We were lucky to catch up with Kirk Maynard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kirk, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I am extremely happy being a creative puppet director and NB Puppeteer for Natural Bridges Puppets, but I have also had the pleasure of working in another field at the same time. Creative Artists sometimes need to balance things out and so having an extra or alternate career can be helpful, especially when you hit some snags or lags in work. Always good to have something to fall back on when jobs or gigs are not ‘fruitful’ as you’d like them to be, or when you go through a ‘dry patch.’ We all need to be able to ‘make ends meet’ and so working in another field that you like can be helpful.

I remember a time when I was working full-time in my other field and had an opportunity to go on tour for Armed Forces Entertainment in Europe, so I approached my boss and requested time off to go on tour. I had 28 days that I could cover with my time but needed 30 days total. I asked my boss about having those 2 days without pay and he would not let me do it. I made the decision to end my employment with this company so I could go on the tour, and I never regretted the decision. The AFE Tour was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I am glad I was able to participate in.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Natural Bridges Puppets is an Ohio-based mobile puppet company that specializes in commercials, television and web shows, and live-stage comedy productions, all of which that feature the NB Puppets and some humans. The NB Puppets have been featured in a number of commercials, television projects, web shows, and of course in a number of live-stage shows, including going on tour for Armed Forces Entertainment in Europe to entertain US military personnel and their families. We pride ourselves on being able to make people laugh and have fun while watching our shows and projects, and it brings us immense pleasure.

One of our shows, The Chad and Bunny Show, is currently on the air in its third season and can be viewed every Saturday and Tuesday at noon (est) on The Monster Channel. You can also watch past and current episodes on our YouTube page as well. This show is rated PG and mainly aimed at an adult audience, but older kids can watch it. They may not get it, but they can watch it. Parental guidance is suggested.

Our live-stage shows are not puppet shows, but rather full-stage comedy productions that includes audience participation, lots of corny jokes and a great time to be had by all. We like our audience to come in, sit down and watch a show, with no hidden agenda but to laugh and have a good time. That’s it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

What other job can you do that makes not only you laugh and have fun but your audience as well? Not many I’m afraid. We take pride in being able to create material that helps to make people laugh and have fun, which is very important to us.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Working in the entertainment field is like a train on a roller coaster track. Some moments you’re on the top and enjoying the ride downhill while other times you’re on the bottom taking a long ride up. You have to be ready and prepared for those times when things are slow. Having a second part-time job or career to help out when times are tough is important, in my opinion. One of those times was when we were affected by COVID. Our business was hit hard, just as many other businesses were, but I was able to thrive because of my part-time job. Times were lean for the puppets and thankfully my other job was not affected as much, so I was able to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://mynbtv.com/
• Instagram: @nbpuppets and @naturalbridgespuppets
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyNBTV
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10604435/admin/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalBridgesLLC
• Other: http://themonsterchannel.com

Image Credits
Natural Bridges Puppets (Natural Bridges LLC)