As his first gig, Fuzzy Whatsit, an inquisitive white cat with a pink and yellow face, has successfully acquired his own talk show.
With mug in reach and nestled in a comfortable chair at Rogers' Access Television studio in Nanaimo, Fuzzy has interviewed 16 guests, such as musicians, small business owners, thespians, students, influencers, prop makers, a professional wrestler and even Santa Claus himself.
Puppeteer Maxwell (Max) Dowie, president of CineCentral Filmmakers Society, created the character last year along with numerous others that appear as part of the audience, including an octopus, a sheep with sunglasses, a dog, etc. Inspired to become a puppeteer after taking an acting class, Max desired a vehicle for his own show, hence how Fuzzy Whatsit came to be.
鈥淐ats are naturally curious,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey can ask any question that they want.鈥�
From an early age, Dowie knew that puppeteering was his passion. He has more than 100 puppets, some inherited or gifted, but most he鈥檚 created himself out of cardboard, felt and hot glue, including the ones seen on the show.
鈥淭heir personalities are all levels of comedy and drama,鈥� says Dowie. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e different aspects of my personality with a magnifying glass thrown on them.鈥�
Along with the hopes to create three shows per month, Dowie is currently in the process of creating a Fuzzy Whatsit movie, and is involved in various upcoming projects through CineCentral including an improv show being held Feb. 9. But his main creative focus is on the future of his talk show and its host.
鈥淔uzzy wants to talk to everyone. Everyone鈥檚 got a story to tell. Those are valuable things that deserve to be preserved,鈥� said Dowie. 鈥淎nd I wanted to create a show that looks different than anything else on the Rogers TV channel.鈥�
And that he has. The puppeteer would like to hear from anyone with an interesting job, hobby or story who would like to be a guest on the Fuzzy Whatsit show. For comments, questions and volunteer opportunities, e-mail fuzzywhatsit_talkshow@yahoo.com.
