Podcast Puppetry

We’re joined today by the godfather of puppetry fleece — Larry Guild! Larry’s family-owned company, Hampshire Textiles, manufactured countless styles of fabrics that were distributed throughout the world until 2018. He became a key-player in the puppetry world after meeting Jim Henson at a trade show in the early 1970s and introducing the Muppets t…

We're back with one of the busiest puppeteers in the industry—Jake Bazel! Star of Disney's Winnie the Pooh Show off-Broadway, which he also wrote and helped to develop, Jake also starred in Paddington Gets in a Jam, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train: LIVE. His on-screen credits include Sesame Street, Helpsters, and Duncan…

We're celebrating the re-opening of theatre on Broadway and "The 21st Day of the Month of September" with the puppeteer cast of Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors revival — Eric Wright and Teddy Yudain! Together, they perform Audrey II in this production of the Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's cult-classic musical. Outside of the show, Teddy is a wor…

On this week's show we're joined by one of puppetry's rising stars — Haley Jenkins! Haley currently stars in the title role of PBS Kids's Donkey Hodie, based on characters from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. She has also performed on Helpsters, The Pee Wee Herman Show Live on Broadway, Sesame Street, where where she originated the role of Karli. We talk …

Here to discuss his decades as a writer and biographer, Puppet Tears welcomes Brian Jay Jones. He has written best-selling biographies on iconic artists such as Washington Irving, Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), and George Lucas. His 2013 book, Jim Henson: The Biography was written with the cooperation of the Henson family, who granted Jones unpreceden…

On this episode, we're celebrating 20 years of ToughPigs.com with the help of Joe Hennes and Ryan Roe! As co-owners of the site, as well as editor-in-chief and head writer, respectively, Joe and Ryan have overseen the evolution of ToughPigs from a little-known fan blog to a robust media outlet for all kinds of Muppet related content. They each host…

​Let's give a big hand for this week's guest and our ol' pal Chase Woolner! Chase is the owner and operator of Busy Hands studio, where he crafts handmade puppets, pottery, and art supplies. He has worked as an additional Muppet performer on numerous projects including the films The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted, appearances on The Tonight Show w…

For this episode of Puppet Tears, the guys have their yearly check-up with The Godfather of Puppet Tears - Mr. Jim Kroupa. Infamously known for his work as a puppet builder and mech designer, Kroupa has worked on countless films and television shows from Sesame Street and The Muppets Take Manhattan to Helpsters and the upcoming reboot of Fraggle Ro…

We're back with a guest who has traveled from galaxies far, far away, to green lands before the Crystal cracked - Hugh Purves! You know him from his work on Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and so much more. He is the owner and operator of the one-stop-online-shop PuppetThings.co…

On this week's show we're joined by the one-and-only Stacey Gordon. Stacey is the founding owner of Puppet Pie, a puppet building art studio in Phoenix Arizona. She is also a performer on Sesame Street, where she has performed Julia, the first Muppet character with Autism, since 2015. We talk with Stacey about how her early love for dolls and toys …

On this episode, we have an animated discussion with the one-and-only Jamie Bressler! An absolute power-house puppet builder, Jamie has built characters and props for the Jim Henson Company, Saturday Night Live, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and beyond. Her own work has earned her Comic-Con and Internet fame, creating on-model puppet versions…

Here to discuss their critically renowned documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, Puppet Tears welcomes the film's producers Trevor Crafts and Ellen Scherer Crafts. Their movie, based on Michael Davis's 2008 book Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, was an official selection at the 2021 Sundance Film festival, is in the…

It's time to meet our very special guest Fergie L Philippe to Puppet Tears podcast! Fergie is an accomplished musical theatre actor best known as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in Hamilton on Broadway. Fergie is rocketing his way towards a career in puppetry as well and is host of the new podcast It's Time to Meet the Muppets on Broadway Podca…

For this episode of Puppet Tears, the guys are joined by one of their best friends in the world of puppetry - Madison J. Cripps. Known around the world for his boisterous approach to busking, Madison is the founder of Cripps Creations (formerly Cripps Puppets). He has performed marionettes at venues across the United States, including multiple Nati…

We're back with one of the hardest working puppeteers in the business - Warrick Brownlow-Pike! You know him from his work with CBeebies as Oucho Cactus and Dodge the Dog, performing Marion the Cat on BBC 2's Mongrels, a lead performer and puppet captain on Netflix's Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, and performing Gonger on Sesame Street. We'll chat …

On this week's show we're hopping across the pond to chat with a real puppetry work horse: Phil Fletcher. Phil has been performing Hacker the Dog live on CBBC nearly every day for over twelve years. He is the prolific puppet builder and cabaret performer behind his original troupe 'The Gluvets.' Phil has also appeared as an additional performer in …

