Has anyone else ever wondered this?

[Rugby]

I always daydream from time to time about getting a job with the Jim Henson Company, and then I start to wonder. If I did get a job with them, would I make a decent living? Having a family, you can't just run off to LA in the hopes of being hired and then hoping you will still be able to provide for your family.

I know it's probably not about the paycheck for most people working on the artistic side at JHC, but I wonder how much a performer takes home in a year? I'm sure it depends on how visible you are. I wonder how much the big boys make and how much a background/stand in performer makes. And what about the muppet workshop puppet builders? Do they take home a healthy paycheck? Does anybody have any idea?

Can you work for JHC on the artistic side of things and not live near the studios and/or workshops? I thought I heard Dave Goelz lived in LA, but would fly to New York when needed.

I was thinking about the closing of the New York workshop and that must have been heartbreaking to have had a job with JHC and then lost it. Ugh. I really do need to send a tape in though.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Rick Lyon has an excellent page here for aspiring television puppeteers that you really should read.

What you need to know to do this is that you have to be a) very, very good and b) you will not have a full-time job, especially these days. All of the Muppet performers work on contract, and then only when they are needed. It generally takes 5 - 10 years of background work to graduate to speaking roles on "Sesame" or something like that. There are notable exceptions, but most people agree they are very few and far between.

I don't want to sound discouraging, but these are the facts of this business (and it is a business). It's not that you shouldn't go for your dream, it's that the sooner you know the reality of what you want to do, the sooner you can get ahead.

As for money, check out one of Rick Lyon's residual cheques from "Bear in the Big Blue House"

If you're really serious I'd recommend a lot of practice and looking in to the program at the University of Connecticut. They have an excellent puppetry program there and many of their alumni work on Sesame Street.

There are a lot of people who make all or most of their living in puppetry. There are only a small handful of people who make a living doing just TV/film puppetry and only small fraction of those are Henson regulars. JHC will be the first people to tell you that there are lots of ways to work in puppetry without working for them.

I'm living proof you can make a living (although not always a good living) at puppetry. There are other people on the board who make their living with puppets too, even though they don't work for Henson. I've been extremely blessed in that I've more or less made my living as a professional puppeteer since I was 18 (I'm 26 now). I originally wanted to do TV work, but fell in to theatre where the opportunities are (a little) more plentiful. I still love film/video work, but if I relied on that for money I would have starved or quit years ago.

As for location, you can probably live anywhere but travel is usually a fact of life in the entertainment business. I've worked literally around the world because I had to...there just isn't usually enough puppetry jobs/opportunities available in one place. If you're really, really serious about making a living in TV/film puppetry at some point you have to consider moving to New York or LA. That's where most of the work is. It also helps if you have an additional skill set (like puppet or prop construction, or something unrelated) to fall back on when there is not much work. Even the best puppeteers usually do more than just puppeteer to pay the bills.

Check out the sites of some professional TV puppeteers to get an idea of how they make a living (read their credits) and what their backgrounds/other skills are:

- Mike Quinn
- Karen Prell
- Jani Lauzon
- Jim Boulden (Animal Makers)
- Pat Brymer

I hope this helps!

 

[Rugby]

At 34 years old and having a wife, 2 kids with a 3rd on the way, and a house payment, there is no way I can become a starving artist or quit my job and go to school or even think of moving without a solid job on the other side. People always tell me I should work in the entertainment industry, mostly for the way I can make people laugh with my theatrical over the top humor. I'd be the kind of guy that would be discovered on the street for natural ability. That's the only way I'll ever get into the industry. Maybe puppetry isn't the right field for me. I really feel I don't need schooling for something I feel I already do quite well. I just want to do puppets and be me, not somebody someone else tells me I should be. Oh well. As Rupert Boneham once said, "So much for my dreams."

 

[Buck-Beaver]

At 34 years old and having a wife, 2 kids with a 3rd on the way, and a house payment, there is no way I can become a starving artist or quit my job and go to school or even think of moving without a solid job on the other side...I really feel I don't need schooling for something I feel I already do quite well. I just want to do puppets and be me, not somebody someone else tells me I should be. Oh well. As Rupert Boneham once said, "So much for my dreams."

Like I said, I didn't mean to sound too discouraging, but I wanted to give you an idea of what most people who work in this field have to do. I don't think professional success in puppetry is impossible for anyone, but it does take a lot of work.

