Who he is:

Spencer Lott, puppeteer with Paul Mesner Puppets

How long he’s done it:

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Lott toured with his own puppet company, Squiggle Puppet Productions, and joined Paul Mesner Puppets earlier this year.

He still has a kindergarten assignment in which he wrote, “I want to be the next Jim Henson.”

“Growing up I liked being unique,” he says. “Everybody else wanted to be an NFL player, and I wanted to be a puppeteer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do.”

From audience to stage:

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As a kid, Lott remembers his mother and grandmother taking him to see performances at Paul Mesner Puppets. Now, he enjoys the productions from the stage.

He spends about 15 percent of his time performing, but there’s plenty that goes on behind the scenes, including building puppets and managing the business and non-profit sides of the company.

Nontraditional actors:

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Lott says puppets are very specific in the actions they can do, so they often have to build several versions of the same puppet that perform different functions. He says that although many people consider the Muppet characters to be something of a “holy grail” for puppeteers, it’s time to look to the future and go beyond what’s already been done.