and puppetry, but it wasn’t until I was about 10-11 years old that I locked in and said, ‘when I grow up, I’m gonna be a puppeteer!” Mantia explains. “Throughout my teens, I’d make puppets,” eventually dragging in his “civilian, normal people, friends” to make puppet videos for the internet. “It was through doing this that I got to know other young puppeteers my age who were experiencing a very similar journey. I’m still great friends with a lot of these puppeteers and contemporaries.”

Materials

All of the animal puppets are made out of a material called “Celluclay,” which is a papier-mâché pulp. According to Mantia, “you just add water to this dusty substance, and it turns to clay.” Then, once applied to a Styrofoam base in the shape of the respective character, the piece is dried and sanded. Finally, pattern pieces are applied to the animal’s fur coverings and glued accordingly. The human characters, Pasquale and Maria, on the other hand, were just classic papier-mâché.

“I wanted them to look texturally different from the animals. Pasquale is quite literally made from a toilet paper roll.”

Some characters, like Pasquale and The Great Garbagini, have these “floppy fingers,” achieved by putting fishing weights in some of their fingertips. 

All of these techniques, and the use of materials, Mantia learned from his mentors and collaborators: Ronnie Burkett, Dina Meschkuleit and Kim Crossley. “[Some of] the best puppet builders and costumers, in the game right now,” gushes Mantia through the email. Lastly, he learned much of his design inspiration and tricks just by flipping through various puppetry books. “All the secrets are in there,” he notes.

Some photos of the Zucchini Club, courtesy of Alexander Mantia:

How…

…Mantia became a puppeteer

In 2017 and 2018, Alexander attended the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Puppetry Conference in Waterford, CT. It was here that he met his mentor, Ronnie Burkett. He then attended theatre school, graduating from Randolph College for the Performing Arts in 2020.

“Like many, I had no idea what to do with a theatre degree in a world where theatre is entirely online. Luckily for me however, I turned to my mentor Ronnie Burkett.”

It was sometime around late 2020 that Burket asked Mantia to work in his studio, whenever the pandemic restrictions eased. The 2 emerging artists, despite being at different stages in their careers, found themselves in similar positions coming out of the pandemic and starting from scratch. Working with Burkett to create some of his shows was how Mantia fell in love with hand puppets.

“Ronnie’s first piece of advice to me was ‘every puppeteer should start out by making a small, portable, hand puppet show.’ And thus, I started building Zucchini Club.”

Mantia loves that in puppetry, he can’t be typecast. Its a welcome contrast to the stereotypical stage. All through theatre school, Mantia heard all about how his prospects on stage would be limited.

“I’d [always] be the nerdy friend because I wear glasses, or the hopeless romantic, blah blah blah…” My looks don’t mean squat in puppetry. If I’m telling a story, I can be the knight, princess, horse and the dragon.”

…the Zucchini Club Came to Be

The urban wildlife of Toronto, which has always fascinated and entertained Mantia, inspired the show’s plot.

“I’ve always wanted to have characters that represented them in some way. I also grew up Italian, and so I saw many Pasquale Provolone’s protecting their gardens from the wildlife. It usually was through a trap or some, frankly, inhumane scheme. It just made sense to make a Punch and Judy-esque show where an Italian man is getting frantic about these animals.”

The situation in real life is already so cartoony. The show is small, the set is portable, and it all fits in a ski bag. And in my opinion, hand puppets are the best kind of puppet for the solo performer. 

What’s Next

After Fringefest, Mantia brings up no immediate plans. He’s performed the Zucchini Club 13 times since July 15th, but all within Toronto. Longer term, “I hope to tour this show around next year,” says Mantia. He also wants to expand the Zucchini Club canon, with a holiday-themed sequel kicking around in his head. “I just want to keep making puppet shows,” waxes Mantia. “It thrills me to make a whole room of adults feel like they’re children again, watching a Saturday morning cartoon for an hour. I hope to do more of that.“

Want to see more?

Follow creator Alexander Mantia on Instagram @alexandermantia and @thezucchiniclub.

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Stay tuned for more offbeat, local, and independent Toronto art. And check out our other reviews here.

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