Muppets Auditions Sept 2005+

[Fozzie Bear]

Thanks to Sweetums74 (Chris) for posting this information!

The flier can be found here:
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL742/3120815/6345768/107566117.jpg

Advertising will run in Backstage East and Showbiz Weekly in New York on August 25th. Grab these up for your collection if nothing else!

UPDATE: (In order to keep the main information collected together in one spot so it doesn’t become confusing when looking for it amidst the other talk).

Facts as we know them.

For more information call The Muppets Audition Hotline at 407-828-1087. If you don’t get a live person, leave a message and they will call you back. (So far, Todd is the guy we’re hearing back from, super nice guy). Keep in mind when you are calling this number it is a BUSINESS number, don't just hang up, it's someone's office line!! That's bad mojo! Be PROFESSIONAL and courteous. This is a Florida phone number, and is where the remote office is located (on Disney grounds, but you will be working for The Muppets Holding Company, LLC).

Schedule:
Auditions are tentatively scheduled during the fall at Los Angeles, Ca, New York, NY, or Toronto, Canada. Los Angeles looks like it will be around the end of September (26th?), and on September 8 for New York. Toronto will be later. Be sure to prepare for at least 2 days on the trip you will be making to the auditions because the first day will be auditions, the second day will be the call-backs. (If you are over-seas, there will be no auditions held there. My personal opinion is to see if anyone else is interested in coming along and sharing expenses for room, travel, etc.--Kev).

NEW YORK DATE COMPLETED:
Thursday, September 8. Call time 10:00 am, Ripley-Grier Studios 520 8th Ave, 16th Floor. Call backs are on Sept 9.
http://www.newyorkspaces.com/studios/ripley_grier/

Apparently, you have to audition before a mirror with the ping-pong ball eyes, and then lip-synching to a song (so far 'The Candy Man' in NY), and then you move on to monitors. Third level seems to be Muppet Voices. It would appear that they did not allow folks to use their own puppets, only the ping-pong ball eyes.

Kevin Clash, Martin G Baker, and Jane Henson were reportedly at the auditions in NY.

LA DATE COMPLETED:
Friday, September 23. Call time 10:00 am, Screenland Studios 10501 Burbank Blvd. N. Hollywood, CA 91601. Call backs are on Sept 24th.
Screenland Studios (Yahoo Map)
Break out your Thomas Guide or visit the following for directions:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10501...,0.058545&hl=en
Kevin Clash and Martin Baker appeared in LA. Then, there were several Disney/MHC employees as well.

TORONTO AUDITIONS DATE CONFIRMED:
TORONTO AUDITIONS ANNOUNCED:

Monday, November 7, 2005 10 AM
Callbacks: Tuesday, November 8, 2005

LOCATION:
MCC, Limited, 111 Queen Street E, Ste 100, Toronto Canada
(Closest intersection Queen and Church)

Be sure when entering Canada from the US you have all proper documents (ie, government issued identification, birth certificate, passport...more info can be found at www.customs.org).

Also, if you're going to the Toronto auditions and are planning a group dinner after they are completed let me know and I'll post the details here ~Kev.

(This in from Buck-Beaver

If anyone has Toronto questions just post them and I'm sure either myself or someone from the Toronto area can answer them. I'm in Mexico right now but I *think* I remember my way around the city.

BTW, if you are American you could have problems entering Canada for an audition. I don't think that would happen if you are just driving across the border but as Fozzie said bring the proper ID. They can refuse to let you in to the country without it. You need:

1. Driver's license AND Birth Certificate
OR
2. A valid passport

If you're flying you also need to have the name/address of hotel or the place where you will be staying. It's also a good idea to have names/addresses/phone numbers of employers (or schools) in the U.S. where you work or study. If you come via plane or bus buy a return ticket, they may ask to see it.

