Dark Friends Series
Toybox
America's Favorite Cartoon Witch
As a resident of Asheville, NC, I am thrilled that my adopted hometown in Western North Carolina is also home to Keith Shubert, aka Toybox, an extremely talented performer and toymaker. I was first introduced to this unique entertainer by accepting an invitation several years ago to attend one of the many Puppet Slam events he has hosted.
In addition to making toys and puppets, Toybox has worked as coordinator and curator on numerous live events and festivals, and has served in a directorial position for The Puppeteers of America at both the regional and national level, has received funding from The Jim Henson Foundation, and was awarded an UNIMA Citation of Excellence In The Art Of Puppetry, the highest award given in the field.
Toybox was gracious enough to answer my quesitons about puppeteering and toymaking, and I’m sure you’ll find his answers fascinating.
The Interview
Q: All children like toys, but your interest goes further than most. How did you get to be so enamored of toys and puppets?
Mostly, I think this is due to being a child of the 80’s. The 1980s, more than any other generation, was so heavily marketed to children with films, cartoons, and commercials. And all of it had toys which were tied in. Also during this time, films were still doing practical effects, so every major sci fi or fantasy film of the time period used puppetry from Alien, Star Wars, Neverending Story, Ghostbusters, all of it. Plus television shows like Sesame Street, Muppet Show and rock videos on MTV. There was just a lot of cool stuff happening. An explosion of toys and puppets everywhere you looked. And media consumption was less selective as it is now with the internet. Everyone was seeing and experiencing mostly the same thing. It was an amazing time period. I am actually perpetually grateful to have been a kid in the 80s.
Q: Why do you think your love for toys has stayed with you into adulthood? Do you think adults lose something of value, something healthy even, when they lose interest in toys?
I think a lot of it pertains to my answer above. The profound psychological effect of being a child of the 80s. I see it a lot. Lots and lots of toy makers and toy collectors are in my age group. I am also a lifelong comic book collector. I think that my love of toys and comics has definitely fueled my love of art and culture as well as storytelling.
Yes, I think there is indeed something lost when you let go of your past and childhood things. A sense of wonder, exploration, and imagination is replaced with concepts of responsibility and being a “grown up”. But these things can be interconnected and symbiotic. But I think my love of toys and puppetry has also fostered a strong sense of reverence and respect for object permanence, which has led to ideas of conservation and sustainability.
Q: When you go on a toy search, what are you generally looking for, and where do you make your best finds?
Hahahahahaha! Well, a lot of collectors are specific and specialized, I really am not. I often tell people that I run a home for wayward and neglected toys. I know lots of collectors and honestly I am one of the most varied that I know. I love art toys and designer and bootleg toys, knock-offs, commercial mainstream stuff, plushies, old dolls, new dolls, puppets, a bit of everything. Which is fun for me, because I cross boundaries into many different scenes and mini cultures. I have been part of doll shows, craft fairs, toy conventions, art toy shows, maker fairs, circuit benders, all of it. You meet more people and to me, all of these things are interconnected.
There is a greater “toy culture” which exists that most people don’t get. Puppeteers can learn from doll makers and toy designers etc and vice versa. So I get stuff from all over, shows, antique malls, galleries, thrift stores, box stores. I am really drawn to anything I think is cool or weird.
Q: You not only collect toys, but you make them as well. My favorites are the Ragamuffins, wonderful stuffed creatures, that you make by hand. What was the inspiration for these delightful little misfits?
Yes, each one is completely hand-sewn. I don’t use a machine. I like the quirky look of a hand stitch and I think it adds to the quality of the character. Each one is one of a kind and takes me between 5-8 hrs a piece to complete. Really, it is something I have wanted to do all my life. I have always been enamored by the aesthetic of patchwork dolls. One day, a few years ago now, I just started doing it more and more until this moment, where I am pretty much working on them all my free time when I am not working on productions and specific art projects. Honestly, I started because, as a collector and puppeteer, people will donate a lot of stuff to me, including a lot of fabric. I started to accumulate more fabrics that I can deal with and decided it was time to do something with it.
