What is the best thing that I love about my work?
The best thing about working as a puppeteer and puppet maker is being able to give fantastical creatures a physical body and bring them to life. Similarly, I breathe life into everyday objects in the instance of object puppetry. The reaction that unveiling a new monster or creature to a filmset elicits, or when we take mundane everyday objects and give them wants, needs and character just never gets boring!
What is my idea of happiness?
I don’t believe that you can forge happiness. For me happiness is incidental. What you can do, is pursue things that have meaning to you and find joy in doing that and sharing it with the world. Happiness occurs when you achieve goals that you have set for yourself. Always look forwards, never back.
What is my greatest fear?
Losing more of my friends and family is tragic accidents.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?
My internal self-deprecation. I have been bullied throughout my childhood and as an adult to the extent that I just thought that there must be something inherently dislikable about me. Then I got diagnosed with ADHD and autism (auDHD) and realised that I wasn’t an unlovable person, I was just an easy target. The bullies were the problem, but the internalised self-deprecation that I picked up as a result of these experiences still remains and that is something I am slowly overcoming.
The truth is, that if you are a misfit and competent then people will try and kick you down because they are threatened by you, especially if you are a confident woman. Don’t let them.
Which living persons in my profession do I most admire?
Sarah Wright is also someone who I have an immense amount of respect for. She is the Artistic Director of The Curious School of Puppets and as such is responsible for ushering a whole new generation of puppeteers who are taking the artform in loads of different exciting directions as well as being at the height of professional puppetry as a phenomenal puppeteer herself.
Chris Walas. He’s the man who created the Gremlins, he won an Oscar for his work on The Fly, he’s done countless classic movies that we have all enjoyed (and been traumatised by!) growing up and yet he remains so encouraging, so down to earth – no ego at all – because he just loves puppets and monsters. He came on my arts council back puppet cabaret on zoom and showed us loads of never-seen-before behind-the-scenes footage of Gremlins and The Fly and refused to take payment because he is a legend!
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?
That people don’t understand how cool it is! Puppetry often gets written off as “Just for kids” and even when we do adult shoots, producers often don’t know where to put us (some treat us like actors, some treat us like SFX, some treat us like backing dancers or SAs). No one seems to understand that we are essentially actors, we are just doing the acting through a puppet and as such takes YEARS to master. All too often you see actors who have done a 2 day puppetry workshop selling themselves as puppeteers and producers buy into it, but they have no idea what they are doing. You wouldn’t give the lead role to someone calling themselves an actor after doing an acting workshop for 2 days so why is it ok to do it to a puppeteer?
When and where was I the happiest, in my work?
Now! I’m at a point where I’m starting to out my own content together and that is very exciting to me.
If I could, what would I change about myself?
I think that the greatest battle that any artist has is with their own mind in terms of confidence in their ability and overcoming imposter syndrome. I wish I had learnt that lesson sooner.
What is my greatest achievement in work?
Undoubtedly the success of my first short film. I made that film in the aftermath of an awful year, the details I won’t go into, as a way of pulling myself out of a rut. I never in my wildest dreams could have predicted the success the film would go on to have – winning 12 awards internationally which included the Prix de Varty award at the Oscar/Bafta qualifying Ann Arbour Film festival was insane! Then we were broadcast on BBC3, Channel 4, Filmfour, streaming on BBC iplayer, and 4OD. THEN I was nominated for the BAFTA Breakthough award at the 2023 BAFTA Cymru awards which was completely mindblowing.
Where would I most like to live?
Where I do live, North Wales although I am very curious about New Zealand.
What is my most treasured possession?
My dog.
What is my most marked characteristic?
That’s a very difficult question to answer! I think a lot of people perceive me to be very high energy, very gregarious, very loud and that distracts them from the fact that I am also very sensitive and perceptive.
What is my most inspirational location, in my city?
I think Eryri (Snowdonia) – the mountain range is just stunning.
What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city?
Bekfire – a southern Indian place.
What books influenced my life and how?
The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle, Atomic Habits – James Clear – these books have helped me to manage my own mind and maintain the faith in what I’m doing to be able to keep doing it.
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?
Jean de Voyage, Tash Sultana, Charles Bradley, Chet Faker and a side order of jungle.
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?
Amelie
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?
Anyone who has the courage to make art and put it out in the world.
Which movie would I recommend to see once in a lifetime?
True Romance.
What role play stories in my life and work?
I think human beings are ruled by storytelling by design – not just the stories we read, hear, or watch in movies, music, theatre, live events and bedtime, but the stories we tell ourselves in our own heads. Pay attention to the stories that you tell yourself about yourself and the people you meet – in my experience our minds are, more often than not, bullshit factories.
What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me?
Life is your movie and you are the protagonist – only you get to decide what kind of movie you are making. Make sure it’s a good one.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?
I have several of them – people who have supported me from the moment they met and me and have been cheerleading me to be my best self and achieve my dreams. I won’t name them here, but I think it’s important that we recognise who those people are in our lives and honour them as much as we can.
Which people or companies would I like to work with?
In no particular order:
• The Jim Henson company – obviously! I have been lucky to work for them on some of the jobs I have done but would relish the chance to work with them more.
• Wetta – New Zealand based – I am in awe of their work.
• Royal Deluxe – those giant puppets are incredible!
• Wrexham AFC – I have a dragon puppet called Ddraig who I would love to make some content for them with.
• Gullermo del Toro – what a director and someone who really understands how to use practical FX and creatures properly.
• I have also done a lot of work in the music industry using puppets (Coldplay, Jam Baxter & Rag’N’Bone Man, Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran) – I would love to do more puppet stuff with other artists.
What project am I looking forward to work on?
I’m looking forward to using my dragon puppet Ddraig as an ambassador for Wrexham’s City of Culture bid. I’m also looking forward to getting some more films made.
Where can you see me or my work?
You can see my work on my website:
www.emilymorusjones.com
insta: @em_does_puppets23
FB: https://www.facebook.com/EmilyMorusJones/
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me?
A creative mind cannot help but be creative whether you want it to or not. The question is to what degree do you act in order to materialise your ideas?
Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?
Siobhan Logue
Sarah Wright
How can you contact me?
Via my email emorusjones23@gmail.com