James Ortiz

James Ortiz is a puppeteer, actor, puppet designer, and director who is known for his work in theater, film, and opera. He became very popular after developing and starring in The Woodsman, a dialogue-less play based on the classic The Wizard of Oz. James also designed puppets for the 2022 Broadway revival of The Skin of Our Teeth, which won him a Drama Desk Award. Ortiz's other puppet design/build credits include Into the Woods, Candide, The Scarlett Letter, and Hercules, to name a few. His most notable film was the one that came out recently called Project Hall Mary, performing the alien character Rocky. For that film, he got to work with designer Neal Scanlan, the latter who worked with Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Other stage puppeteers that worked with James Ortiz include Emaley Rose, who was his student, while Creature Shop performers he met include Mike Quinn and Clare Roi Harvey. He is perhaps one of those very few puppet designers to ever work in the opera like at Opera Saratoga, Metropolitan Opera, & Skylight Music Theatre. He designed the set and puppets for Zémire et Azor, directed and designed both the puppets and scenery for Candide, and designed puppets for El Niño, each in 2017, 2023, and 2024 respectively. In any case, I believe James was made to work in opera and theatre since he's done both longer than film, at least I think he did. Other films Ortiz did include Cryptid, Girls Against Boys, and World's End. It's no wonder he received awards for his work in the theater; he's a professional at it now. But The Woodsman will stay his best-known production to this day, after all, it made him a theatrical superstar. James Ortiz, you're a genius at designing and performing puppets for stage and screen. I hope you'll continue to work in both regular shows and operas. You're a smash hit as far as I'm concerned. You rule James. Peace Ortiz!

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