 

[Rugby]

Thanks for the advice, Buck. I didn't mean to come off the way I did. You're just telling me the way it is. It's just not a reality for me is all. It's kind of depressing when I think about it, considering what I do for a living now. Sheetmetal. Woohoo. The pay is the only thing keeping me at it. Can't feed a family puppet soup and I know you sure can't live in a puppet. At least I don't think. Hey, now there's an idea!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

You can always do puppetry on the side though. I have a friend who's a professional puppeteer in upstate NY (he's done shows on TLC) but rarely works in TV so his day job is working as an engineer at a Paper Mill and he does live shows and the occasional TV thing on the side because he's married, has a house to pay for, etc.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Thanks for the advice, Buck. I didn't mean to come off the way I did. You're just telling me the way it is. It's just not a reality for me is all. It's kind of depressing when I think about it, considering what I do for a living now. Sheetmetal. Woohoo. The pay is the only thing keeping me at it. Can't feed a family puppet soup and I know you sure can't live in a puppet. At least I don't think. Hey, now there's an idea!

Hey, keep working toward your dream! Your dream might even improve. I know I'm only 18 right now and don't have to worry much about a family yet, but for the past five years I had to work at a gravestone production company and I thought I would NEVER get a break. Last year I had the fortune of working at a church building puppets and performing them for a month, while I went to my "graveyard shift" on the weekends. I got the break through meeting someone's mother at my high school who worked in childrens' ministries. So for me, meeting people and keeping in touch with them made me feel very successful and fulfilled part of my dream. So even though I wasn't working full time in puppetry, the time I did spend in it kept me going and gave me a credit toward my dream.

So look back on all the seemingly little things you've done -- just think of how far you've come, and keep working toward the future with that backing you up. I've found a lot of satisfaction that way, and I'm not telling you to change your dream to something lesser than what it could be, I'm just saying don't forget that little things add up and can be a fulfilling part of your dream too. "I believe in little things..."

I feel like a fortune cookie.

Good luck and keep working toward your dream!

 

[fishbone]

wow

man...that's deep doo dee doo...i'm always looking for gigs all the time everywhere...diff states , countries..last year i slacked off a bit...04 is my year...stay hungry man..theres no such thing as can't....i try to go where the gigs are,it's kinda hard in cali w/ no car,but i get by..i have no family to feed,so it's easier for me,but don't give up....

 

[doctort13]

Do It Yourself

I am like Rugby, married, 39 years old, mortgage + many other bills, and planning to start a family this year.

However, I have a very strong DiY (do it yourself) attituite towards my creative projects. I got back into puppets in 2001, I hadn't done anything since 1977! I started drawing designs, joined my local guild, joined Puppeteers of America, and slowly started building puppets. Last year I produced a fund raiser puppet slam for our puppetry guild, and SOLD OUT the theatre. I even got LAUGHS from the audience when I performed. I am now learning digital video production at the public access TV studio (FREE classes!!!) and plan to make my own puppet TV show this year. It's not JHC, it's better! My show is built, written, and performed by ME! Will I be the next Jim Henson, probably not. I am happy being me.

No, I am not making any money by performing with puppets. I work a ****** retail job that I detest. BUT I am keeping my imagination alive by doing something that I love.

So hang in there Rugby, maybe working for Henson isn't in your cards. But you are still young, and have the desire to perform.

Good luck!

 

[ScrapsFlippy]

Dude, don't lose heart.

A couple of things for you to keep in mind - first, if puppetry is something you feel passionate about, do it. It doesn't really matter the geography of your situation. Ply the trade. And by all means, put together an audition tape. There's no harm in doing it, and if relocation and turning your life upside down to accept an offer follows . . . well, just cross that bridge when you come to it.

Second, you say you do sheet metal. Well, awesome! It's entirely conceivable that you could combine what you do for a living with your love of puppetry. The first thing that comes to mind is the design and fabrication of specialty puppets. Over at Disneyland we have these killer rod puppets built by a company in Nashville, TN. Believe me, someone who could put together air ducts or what have you could build puppets like this.

So there is always hope. You just have to create your own opportunities. (Like another chap from Minnesota - Joel Hodgson - who cobbled together a few puppets from thrift store junk and wound up with a Peabody Award winning cable show.)

-- Scraps