How do I get a job as a Muppeteer?

[Fozzie Bear]

Threads of interest for discussion and consideration:
Save the Muppets
Post announcing it:
http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showpost.php?p=307345&postcount=143
Thread on the topic:
http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=21620

2005 Muppet Auditions
http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=21459

Jerry Nelson Recasts
http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=15452

 

[tinweirdo]

Has anyone heard about the new puppet show on pbs "it's a big big world" from the creator of bear in the big blue house?

 

[ravagefrackle]

Its a bit of a late response, but saying that about Jim is like saying "Anyone playing rock music is just taggin after what Dylan and BB King started!"

Jim influenced the world of puppetry so greatly that his style became a standard.



and in following alf forms of puppetry before creating his own, Jim made an example to emulate by in the sense that he looked at everything before starting his own thing. Just goes to show...

(Hey, better late than never, okeh...)

ok heres a even later response, i was not Bashing what Jim did, i work in that style myself, but i also work in many other styles as well, i think my point was more that for many people the only real understanding they have of Puppetry in general is the "Muppet"style.i think i was just sawing that you should not hang all your hopes on one style of working and that the other styles offer many important skills that a puppet performer needs.,
regardless i didnt bother rereading all of the posts leading up to what i wrote , but i feel i need to clarify my thought.

 

[ravagefrackle]

Has anyone heard about the new puppet show on pbs "it's a big big world" from the creator of bear in the big blue house?

yes i do, i auditioned for it in the fall, didnt get hired but its being done in a simalar way to "BOOK OF POOH", using a amalgam of Bunraku, Hand mouth puppets, and computer generated sets, multiple performers on each puppet, i have only seen the Mock ups (which were amazing), but it looks to be a interesting show at least design wise.(think a cross between "THE SONG OF THE CLOUD FOREST"and "EMMET OTTERS JUG BAND CHRISTAMS", with a touch of "BERA IN THE BIG BLUE HOUSE"

i think it premeries in 2006.they are still filming as far as i know, lots of new and veteran performers on the show.

 

[spcglider]

So, getting in with Henson is a near impossibility. At least, that's what I've gathered in reading this thread.

So my mind heads off in other directions.

What OTHER puppet companies are out there? Are there any prolific companies that hire on a regular basis? I pay attention and I can't manage to name any off-hand.

Anybody got any ideas?

-Gordon

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I would keep an eye out for posts from Buck Beaver (Andrew) or read his blog. He's always updated with TONS of puppetry information!

 

[D'Snowth]

Sadly, one can't make a living solely on puppetry. At least from what I've read in another thread (which I thought was this thread), the Muppeteers get paid as freelancers. I was hoping I could make a living as a muppeteer for Sesame Street, until I heard about their paying. And all this time I thought people who worked for the muppets got paid big money since the muppets are big!!! Oh well, as my mom keeps telling me, I need to have a secondary job choice in case puppetry doesn't work out. That would be animation.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Honestly? Animation doesn't pay all that well, either; and getting the jobs are even tougher because there will ALWAYS be folks wanting to do that job. Same for me and puppetry and cartooning--it will never cease to rend me rejection letters because everybody else wants to do it, too.

Get a good degree (computer programming pays well) and have the other fun stuff as a second job to fall into...if it takes off then go with it!

 

[ravagefrackle]

So, getting in with Henson is a near impossibility. At least, that's what I've gathered in reading this thread.

So my mind heads off in other directions.

What OTHER puppet companies are out there? Are there any prolific companies that hire on a regular basis? I pay attention and I can't manage to name any off-hand.

Anybody got any ideas?

-Gordon

why not look at the P of A website, puppeteers.org,
or Unima,
their are lots of smaller puppet companies out thier working in theaters,schools, and doing private parties,

getting a job thier is not "impossible", but it is increasingly more difficult, you need to be aware of the many changes that have happened in the company the last few years, they simply do not do as much as they used to, they have a small staff of people in NYC, and before they start hiring new people who may need training to do things the way they do them, they will most likey try to hire folks who have all ready been thier before ,that can jump right into a job and get it done with little supervision,

thier are at least 15 people in the NYc area who have worked thier in the last 10 years who get called back on occasion to work on a small project here or thier.

getting a full time staff position is even rarer ,even if you were to land a gig thier it would not guarentee you a fulltime job for life, most likely it would be on a per project basis, and you would then need to look to find a new postion or job somewhere else, Freelance puppet building is in no way a easy way to make a living.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Yah, puppetry as a primary means of support is pretty unconventional. I have a friend who actually does make a living performing private birthdays and working for a theatre, but it seems pretty rough (though exciting!). I'm focusing on graphic design and theatre in college because both have common elements of puppetry in them so I still hold onto my dream, I just expand it. I'm getting to have a broader understanding of what puppetry means, and getting into some animation as well.

It almost makes puppetry more special and almost sacred, thinking of it as something to do after work in the future. My secret hope is to work in an environment with people of similar interests in art and theatre and then invite them to the world of puppetry and start something that way.

That's one route.