How a Windsor man has become a 'laughtertainer'
Meet Windsor's only laughtertainer.
Matthew Romain was active in high school theatre when he became a puppeteer more than 35 years ago.
"A teacher pegged me to be an apprentice for a puppeteer," he said. "I had never done something like that before, and it was a lot of fun and I kind of got a bug for puppetry after that."
Over the years, he has crafted hundreds of puppets from household items. Romain uses everything from socks to plastic cups, and even the lids from a Slurpee drink are used for the eyes of one of his puppets.
"I find you can make puppets out of just about anything, and develop the art of moving them so people think that they are alive."
The magic of creating a puppet and developing its personality happens in the downstairs living area of his South Windsor home.
"It is so layered. Everything from coming up a new song that's catchy and gets your foot tapping. And imagining some creatures moving to this music. Going through the experimental phase of developing all these things and playing with materials and watching a cup or a piece of rubber start dancing, developing that in to a puppet, there's so much to the process, and I love every step along the way."
Romain combined his many talents as puppeteer, musician, and educator under one title — laughtertainer.
He performs at a local farmer's market, at birthday parties and other events.
"Who would have thought?" he said. "It's a good way to make a living, it's a good gentle form of entertainment. It's a wonderful career choice, it makes the world a better place."
