Life’s a Party for Puppeteer, Who Also Clowns Around

“You do what for a living?” is the question asked on a badge Pat Lay Wilson wears most of the time.

The answer would be puppeteer, clown, magician, face painter, balloon sculptor, costume designer, teacher, author and lecturer.

“People are intrigued with what I do,” said the Santa Ana woman, who spends most of her time performing with her cast of 300 hand-puppets.

“There are no stars,” Wilson explains. None are more important than another,” even those in the Punch and Judy performance that are usually part of her performances.

“The puppets are a big part of who I am, but I don’t talk to them. I respect them and hang them up tenderly when I finish an act.”

During her presentations, children want a lot of action, music and color, and parents want full value for their money, she said.

“I give a half-hour of puppets, 15 minutes of clown work and 15 minutes of face painting,” said Wilson, a graduate of Pepperdine University with a degree in management.

She originally wanted to be a police officer, like her father.

Instead, she took a job as a secretary, married and had three children, which led to her puppetry.

“I remember making some puppets out of papier-mache, putting on a show for them and their friends and finding it was a lot of fun,” Wilson said.

So much that it has continued for 20 years.

Much of her talent with puppets is outlined in books she has written and sells to other entertainers, including other puppeteers, clowns, jugglers and magicians.

“I’m getting orders from all over the world. People are eager to learn more because they are finding out you have to diversify to stay or become successful,” said Wilson, who has added shadow-puppetry to her act.

She hopes one of her publications will become a best seller but admits that yearly sales are only a couple dozen of each book, which individually cost $7.95.

Besides performing with puppets, the one-time Riverside Community College student conducts workshops on puppetry at national and regional festivals and conventions. She was recently named Birthday Party Consultant by the 2,000-member Puppeteers of America. She said she once taught rangers at Yellowstone National Park about puppetry.

But performing at children’s parties is her favorite.

“Kids are great audiences. They are appreciative and like to be part of the show,” said Wilson, who charges $95 to $125 a performance. “It’s a lot of fun and I make good money.”

It can also be a moving experience, said the one-time president of the Orange County Guild of the Puppeteers of America, who calls her Santa Ana-based business Puppets and Pat.

“I remember doing a show that included the ‘Little Drummer Boy’ song and all the kids started singing it,” she said. “I was so touched I started crying, but I had my hand-puppets on and couldn’t wipe my tears. It was electrifying.”

She also finds that performing identical shows to different audiences gets different responses.

“The kids laugh in different spots,” said Wilson, who wears a pink shirt and black dress while performing. She packs her equipment, including a lighted stage, in a pink truck.

The economic slowdown has hurt her business.

“Companies that would usually have me for a Christmas party are saying they’ll have to wait for next year,” she said.