So you want to audition for the Muppets?

[goshposh]

i was at the PofA fest where Disney announced this and they made it very clear that this is like an understudy type deal. the muppeteers are not being replaced. disney wants to make the muppets seen more so if any of the muppeteers cant make an apperance the understudy gets called in. no need to worry no one is getting replaced.

 

[Kynan Barker]

One Muppet, One Voice

I don't want to hijack this thread, so I'll be as brief as I can. I have grave concerns for the future of the Muppets under MHC's plan to hire multiple performers via this auditioning process.

I've posted in detail about it at Tough Pigs here: http://forums.delphiforums.com/toughpigs/messages?msg=8333.1

There's also more information available at www.SaveTheMuppets.com.

I absolutely don't want to dissuade anybody from auditioning -- if this represents a dream come true, then nobody should take that away from you. But I do think that as Muppet supporters we should consider this issue fully from every perspective.

Thanks --

Kynan

 

[theprawncracker]

Hey Kynan, not to sound mean, but just read the post before yours.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Prawncracker. Disney's assurances are not that strong. It starts with understudies, but there are no guarantees that it ends there. The Muppets never required understudies before. Disney can flood the world with Muppets without using alternate performers. They're Disney.

Goshposh said "if any of the Muppeteers can't make an appearance the understudy gets called in. No need to worry no one is getting replaced." So if Steve Whitmire can't make The Tonight Show an understudy gets called in. If a performer is replaceable at all, they're replaceable period. Everyone should at least look at the facts and make up their own minds.

secret squirrel

 

[Kynan Barker]

Hiya Prawncracker --

Yeah, I saw Goshposh's message before I posted. I think it comes down to your definition of the word "understudy". Or more importantly, MHC's definition. But no matter what that definition is, what we're talking about is more than one performer being authorized to perform each Muppet.

It means, even if MHC only hires the absolute best performers, you still won't ever know for sure what you're going to get from any given Muppet appearance. Instead of Dave's Gonzo (or as the rest of the world knows him, "Gonzo"), you could see Jason's Gonzo, Michael's Gonzo, Inigo's Gonzo or Michelle's Gonzo.

Each performer can't help but put his or her own spin on the voice, manipulation and characterization. And each performance -- whether on TV or live in person -- is going to affect how members of the Muppet audience perceive that character.

Think of the risks of putting understudy performers inside the classic Muppets: They could contradict Muppet continuity. They could contradict character traits. They could make an off-color joke. They could even just go stone cold blank mid-show. MHC can't control these factors during a performance any more than Martha Stewart can control Miss Piggy during an interview.

Imagine this scenario: You're a 19-year-old kid with a lifelong dream to work with the Muppets, and whaddya know, you've just passed your final callback audition to understudy Miss Piggy. Eric's in Vancouver shooting a Muppet Halloween special, and MHC needs Piggy to do a Pizza Hut commercial. So you're on set, and you've got the pig up, and a props person hands you a ham and cheese pizza. The line on the autocue says, "Mmm, even the bacon tastes good!" You get a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. "I don't think Piggy would say that," you say, but the director replies, "She says it in the script, so she says it in the take." This is your first shot at playing Miss Piggy, the biggest break of your life so far -- maybe the last chance you'll ever get, and the whole film crew is waiting on you. What do you do?

Do you keep your mouth shut and just hope it turns out okay? Or do you stick to your guns and refuse to do the line, even if it means getting fired? Remembering that if it does cost you the job, that's gonna make the choice much easier for the next understudy in line.

These are all real issues that will come up under the understudy plan. I'm not worried about whether Steve or Eric will lose their jobs. But I am worried about whether the Muppets will lose their souls.

Kynan

 

[OverUnderAround]

Oner good thing about these auditions though is that if any members of Muppet Central forum or Tough Pigs forums actually land a job, they will try to be true to the original soul of the character/muppeteer. And I think that's a great positive for the muppets we love.

Also the history of most Henson Muppet TV interviews are pre-scripted, so the reporters know in advance what to ask and the Muppeteers knew what to answer. The exception to that being Jim, Steve and Frank and Dave. Maybe one or two other performers as well.

(Most reporters wouldn't even know what to ask a Muppet unless it was written for them.)

Off-camera there was always some Henson company rep seeing that things went as scheduled. I would imagine Disney would do like wise in seeing that all interviews with those hired will be pre-scripted as well to protect Disney, the Muppets and their image.

.

