We were lucky to catch up with Marc Petrosino and Michael Latini recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marc and Michael, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

We are often asked how we came up with our company’s name: Monkey Boys Productions. Before the company was founded Marc and Michael lived with two other puppeteers: Russell Tucker and Scott Hitz. One of us was reading Vonnegut’s “Welcome to the Monkey House”, and wrote that on our communal dry-erase board. From that day forward, everywhere he four of us lived was called ‘The Monkey House’, and the four of us became known as ‘The Monkey Boys’. Several years later, when we formed our LLC, it was only natural for it to be called Monkey Boys Productions.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We grew up as fans of Sesame Street, The Muppets, Rick Baker, Stan Winston, and all of the amazing practical artists of the 80s and 90s. Marc initially went to school for marine biology, before transferring to a school where he could create his own degree. There he forged a BA in Puppetry, and subsequently worked with theaters in the Northeast to develop his skills as a puppet maker and performer. Michael completed a degree in metals, jewelry, and computer aided design, before realizing he, too, wanted to be a puppeteer. The two of them met at The O’Neill Puppetry Conference, and eventually formed Monkey Boys Productions with two other puppeteers. Originally, the company focused on puppetry, and it was a chance call from Saturday Night Live! that made us realize we could do so much more. Today, Monkey Boys Productions specializes in puppets, props, practical effects, creatures, costumes, and original content.
One of the biggest differences between us and other fabrication companies is that we are puppeteers, and therefore can make functional, ergonomic puppets and creations. There are a number of other companies that create beautiful work, but their creations are often heavy, stiff, or uncomfortable.
We are so proud of the work we’ve put out in the world, and that we have been twice recognized by The Emmys for our design work, but we are most proud of that fact that we, as two creatives, have built a company which employs nearly forty fantastic artists.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Being two creative, with little to know business experience, we (as my mother likes to say) had to earn our virtual MBAs through mistakes. We were raised to believe that most people were trustworthy. One of our early projects was for a global production company, building character elements for a live tour. After we delivered their items, we received word that they had a few issues with our product, several of which were things we had discussed, and we thought, agreed upon early in the process. We offered to come to them to address their concerns (a common occurrence for custom creations), but they ceased to communicate with us and stopped payment on their final check. This giant client knew that we, as a small company, would spend far more to fight them in court than we were owed in that payment. This, and work with other similarly unscrupulous clients, taught us to develop our own contracts and get everything in writing. We still believe most people are trustworthy, but we now know how to better protect ourselves.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The majority of our work comes from connections and referrals. Clients are looking for three basic things: deliver quality products, do so on time, and don’t be a jerk. The entertainment industry is a small world, so if you cannot deliver on those three things, you probably won’t get called back, let alone suggested to new clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.monkeyboysproductions.com/
• Instagram: @monkeyboysproductions
• Facebook: Monkey Boys Productions
• Twitter: @MonkeyBoysProd
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MonkeyBoysProductions

Image Credits
The two individual headshots or Marc & Michael are by Josh Beauchamp. The image of Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors) is from Papermill Playhouse. We do not know who the specific photographer was. The image of three puppeteers in green (Chucky) is from Saturday Night Live! We do not know who the specific photographer was. All other images are ours or publicly available.