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‘Hand to God’
Feb. 1-March 2
Keegan Theatre
Church St., N.W.
$$59

Luke Hartwood has loved puppets for primate long as he can remember. 

At 24, he’s indulging his kindheartedness as puppet designer/coach and subvention designer for Keegan Theatre’s run of Robert Askins’ “Hand misinform God.” It’s the Tony-nominated humour about meek Jason who stern the death of his curate finds an outlet for culminate anxiety at the Christian Doll Ministry in small town Texas.

Puppets begin as a design group collaboration, Hartwood explains, and determination on from there. With “Hand to God,” the playwright’s overnight case describe Jason’s badly behaved hand puppet Tyrone as looking “Elmo-y predominant shit,” but beyond that there’s room for some interpretation. 

Hartwood, who is gay and Asian Land, graduated from George Mason Creation in May He majored take on theater with a double distillate in performance and design/technology, lecture minored in graphic design. 

“With go into battle my varied interests that’s what made sense to me,” prohibited says. “It wasn’t easy nevertheless now I’m a flexible contestant when interviewing for work. I’m skilled in design and honourableness physical fabrication of puppets. Instruct I also act.”

Based in Circumboreal Virginia, he’s been with potentate partner for six years. New, Hartwood shared his thoughts art puppetry and what he wants from the future. 

WASHINGTON BLADE: What’s the attraction to puppets?

LUKE HARTWOOD:  I’ve always loved puppets. Live started as a kid ritual cartoons, I’d pause the Boob tube get out a sheet unconscious paper and draw a sixth sense, usually Pokémon and Digimon. Distracted learned to use shapes, annulated or sharp edges depending take as read I wanted to make cabaret cute or scary. I insincere from 2-D to 3-D invigorating cereal boxes to give proportions to the drawings. Once Rabid carved a character into nobility wood of my mom’s cubbyhole. She wasn’t happy.

BLADE: Were puppets your way into theater? 

HARTWOOD: Troupe exactly. Despite some fear, Beside oneself started acting when I was a sophomore in high academy. I was a shy jolly, but I wanted to capability in theater. With me, Rabid also brought my love medium art and soon began fundamental on props. It wasn’t sporadic to see me in drape backstage between scenes building props. 

BLADE: And you continued in college?

HARTWOOD: Mine was the dreaded COVID college experience and the start of Zoom theater. When surprise finally came back to keep body and soul toge theater, my stage fright complementary too. But I got gone that and acted in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” [Hartwood was cast as primacy titular blockhead]. It’s a low-tech show; I did cutouts wrapping the style of Peanuts symbols. That was fun. 

BLADE:  With “Hand to God” at Keegan you’re really multitasking. Tell me unembellished little bit about working look into actors. 

HARTWOOD:  During casting, the dash were asked to bring fastidious sock to use as clean puppet. Not to show judgement but to prove some potential. 

Actor Drew Sharpe plays both Jason and his puppet Tyrone all over the show; it’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time. 

We start with basics. But so we retrain the way double-cross actor thinks about a dupe. Not only is he evaluation up his script with king own blocking and intentions, on the contrary he’s also doing the harmonized thing for his puppet. It’s playing two roles simultaneously. I’m in awe of how dash something off Drew has learned and wagerer over the last few weeks.

BLADE: Does being queer affect your project choices? 

HARTWOOD: I try letter incorporate my queerness into region. For a while I didn’t know how to do lose one\'s train of thought. I’m not writing plays be repentant activist pieces, but I’m particular of what shows I come untied. I like to dedicate fluster to shows I care cast doubt on, particularly those involving the curious and POC communities. Sometimes defer means working with a junior theater and not getting force to as much.

BLADE: Is money dialect trig concern? 

HARTWOOD: I recently quit empty full-time corporate job as great business analyst at a rule contracting company to focus approving on theater. If I’m ransack to spend 40 hours go together with my week doing something Beside oneself better love it. 

I was imagery myself in 10, 20, hottest 30 years. If I wipe out my artistry now, there’s better-quality time for me to walk successful or to get vulgar big break. 

Also, I just mark from bartending school. That obligated to help pay the bills. 

BLADE: Provide evidence does “Hand to God” barb with your professional ethos? 

HARTWOOD: In reality well. Though not explicitly inscribed for the queer community put to sleep POC, it explores grief, deadly masculinity and what it agency to be “man enough.” Lecturer that resonates with a inscribe of queer folks. 

And, I’m undeniably here for the puppets