Welcome to 2021! We're kicking off the year with Chris Thomas Hayes, the rising star who has performed Hoots the Owl on Sesame Street since 2019. Chris is a member of the Sesame Workshop mentorship program for new puppeteers, and has worked with the Center for Puppetry Arts and Madcap Puppets. He is also an accomplished human actor on both stage an…

The Cheers to Puppeteers series comes to a close with a very special guest - Debra Spinney. Affectionately known as "Mrs. Big Bird", Deb is the wife of the late Caroll Spinney who brought life to Big Bird and Oscar on Sesame Street for 50 seasons. In addition to being Caroll's manager, she traveled the world with the iconic show and pitched story-l…

In our penultimate installment of Cheers to Puppeteers, we're talking to Dave Goelz - the legendary performer who created and still portrays some of The Muppet Show's most iconic characters, including Gonzo the Great, Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Beauregard, and more. He has recently reprised the roles of Boober Fraggle and Uncle Traveling Matt for Apple…

In a very special installment of Cheers to Puppeteers we have an incredible mentor to both Adam and Cam - Richard Termine. Richard is a prolific arts photographer who has documented behind the scenes of Sesame Street and other Henson productions for nearly 40 years, in addition to working as a builder in the Muppet Workshop throughout the 1980's. R…

We're going whole-hog for this Cheers to Puppeteers as we're joined by Muppet performer Eric Jacobson. You know Eric as the performer behind some of the most iconic Muppet characters, many of which were originated by Frank Oz, including Miss Piggy, Grover, Fozzie Bear, Bert, and many more. Eric also inherited the role of Oscar the Grouch from Carol…

Cheers to Puppeteers continues the founder of the Center for Puppetry Arts - Vincent Anthony! Vince was the Executive Director of the Center from 1978 until December 2019, where he oversaw every aspect of the organization - from its award-winning performances to its world-renowned collection of puppet objects. He is also the co-founder of the Vagab…

On a special Halloween-drop of Puppet Tears, Barnaby Dixon returns to the show, following his spell-binding appearance in Netflix's Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and his YouTube channel reaching one million subscribers. Barnaby is best known for performing small, meticulously designed puppets that went viral back in 2016. He got his start in stop…

It's time to Cheers to Puppeteers! Our guest this week is Bonnie Erickson, whose unparalleled talent has helped define the Muppets' signature look on screen, in toys and merchandise, and on exhibition with The Jim Henson Legacy. Bonnie served as the head of the Muppet Workshop through the first season of The Muppet Show where she designed the origi…

The Cheers to Puppeteers keep on coming! We're joined this time by Michael Curry whose firm Michael Curry Design has created the legendary puppet and scenic designs behind some of the world's most iconic productions. You know his work from Disney's The Lion King on Broadway, Cirque du Soleil, Shrek on Broadway, Lake of Dreams in Las Vegas, multiple…

We're serving up more Cheers to Puppeteers as we're joined this week by marionette master Phillip Huber. You know Phillip from his iconic film performances in Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovitch and Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful. His theatrical work includes Darling Grenadine, Busker Alley featuring Tommy Tune, That's Christmas featuring Sand…

Cheers to Puppeteers continues as we chat with Muppet performer Matt Vogel. You know Matt for his starring role as Constantine in the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted and for performing several legacy Sesame Street and Muppet characters, including Big Bird, Count von Count, Uncle Deadly, Floyd Pepper, and Kermit the Frog. He has a new podcast called B…

Our Cheers to Puppeteers series kicks off with the legendary Muppet performer Fran Brill. Fran was the first female puppeteer hired for Sesame Street who brought life to characters such as Prairie Dawn, Zoe, Countess von Backwards, Roxie Marie, and so many more. Other puppetry roles include Saturday Nigh Live, The Muppet Show, and The Jim Henson Ho…

This week on Puppet Tears, we're joined by our good friends Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas to talk with us about their storied careers as performance artists. Their theater company Alex & Olmsted has devised many works for stage including Homebodies, Marooned! A Space Comedy, and Milo the Magnificent; the latter two productions were made poss…

This episode of Puppet Tears is definitely for the birds ... by that, of course, we mean the flock behind Bird Call Radio: Calvin Lester and Kelsey Brady. Calvin and Kelsey have each worked as puppeteers at Walt Disney World for over a decade, notably performing in The Muppet's Great Moments in American History and Finding Nemo the Musical. They ar…

We're going BIG this week, since our guest is a master of costume characters both inside and out! Cedwan Hooks is a puppeteer for screen and stage who you can see on Slugs and Bugs, Moon and Me, and Doom Patrol, plus a wrangler on a number of television series, including Sesame Workshop's Helpsters on Apple TV+. He is also the owner of Creatures In…

