So you want to audition for the Muppets?

[Fozzie Bear]

...We can't assume the worst of this, but we also can't assume the best.

That's what I love about my ol' pal Kynan! He's not necessarily 100% one-sided as he's willing to look at things from different perspectives while still arguing his position on all this. Rock on!

 

[Blink]

I don't think we can assume, based on the available information, that MHC is only planning to cast one understudy per character. If that were the case, wouldn't they want the successful auditionees to relocate? Having a guy on standby to play Pepe at a moment's notice when Bill isn't around, becomes a lot less convenient if that guy is living in Toronto.

The idea that MHC would fly their one new Kermit understudy around the country for one or two appearances a month just doesn't make economic sense. And if there's one thing we can assume MHC is trying to do, it's make economic sense.

Kynan,

You are 100% correct. I spoke with Todd last month and I was the one who got the list of muppet charcters that are being looked for. What I didn't post about was that during my conversation with Todd he said that there would most likely be about 3 understudies per character.

My two cents is that Disney is looking to get the Muppets brand out to a wider demographic/and with more visibility. When you think about it, it makes a lot of good business sense (realize that I said "business sense"). I am not condoning the ethics of Disney focusing on the brand rather than the characters.

And I must say that there is a lot of logic and excellent points in what Kynan is saying.

However, I must also say that as a puppeteer I am more than excited about having the chance to audition to be a Muppeteer (after all that is what people will be doing). I know that the great many people who will be at the auditions will have a deep love and respect for the Muppet characters and will carry that with them if they are actually cast.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I don't think I can call myself a Muppeteer if I were to do that, though. At least, not without putting "Occasional" in front of it first, and even then it wouldn't sound right. Those guys we all know and love are the true Muppeteers.

I would have to give myself the following title: "Puppeteer for Muppets Holding Company, LLC, Who Gets To Play With Really Cool Puppets"

If Todd sees this, though, be sure we get to play with Penguins!

 

[Blink]

I don't think I can call myself a Muppeteer if I were to do that, though. At least, not without putting "Occasional" in front of it first, and even then it wouldn't sound right. Those guys we all know and love are the true Muppeteers.

I would have to give myself the following title: "Puppeteer for Muppets Holding Company, LLC, Who Gets To Play With Really Cool Puppets"

If Todd sees this, though, be sure we get to play with Penguins!

Good point.

I guess you would have to find out what the actual title would be. Even if I had the word "Occasional" in front it that would be very cool.

 

[orionlukteel]

Whew - managed to read each and every post! All I can say is best wishes to everyone who goes!

I'm about 4 hours from LA, and even though I do a killer Kermit, Waldorf, Stadler, Pepe, Animal, Dr. Teeth, and Rowlf, my puppeteering is limited to child care.

I do just want to pass on a note from Dave Goelz that he sent in response to my awkwardly written letter back in 1993:

"Just DO it - take every opportunity you can to work on your puppeteering. I was with the Muppets for xx years before I started to feel comfortable!"

Sorry, don't remember the number of years, I don't have the note sitting in front of me but the rest of the note was VERY encouraging and he gave me contact info for job opportunities there. Didn't ever sound to me like someone who was worried about having understudies!

Best of luck to all of you. Who knows, I might join ya, but I just don't have the hands...

 

[Kynan Barker]

Kynan, I notice [you're] in Australia... Here's a question no one has asked you. If you were here in the USA...would you audition? Such a Muppet fan as yourself should audition.

No, OverUnderAround, I wouldn't audition. First and foremost because I know that being a Muppet fan, in itself, isn't enough. Being able to do a "pretty good Pepe" isn't enough.

Have I had professional puppeteer experience? Yes I have.
Have I had professional acting and improvisational experience? Yes I have.
Have I spent 20 years watching the Muppets, learning and absorbing everything I can? Yes I have.
Have I always harbored a little daydream that one day I might answer the door and be asked to sing backup for the Mayhem? Well...what the heck, I'm among friends here...Yes I have.
But do I think that's enough to earn me a place as a Muppeteer? No, sir, I don't.

I can't speak for everyone here, and I've repeatedly said that I don't want to discourage anyone from auditioning. You're right, OUA, the Muppets need people with heart and commitment to preserve their spirit. But personally, I would audition only under very specific circumstances.

(i) I'd want to know that the established Muppet performers had been consulted and were in full support of the casting process.
(ii) I'd want to know that training and support would be provided to ensure that each new puppeteer was fully prepared for the rigors of public performance.
(iii) I'd want a guarantee that I would only be understudying my character in instances when the originating performer has been asked to perform, but was physically unable to do so.
(iv) I'd want to know that (while the original performer would have final veto) as a custodian of the Muppet characters, I would have the ability to protect their integrity where I see fit. In other words, as Miss Piggy's understudy, I'd want to be able to say, "Miss Piggy wouldn't do that," without getting replaced by someone less difficult to work with.

And finally...

(v) I'd want to be really seriously fully prepared, personally and professionally, for a huge and instant onslaught of criticism from the rest of the fan community. 'Cause we Muppet supporters can be really very mean.

Thanks for asking, OverUnderAround.

 

[Kynan Barker]

Kynan, you are 100% correct. I spoke with Todd last month and I was the one who got the list of muppet charcters that are being looked for. What I didn't post about was that during my conversation with Todd he said that there would most likely be about 3 understudies per character.

Thanks for posting this, Blink. Does this change anybody's perceptions of the auditions, I wonder?

Three understudies per character means four separate versions of Gonzo, all claiming to be the "real" Gonzo.

I know that the great many people who will be at the auditions will have a deep love and respect for the Muppet characters and will carry that with them if they are actually cast.

I don't doubt for a second that all the successful auditionees will take their positions extremely seriously. My concern isn't that the characters will end up in incompetent or uncaring hands. My concern is that the characters will end up in multiple, competing hands. And that's going to happen no matter who passes these auditions.

 

[OverUnderAround]

I agree with your guidelines Kynan.
Maybe you should put them on your site as a sample of how things should be.

I would just add one thing to your guidelines, like one understudy per puppeteer.

.

 

[Kynan Barker]

"Guidelines" isn't quite what I had in mind, OUA. Those are just the requirements I'd want satisfied in my own mind before I personally went to audition. (The ultimate requirement would be that I'd have to actually sincerely want to be a Muppet performer. And right now, I've got myself a pretty happy career not being one.)

I would just add one thing to your guidelines, like one understudy per puppeteer.

Well, as Blink has just posted, that one looks like it's already gone out the window. I would be interested to see what information Todd can provide on my other questions though.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

If you were here in the USA...would you audition? Such a Muppet fan as your self should audition. C'mon! We need folks as your self to audition to preserve the true Muppet spirit.

OverUnder. I'm not auditioning either. It's true that to be a performer takes a certain amount of self-confidence and ego. But to me, it's the height of arrogance to think that one can simply pick up a Muppet and become one of those characters.

It seems the current generation of understudies has made it appear like anyone can do it. But the fact that David Rudman can play Cookie Monster doesn't mean anyone can. It isn't just luck that earned Steve, David, Eric etc their positions. Talent, hard work, dedication. An unbelievable amount of all of those things. Combined in just the right way. In just the right people.

In my view, it's an insult to their work to cite those guys as justification for open-slather cattle-call casting.

secret squirrel