Bruce Chesse
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Son of Ralph Chesse, brother of Dion Chesse and Uncle of Matt Chesse He
is the Artistic Director for the Oregon Puppet Theatre, Bruce Chesse is
a second-generation puppeteer with more than 30 years experience. He is
an internationally recognized puppet designer, manipulator, actor,
director, teacher and author. Bruce's interest in puppetry is two-fold.
He believes that puppetry is an inherently theatrical medium, and that
persons of all ages and with a variety of skills can excel at this form
of theater. Bruce has performed and taught puppetry (since he began his
professional puppetry career at 13) in such varied places as Ethiopia,
Scandinavia, Japan, Puerto Rico and throughout the United States
including many year as a artist in schools for Alaska Arts Education. A
professional actor-puppeteer and director for over 40 years. A former
native of San Francisco, he performed in the San Francisco Bay Area
from 1948 to 1983 in movies, television and theater with his father
Ralph and brother Dion. Alumnai of The San Francisco Boy's Chorus
19448-49. Lived in Los Angeles 1968-69, working at the Melodyland
theater in Anaheim and the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos,
California. Moved to Portland, Oregon in 1980. Chesse's puppet
creations have included commissioned works, giant parade puppets,
(William Shakespeare for the Ashland Shakespeare Festival), puppet
programs for video and TV. His last collaboration with Susan Barthel
was 1999 when they helped produce and build puppets for a production
called Frog line News, a media CD Rom on Water conservation produce by
New Media Magic. In 2002 Bruce produced a series of vegetable promos
for Odyssey Productions, Inc. Vegetables Want Your Vote, for the
National Steinbeck Center. These are interactive videos now being shown
in Monterey at the Steinbeck Science Center. In 2003 he was a puppeteer
in The Big Sneeze, A Baroque Puppet Opera with The Carter Family
Marionettes, the third in a yearly series presented at the Northwest
Puppet Center in Seattle. Played King Lear for the Gallery Theater in
McMinnville, Oregon in 2003. He still keeps busy doing Films and
Theater in Portland, Oregon.