Puppet Tears LIVE!!! This is going to be an exciting chat with David, Liz, and Christopher who are premiering the Puppeteers of Color Conversations next week. We'll learn about what audiences can expect and what they hope to achieve with this innovative programming. This is one Puppet Tears LIVE-a-palooza you won't want to miss!!!…

Jean Marie Keevins is back again on Puppet Tears for an exciting part-two conversation. Jean Marie is the founder of Little Shadow Productions, a full-service production company where she has devised work such as Elephant in the Room, Zwerge, and Whiskey Neat. She is also the Associate Artistic Director of the National Puppetry Conference at the Eu…

Back for a THIRD time to help us celebrate two years and 50 episodes of Puppet Tears, we have the one and only Jim Kroupa! Jim is a life-long puppet artist, best known for his mastery of puppet mechanics, performing Batley on Eureeka's Castle, and designing and/or building characters for iconic TV programs like Whimzy's House, Between the Lions, an…

Another world, another time - in the age of wonder... Beccy Henderson decided she would become a puppeteer. Beccy is the incredibly talented performer behind Deet in Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and also appeared in Pajanimals, That Puppet Game Show, and Wildwoods. She also appears as a human actor in another Netflix series, Derry…

We're finishing up Fan Appreciation Month with an incredible visit from our friend Martin Robinson. Martin is the legendary puppeteer you know from Sesame Street, Little Shop of Horrors, and the new show from Sesame Workshop and Apple TV+ Helpsters where he performs Mr. Primm. His Halloween-horror musical-comedy All Hallows Eve had its first off Br…

This episode is sure to have a lot of Heart ... 's performer from Apple TV+'s Helpster - Ingrid Hansen! Ingrid is an incredibly talented Canadian puppeteer who has performed on programs such as Tiga Talk, Miss Persona, and Princess Sparkly Butt and the Hot Dog Kid. She is also the founder of SNAFU Dance Theatre and leads theater programs for incarc…

What does Star Wars, Star Trek, Gremlins, and The Muppets all have in common? The inspired influence of this week's guest Kirk Thatcher! Kirk is a prolific creator, writer, designer, director behind Dinosaurs, The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell, and a whole slew of Muppet projects like Muppet Treasure Island, A Very Merry Muppet Christmas…

Pam Arciero returns to Puppet Tears for an exciting part-two of our ongoing conversation (plus our first guest interview during shelter-in-place). Pam is the veteran Muppet performer best known for her role as Grundgetta Grouch, and is also Artistic Director of the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. As our second ret…

Desperate times continue! Our month of quarantine shows continues with our co-host Adam Kreutinger in the hot seat. Adam is an art teacher and is best known in the puppet community for his weekly YouTube tutorials, creating puppets for screen and stage productions, and live performances throughout Buffalo, NY with The Nimalz puppetry troupe. Cam ta…

#GraphicDesign #Puppetry #Podcast Desperate times call for desperate measures. Since Adam and Cam are trapped in their houses for the time being, they're doing some navel-gazing and interviewing each other! So this week's guest is Cameron Garrity, best known for his TEDxBuffalo presentation The Power of Puppetry, his theater pieces surrounding pati…

What does the occult, a talking tongue, and children's television all have in common? This week's guest, James Godwin! Our friend and mentor James is the brilliant mind behind the one-man performances Lunatic Cunning and The Flatiron Hex. He's has worked as a puppet builder and on programs such as The Book of Pooh, Big Big World, Chapelle's Show, O…

In June of 2018, Adam Kreutinger and Cameron Garrity created Puppet Tears, a podcast that explores the expansive world of puppetry arts by talking to some of its most fervent contributors. Listener support through Patreon allows us to keep producing the show, reduce out-of-pocket expenses, and allow Puppet Tears to grow with live events and more. P…

We're closing out 2019 with a very special neighbor... Mister Spencer Lott! Spencer is an accomplished performer, builder, writer, and director best known for his role as Samuel, Julia's brother on Sesame Street. He was the lead puppeteer and builder on the new film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. Spencer talk…

We wanted to share our special from January 2019 where we celebrated Caroll Spinney, who died Sunday at the age of 85. Puppet Tears' very first 'Very Special Special' honors the work of Caroll Spinney, the legendary puppeteer behind Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, who retired in October. This episode compiles video tributes, letters,…

If you've ever tried to buy a puppet online, chances are you've seen the work of this week's guest - Steve Axtell. Steve is a performer, animator, voice artist, inventor, and entrepreneur whose company Axtell Expressions provides professional innovations to help you entertain the world. His creations are used by the likes of Derek Lux, Darci Lynn, …