Plastiques are back

Flying monkeys, black-lit fish and plastiogenetically engineered theater aficionados will descend upon the Forum Theatre this weekend, when The Plastiques return in their second show, “The Audition.”

“It’s a much different show than last time,” creator and Artistic Director Richard Gray said. “It’s not an experiment anymore.”

Gray, the Pageant of the Masters’ choreographer for eight years, has a passion for puppetry; The Plastiques is chock-full of masks, marionettes and hand puppets.

The show’s namesakes are a handful of creatures fashioned from plastic detergent and soda bottles into a handful of lovable characters, each with their own personality and story to share in song, dance and zany humor.

The original characters were made into masks worn by human actors; their new puppet-style friends have jointed limbs. One can even dance en pointe.

The highlight of every show is when kids get the opportunity to see and touch the puppets and masks at the end of every show, during the “Snoop and Poke” session.

Gray was first inspired when he found that his nieces were unable to perform the mental shift required to turn a broom into a hobby horse, or a blanket and some chairs into a tent.

“It made me ask myself, ‘What can I do to stimulate some kind of imagination?’” Gray said. “That’s been the funnest part for me. My sense of humor can be very quirky, so adults can come to this and have just as much fun as the kids.”

This show begins the episodic tales of The Plastiques, Gray said.

“Basically, The Plastiques are starting a theater company,” Gray said. “This particular show is really about Eve, the lead female character.”

The sweet Plastique is out to make a name for herself, but doesn’t anticipate the requisite hard work that goes into a theater career.

Other characters that join The Plastiques include a stage manager, costume mistress and other theatre denizens.

They will also be joined by new friends from the same species, as well as the lovable Shih Tzu Mojo-san.

“We’re adding one brand new character every show, largely because I’ve gotten into so many different forms of puppetry,” Gray said.

Kids will also see another side to show-stealing mouse Godfrey, whose jilted girlfriend Wilhelmina makes an appearance singing “You Made Me Love You.”

Three blacklit fish sing backup for an Ethel Merman-belting Plastique with a very pink dressing room and loads of costume changes; vintage show posters come to life onstage.

Lighting tricks and classic stage illusions are other tools of Gray’s trade.

Gray recently formed Gray Foundation of Theatrical Arts, when the Forum Theatre announced a new policy that only not-for-profit companies could perform there.

“It has made me think about where the company’s going, and has really helped me solidify my plans,” Gray said.

Following a planned holiday show at the end of the year, Gray will begin the new season with two Plastiques ballet performances per year, taking advantage of his background in dance.

He plans to put on Prokofiev’s “Cinderella” and a holiday “Nutcracker Suite.”

“I’ve never seen or heard of anybody doing a Nutcracker with puppets,” Gray said. “But if you would have told me last year that I would have been doing a Nutcracker, I would have laughed.”

It made him ask himself what kind of twists he could add with his characters and a touch of kurogo-style masked theater.

Following the first show last year, Gray asked parents and kids their thoughts about the production.

“I got most of the answers that I thought I was going to get, and a couple of surprise answers,” Gray said.

The biggest surprise for him was that kids preferred to focus on fewer visual stimuli; the first Plastiques show was a cacophony of color, sound and dance.

“Last time, kids got the story line better than the parents did,” Gray said. So he filled in some script holes that he assumed the audience would figure out.

WHO: The Gray Foundation of Theatrical Arts

WHAT: “The Plastiques in the Audition”

WHEN: 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. April 26 and 27

WHERE: Forum Theatre, Festival of Arts grounds

HOW MUCH: $12 adults, $8 children under 12

INFORMATION: (714) 434-6753 or www.kurogoproductions.com

CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (949) 494-5480 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.