A good place to stay right in downtown and very close to auditions is Hotel Victoria - it's nice and cheap and clean. I'd also recommend the Primrose Hotel as well, which is even closer. (See this post here for direct hotel links: http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showpost.php?p=331523&postcount=108)

If you need general Toronto information try Toronto.com or the city's official web site.

Bienvenue au Canada!

UPDATE 9/12/05: (From OverUnderAround)

When all the auditions are over, the best from New York, Los Angeles and Toronto will then be invited to a second round of auditions to be held possibly in November at two venues: Los Angeles again and the other one will be at Walt Disney World. (They will decide whom will be seen in which location.) Those dates and venues have not been set yet so it might be subject to change. It will not be open to the public, only to those previously selected, so those dates won't be made public. Don't call back to ask if you made the second audition rounds or not...they will call you!

They are seeking experienced puppeteers with improvisational and vocal skills (including impersonating Classic Muppet Characters). Relocation is not required, however you must be available to travel. Must be at least 18 years old to audition. These are open call auditions, qualified candidates will receive a call-back. You will need a Performance Resume (see below).

If you feel more comfortable bringing a puppet, do so. The first day of auditions will be done with ping-pong ball eyes. Puppets may be available at the call-backs. UPDATE: You may not be allowed to use your own puppets as the NY auditions didn't allow it.

IMPROV:
You might keep some monologue memorized from a Muppets production of some sort, but no need to formally prepare anything because you REALLY need to know the characters' voices/personalities so when you are working off another character, or person, during improvisation you're working with how the character behaves and performs. Be able to just go nearly nuts with the improv situation the way Muppets do!

This will be for occasional Muppet Appearances and may be just one character or a bunch.

Characters they are looking for people to be able to perform are:
Kermit
Piggy
Fozzie
Gonzo
Statler
Waldorf
Dr. Bunson Honeydew
Beaker
Pepe
Animal
They may not be against hearing some other characters, but these are really the ones that the company is casting for.
(From Sesame Street they were asking for Bert, Ernie, Grover, Elmo, and Guy Smiley; by the end of the day Elmo and Guy Smiley were marked off).

Sesame Workshop WILL be along for this audition tour--purposes unknown.

Not officially announced, but things we’re pretty sure about:
~They are NOT looking for puppet builders during this audition.
~May not have to have your own puppet, they are still working out the details there.
~Don’t call with a list of characters you can perform, and don’t do character voices on the phone.
~This includes the Muppet characters listed above which are owned by The Muppets Holding Company, LLC. I’m quite sure this does NOT include Sesame Street characters as those are now owned by Sesame Workshop.

(Thanks also to info collected here from KermieBaby47, ToasterBoy, Blink.)
As more updates become available, I will post them here. This information is subject to change and is not 100% from the words of the company, but information fans have gathered. Todd has been invited to the forums, so hopefully he'll show up and disperse better information.

=========================

PERFORMANCE RESUME

Performance Resume Examples:
Jinx: http://home.mcn.net/~fantom/pages/resume.html
ToasterBoy: http://www.mrgrant.com/resume/

The RESUME (From Bear, ToasterBoy, & Jinx)

CONTACT INFORMATION:
-If you don't have an answering machine or voice mail, get one. If there is no way to leave a message, don't expect them to keep calling you. They will move on.)
-Theater experience (if any)
-Film/Television Experience (if any)
-Voice over (if any)
-Other
-Training (important to include if you have any professional training when auditioning as an actor/performer)
-Special Skills (can really help. List anything. Even if you know how to simply whistle or bark like a dog add it! You'd be surprised)

-Also, if you have worked with one theater company multiple times, make the company a sub category of the theater section. Then list the shows for each company. It is a clean way to organize.

-If you have performed as a live puppeteer, then it would work in the theater category.

I would recomend that you always include the director's name along with theater/production company (which is a good idea if the director is at least somewhat well-known in the industry). They may recognize or know who you have worked with. Networking is often how we get jobs in the business. As far as theater & the like, put it all on there. it's all performance. You can even re-arrange the items depending on the audition. You can put all the puppet stuff up top for a puppet audition, all the theater up top for theater, etc.