Sometimes I also incorporate pieces of old dolls or teddy bears. Really it is all stuff that I feel I am saving from ending up in a landfill that people really seem to enjoy, which makes me happy. Not everyone can buy one or even want to, but they may still enjoy every time I upload a new batch of pictures to look at.
Q: Your interests have led you to some unique and interesting places where you’ve met some amazing people. How did you learn your craft? What artists have inspired and influenced you?
I am mostly self-taught. I just started making stuff and doing it. When I was in college, I was very interested in doing stop motion animation. I was in love with the work of Brothers Quay and Jan Svankmajer (still am). Before that as a kid, certain comic artists really resonated with me and I learned a lot about art and storytelling through comics, specifically Bill Sienkiewicz and Dave McKean. Those were probably the first artists I saw that I said to myself, “I wish I could be an artist.”
But really, I am inspired by all kinds of artists and have been for a very long time. I believe this sort of appreciation was developed thru growing up reading comic books and experiencing a variety of approaches. I enjoy cute and colorful things just as much as dark and creepy things and everything in between. As a puppeteer, I have been heavily influenced by growing up in the Chicago area and experiencing a lot of very interesting puppetry, specifically puppet theatre for adults. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s there were some amazing companies there doing this type of work. At the same time, I was going to see all of this stuff, I was going to college to get a degree in elementary education. Going to see live puppet theatre at the time was intended to be used as inspiration for projects to do in the classroom as well as my personal projects.
Q: You perform for all ages, with some shows written specifically for children while others are definitely for adult audiences. I imagine that you like doing both equally, but if for some reason you could only target one audience, which would you choose?
I could never choose between exclusively performing for children or adults. People of all ages need laughs and inspiration. If I had to choose, I would probably just quit.
Q: Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the lives and careers of all performers. How have you coped with the loss of being able to perform and host live shows?
Quite honestly, we adapted very quickly with making online puppet slams, puppet films, content, and shows. Surprisingly, it did not have that much of a dramatic effect. At first it was terrifying to get calls and emails of all the cancellations. There was a lot of uncertainty. But once we started making online content things leveled out and became normal.
At this point, I think I will continue to make online stuff forever. In some ways, covid has actually been a blessing in disguise for me. Before the pandemic, I had zero interest in making online content. I was ALL about the live experience. But making online shows has built and grown my audience exponentially, I actually anticipate doing less live performance post covid and those performances being more high profile gigs because of it.
Q: I know that many of our Dark Corners members look forward to seeing your virtual video puppet shows, and of course, the recorded episodes of What’s in the Box. Would you tell us a little about how you got into video production?
Well, really, as mentioned above, it was a necessity. I had to make online shows because of the pandemic. The idea for What’s In The Box (which is the main show we are doing regularly online) came pretty organically. Many of my friends and community were sending me packages during the pandemic because they missed me and such. A lot of those packages came from puppeteers, entertainers, and toymakers.
I knew that unboxing shows and mystery box shows did have a following online, so I figured this was the perfect impetus to create a show. I could use this concept of unboxing shows to also do artist spotlights on many of my amazing friends while at the same time combining my love of toys and toy culture and puppetry as well as use it as an opportunity to perform in character, which was the very thing that people missed. It basically wins on every level for me and is unlike anything I have seen anyone else do.
Q: Where can people find your work if they want to learn more about you, see recorded shows, or purchase some of your merchandise?
Well, we are currently in the process of losing our home of 11 years, so if anyone wants to help out, our GO FUND ME can be found at:
You can follow all updates and see our shows LIVE when they air and find all archived episodes of What’s In The Box here:
https://www.facebook.com/TOYBOXTHEATRE
You can also like and subscribe to our youtube channels where we will be adding lots of content including episodes of What’s In The Box and The Wham, Bam! Puppet Slam:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw4jxIsimiQOXfAXAVwMVkA
You can support the production of new work by joining our Patreon Community:
https://www.patreon.com/TOYBOXTHEATRE
And finally, you can shop/donate through our online store to find toys, merchandise, and unique items:
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