Couple of questions for Muppeteers

[jeffkjoe]

Any Muppeteers out there?

Here are a couple questions that struck me while watching TMS: S1:


1) What kind of endurance levels does one have to keep their hands above their heads for such large amounts of time?

I recently was watching the Grover skit from 1970 where he sings "Over, Around, and Through" and THAT was a 3-4 minute song done in one take.

How did Frank Oz do that??? His arm muscles must have been burning. What kind of exercises or methods do you have to alleviate the pain?

2) Also, this may sound strange, but what if a Muppeteer has an itch or a sneeze in the middle of a take? I mean, you can't stop what you're doing, otherwise you'll blow the take.


Man, hats off to Muppeteers. It looks easy, but I'm sure it ain't.

 

[Gonzo14]

I've wondered that myself

 

[muppetsforever]

Man, hats off to Muppeteers. It looks easy, but I'm sure it ain't.

i totally agree. i have a heck of a time keeping my arms over my head when i curl my hair

 

[Skekayuk]

If you don't have a copy, go and borrow the book 'Tooth And Claw The Inside Story Of Spitting Image' from the library, and read Pages 40 and 41. - it had a very brief overview of how Spitting Image originally coped with the problem.

 

[Punch'n'Judy]

It's important to remember that the Spitting Image puppets were very heavy. Much heavier than the majority of Muppets.

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

I wonder how they did it myself.
When I was attending the puppetry for film and television workshop in sydney we all got into some pretty uncomfortable positions and held our hands up for a while but nothing compared to what real television puppeteers have to go through. We started every session with hand and arm exercises and a basic warm up, I guess it helped a bit.
When we were making the puppets I wondered why it would matter about weight, surely it wouldnt make that much difference, I now know why its best to have the lightest possible puppet!

 

[OverUnderAround]

Any Muppeteers out there?

Here are a couple questions that struck me while watching TMS: S1:


1) What kind of endurance levels does one have to keep their hands above their heads for such large amounts of time?

I recently was watching the Grover skit from 1970 where he sings "Over, Around, and Through" and THAT was a 3-4 minute song done in one take.

How did Frank Oz do that??? His arm muscles must have been burning. What kind of exercises or methods do you have to alleviate the pain?

2) Also, this may sound strange, but what if a Muppeteer has an itch or a sneeze in the middle of a take? I mean, you can't stop what you're doing, otherwise you'll blow the take.


Man, hats off to Muppeteers. It looks easy, but I'm sure it ain't.

As you learn the art, you build up a tolerance to keeping your arm up over your head. I think in a typical 8-hour workday, you would probably have your hand up over you head about 6 hours, depending on the scene. I know of no excercises to relieve such pain, but one tries not to sleep on the shoulder you had up all day... It really smarts in the morning.

As for question 2, well if you blow a take, that's life. A good director will understand.

.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Not a Muppeteer, but I'll help

1) What kind of endurance levels does one have to keep their hands above their heads for such large amounts of time?

2) Also, this may sound strange, but what if a Muppeteer has an itch or a sneeze in the middle of a take? I mean, you can't stop what you're doing, otherwise you'll blow the take.

Jeff.

1) It burns. It can be brutal, but that's the job. Most shots, though, only last two to three minutes. Seven minutes is generally accepted as the upper limit for any single take, but I recently saw a stage puppeteer do a fifteen-minute stand-up comedy set in a crouching position (no kneepads) which was impressive.

Some of the original performers have started to notice back or shoulder problems over time. I don't know of any specific exercises but it's a good idea to see a physiotherapist once in a while.

2) It's like any acting gig. You train yourself not to be distracted, but if you have to sneeze, you have to sneeze.

secret squirrel

 

[minor muppetz]

2) Also, this may sound strange, but what if a Muppeteer has an itch or a sneeze in the middle of a take? I mean, you can't stop what you're doing, otherwise you'll blow the take.

According to one of the muppet morsels, Dave Goelz didn't like performing two characters at the same time because his nose often itched.

 

[Beauregard]

If a regular life actor has a sneeze or an itch, what do they do? It's just the same for the Mupeteers. Or else, (As I've heard peopel do), you make the pupept seeze and it just makes the take funnier. "Over, under and, and, Archooo! Sorry about that. Through."