 

[Kynan Barker]

"One good thing ... is that if any members of Muppet Central forum or Tough Pigs forums actually land a job, they will try to be true to the original soul of the character/muppeteer. And I think that's a great positive for the muppets we love."

I know what you mean, and I wish I could share your optimism. But loving the characters is so very, very different from actually being capable of stepping into Frank Oz's shoes.

Finding a person with the right skills, talent and temperament to become even a moderately capable Muppet performer is astoundingly difficult. Finding another person who has the right skills, talent and temperament to replace a top-tier Muppet performer is next to impossible.

Eric Jacobson makes it look easy to slide into somebody else's parts. You know how he managed that? Not just by being freakishly talented, but also by working at it for his entire life. And to get the parts he's playing, he had to be better than a whole bunch of other guys who were also freakishly talented and who'd ALSO worked at it their entire lives.

We're talking million to one shots here. But once recasting is under way, do you think MHC will just stop if they can't find a perfect replacement? Of course not. They'll settle for an imperfect replacement. And every compromise at every level is going to take the characters further away from themselves.

Kynan

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Hey, Kynan!

At the same time that I understand what everyone is worried about, I sincerely don't think Disney/MHC would ever compromise the characters or the fans perspectives of the characters because they just laid out a load of money on them. I don't think they'd run off the entire fan-base by dropping Steve or Eric from a production...or from the ranks of Muppetdom altogether.

I don't think understudies are a bad thing. Matt Vogel hasn't replaced Carroll Spinney on Sesame Street, and he's HIS understudy. Also, it would be rather stinky if, again, the Muppets ended up losing a performer and nobody there to voice the character. We're already without anybody to perform Jerry's Muppet characters since he's retired from that. It took YEARS to get someone to perform Frank's characters and get the Muppets back into the swing of entertainment the way they were prior to his retiring (and you know that his voice-over work instead of on-site performing held the Muppets back from their true level of entertainment). Look how long after Jim and Richard leaving us that it took to get voice replacements for that.

Yeah, I'm sort of contradicting myself by saying "replacement" after I just said "they ain't gettin' rid of the originals." Still, the "replacement" that I list for are for those who have actually LEFT by passing away or retiring.

I also don't think the 'stand in performers' will be taking over major spots like interviews, movies, television shows, or commercials. If anything you might see them at mall openings, college dedications, and maybe something as grand as a travelling show--but, even then, if you think to Lion King on Broadway's travelling show, the voices for Timon, Pumba, and Zazu were great, as were the performances of the puppets!

I don't think Disney's gonna let us down on this. I don't think they underestimate the Muppet fan community at all. I don't think Disney is going to put an end to the work of those we've come to know and love all these years for any amount of money. Like you said: They're Disney. We ALL know Disney is money-driven! They aren't going to lose all the money they just spent on the characters by running off the fans.

Least, that's my take on it. And you know I'm not just a casual fan. Love the Muppets, love the original performers...all of that. Besides, there may be some of the original performers there AT the auditions.

 

[a_Mickey_Muppet]

"One good thing ... is that if any members of Muppet Central forum or Tough Pigs forums actually land a job, they will try to be true to the original soul of the character/muppeteer. And I think that's a great positive for the muppets we love."

I know what you mean, and I wish I could share your optimism. But loving the characters is so very, very different from actually being capable of stepping into Frank Oz's shoes.

Finding a person with the right skills, talent and temperament to become even a moderately capable Muppet performer is astoundingly difficult. Finding another person who has the right skills, talent and temperament to replace a top-tier Muppet performer is next to impossible.

Eric Jacobson makes it look easy to slide into somebody else's parts. You know how he managed that? Not just by being freakishly talented, but also by working at it for his entire life. And to get the parts he's playing, he had to be better than a whole bunch of other guys who were also freakishly talented and who'd ALSO worked at it their entire lives.

We're talking million to one shots here. But once recasting is under way, do you think MHC will just stop if they can't find a perfect replacement? Of course not. They'll settle for an imperfect replacement. And every compromise at every level is going to take the characters further away from themselves.

Kynan

I bet that Todd is readding this and is just laughing! Some of you guys just NEED TO STOP here! and that website of your Save The Muppets.com, you know its not gonna work.

 

[goshposh]

i read somewhere that steve was first mentioned as play kermit when jim was still alive to be an understudy for jim! this was because jim was starting to become very busy. so its not like jim would be against this sort of thing. but i'm like a lot of other people and that i dont want the characters to fall in the wrong hands.