A resume should also never be more than one page. It is annoying. They don't want homework. You don't need to put everything you have ever done in your life. Just keep it down to the highlights. the good stuff. If you are 30 years old there is no need to keep high school productions on the resume. Most importantly, as has been stated here before, DO NOT LIE! Don't even stretch the truth. Your body of work is your body of work and you should be proud of it as it is.

A photo is, in the industry, a professional necessity. Snapshots are almost never acceptable, it definitely pays to have a professional photographer do some good headshots. The ol' 8 X 10 black-and-white glossy is the standard here. On mine (printed version) I include my name and contact information printed right on the photo, in case it should get separated from my resume. I usually staple the headshot/resume together, although on some occasions I have printed the resume on the back of the photo itself.

(I may miss thanking someone for helping keep this updated, but your help is always appreciated!)
===========================

For those interested, Propologist has already posted pics up of the 9/24/05 puppeteer dinner: http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=22197

 

[mummytomb]

I would appreciate people in the Los Angeles area disregarding this thread.
It would be better not to stand in my way of achieving this goal. I want this more than any of you.
Thank you.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

HA HA!! I'm safe. You didn't mention the folks coming there from Memphis!!

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Hold the phone...

So Disney is casting more Muppeteers? Does anyone know why they're doing this? I'm going to be starting school on the days they're auditioning in LA, so please don't make it sound too good

 

[OverUnderAround]

Hold the phone...

So Disney is casting more Muppeteers? Does anyone know why they're doing this? I'm going to be starting school on the days they're auditioning in LA, so please don't make it sound too good

Check out the thread:
"So you want to audition for the Muppets"
http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=20926

More overall Muppet fan conversations there based on these auditions.

 

[PaulyPuppets]

UNION GIG or NOT?

Anybody knnow what the union situation is for this gig? Are members of Actors Equity Association or Screen Actors Guild able to audition, or is this a non-union gig? This is a major concern to resolve.

 

[OverUnderAround]

Anybody knnow what the union situation is for this gig? Are members of Actors Equity Association or Screen Actors Guild able to audition, or is this a non-union gig? This is a major concern to resolve.

This is an excellent question...with no real answers yet.
Some have said this is non-union, however part of this job is performing on the Disney Cruise ship, and many cruise ship performers sign Equity contracts. I don't know if this will be the case with this Disney job or not. For other things like photo shoots, I'm sure no union membership would be required.

However all is not known yet about what directions these jobs will take in the future.

Here's a rough guess. One Gonzo is picked (who has no union affliations) to do simple appearances like photo shoots. Another Gonzo (who might be a member of Equity) might be part of the Disney cruise ship show. Again that's just my personal guess.


.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I'm going to hazard a guess and say this is non-union. I don't actually know that, but I don't think that any of Disney's other performers are unionized (outside of film/TV).

 

[PaulyPuppets]

Actually Disney DOES operate under an agreement with Actors Equity Association for their stage shows. As far as Cruise ship work, employment in a non union show does not fall under Equity's jurisdiction because it is out at sea. I remember this from when I worked as a performer on a cruise ship. However, that was 15 years ago, and the rules may have changed.

 

[ScrapsFlippy]

Buck is right as far as MOST Disney puppeteers go. The vast majority are considered to be part of the Character Department, and are not union. I was told by a manager that we (Playhouse Disney - Live On Stage!) weren't union because we "lip-synced" to a prerecorded track.

However, the few puppeteers in the park that perform with their own voices are members of AGVA (American Guild of Variety Artists). This includes (at Disneyland) the guy who plays "Iago" in the Aladdin live show, and used to include "Little Green Man #1" at the (recently discontinued) Buzz Lightyear show.

I'm certain that given the above, the "Muppeteers" they hire will be unionized. If they only wanted to see card carrying members of Equity, SAG, AFTRA or AGVA, they wouldn't have made this an open audition.

-- Scraps