Paul Vincent Davis is an American

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

. For over 30 years, he served as

Artist in Residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

at Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts. In the 1980s,

UNIMA UNIMA (''Union Internationale de la Marionnette'' – International Puppetry Association) is an international non-governmental organization that brings together puppeteers and puppet enthusiasts to develop and promote the art of puppetry. It was ...

-USA awarded Davis five Citations of Excellence for his work.

Early life and education

Davis was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1935. He was raised in Alexandria. His fascination with puppets began at the age of four, when he performed with hand puppets for family and friends. In 1945, when Davis was 10 years old, he saw a performance in Washington, D.C. It featured Frank Paris Marionettes and an Italian puppet company. Soon after, Davis and his father converted the family garage into a puppet theater. Davis began to perform for neighborhood children. Davis earned his B.A. in Fine Arts from the

Richmond Professional Institute The Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) was an educational institution established in 1917, which merged with the Medical College of Virginia in 1968 to form Virginia Commonwealth University. RPI was located on what is now known as the Monroe P ...

of the College of William and Mary.

Career

Early career

In the early 1960s, Davis worked in art studios, print shops, and advertising agencies. He left the job of art director at a New York agency to become a freelance graphic designer and part-time puppeteer. He also spent time as an actor and folk singer. Davis directed the Repertory Puppet Theater of Washington, D.C. He created serious work for adults with puppets. This included plays from Samuel Beckett, Japanese folk plays, and medieval miracle plays. In the early 1970s, Davis co-directed The National Theater of Puppet Arts, Inc. with Carol Fijan. Based in New York, the company of puppeteers produced excerpts from Shakespearean plays and Greek classics.

Puppet Showplace Theater

In 1977, Davis moved from New York to Brookline, Massachusetts. He became

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

and artist-in-residence at Puppet Showplace Theater. At Showplace, Davis worked mostly with hand puppets for audiences of children and families. His hand puppets featured jointed legs that moved by means of the wrist. This created realistic movements. Davis created over a dozen full-length puppetry productions. He adapted classic folktales and

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s and created original shows. These include '' Androcles and the Lion'', ''The Singing Turtle'', ''Raccoon Tales'', ''

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot I ...

'', ''Bingo the Circus Dog'', ''Jo Jo and the Orange Ball'', ''Chinese Dragon Dance'', and ''Here Come the Clowns''. In 1997, Davis served as executive director of Puppet Showplace Theater. He remained active as a performer until his retirement in 2007. As Resident Artist Emeritus, he continued to teach and mentor young puppeteers.

Awards and recognitions

Davis earned Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA for five productions. These include ''The Leprechaun of Donegal'' (1980), ''The Golden Axe'' (1982), ''Three Festival Dances'' (1982), ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' (1984), and ''Fables of Ancient Rome'' (1988). ''The Puppetry Journal'' called his adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'' "one of the most impressive one-person shows from an extraordinary puppeteer." In 1985, Kathryn Lasky followed Davis as he mounted a production of ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

and His Wonderful Lamp''. She documented the behind-the-scenes development in her book ''Puppeteer''. In 1990, Puppeteers of America recognized Davis with the President's Award. It honors outstanding contributions to the art of puppetry. Puppet Showplace Theater created the Paul Vincent Davis Award to honor its longtime artist in residence and artistic director. In 2014, the award went to John Bell and Trudi Cohen of Great Small Works. In 2016, the award went to Sara Peattie, a puppeteer and puppet builder who runs the Puppet Free Library in Boston. In 2020, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry celebrated Davis's career with an exhibit. "Paul Vincent Davis and the Art of Puppet Theater" called Davis "one of the United States's most dynamic 20th-century puppeteers." In 2021, the National Capital Puppetry Guild presented Davis with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In celebration of this award, a proclamation was written by

Levar Stoney Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician who served as the 80th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previou ...

, Mayor of the City of Richmond. A citation was written by

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

, Governor of Massachusetts. A personal note of congratulations was written by Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States of America. In 2023, UNIMA-USA presented a special citation to Davis for his extraordinary contributions to puppetry. They called him "an Artist par Excellence of American Puppetry."

Personal life

In 1976, Davis attended an international puppetry conference in Moscow, Russia. There, he met puppeteer Mary Churchill, founder and director of Puppet Showplace Theater. She became his lifelong companion and partner. Churchill died of lung cancer in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Paul Vincent American puppeteers Entertainers from Brookline, Massachusetts People from Alexandria, Virginia 1935 births Living people