I’m an aspiring puppeteer – any advice ?

Hi Steve,

I’m an aspiring puppeteer – if you have any advice you feel would be helpful, I’d be really happy to hear it,

…Isaac (Harrison), 16

Hey All,

I get a lot of requests from would-be puppeteers asking if I have any words of advice on things like learning to become a puppeteer, so many requests, in fact that I though it made sense to jot down a general answer to that inquiry here.

I think it’s important to make a distinction between ‘wanting to be a puppeteer’ and ‘wanting to work with the Muppets’.  My only interest in being a puppeteer came as  result of being drawn to what Jim Henson and this team were doing in the mid to late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  I was never especially drawn towards the types of puppetry like marionettes or more traditional ‘Pinch and Judy-style hand puppets, although I was exposed to both as a young kid.  It was the Muppets, and in particular Jim’s early work, that sparked my interest when I was just going into my teenage years.

I said all that to say that I wanted to be a puppeteer doing the style of puppetry Jim Henson was doing with Muppet-like puppets, but I wasn’t especially enamored with the notion of ‘working with the Muppets’ at that time.  I think it’s important to say that because, in all honesty, the chances of someone ending up being a part of the actual “Muppets” these days are extraordinarily slim, somewhere between ‘unlikely’ and ‘impossible’.  But that’s not the same thing as ‘being a puppeteer.  Anyone can do that!

I will also add that having experienced being with and around Jim’s original core team of performers I can say that I would not be drawn to the Muppets today.  They are not the same, no longer novel or cutting edge, and have been allowed to become shallow cliche ridden copies of the characters I knew and loved.  I have no doubt Jim would agree, and am certain it would not be the case had he survived.

For the sake of discussion I will presume that if you are wanting to hear from me on becoming a puppeteer, you likely are interested in Muppet-style puppets, the type that generally fit on your hand and arm with mouths that open and close with the words being spoken by you (the puppeteer).  They have eyes that appear to focus on what they are looking at, and have arms controlled either by rods or glove-like hands that your hands are inside of, etc.  

Also note that the Muppets are designed primarily for television and film, i.e., a screen big or small, so though you can do live puppet theatre with Muppet style puppets you might want to consider the technical setup needed to become an ‘onscreen’ performer of puppets.

But my first piece of advice is to get your hands on a puppet of this type.  There are all sorts of places to purchase good puppets…and bad ones, too.  Just do a Google search.  You can spend hundreds or thousands, and in many cases you will get higher end Muppet-like puppets at a price.  But overall just make sure the puppet’s eyes are looking straight ahead as though the puppet is conscious.  Consciousness is EVERYTHING when it comes to puppetry…read that last part again and again!

If you intend to become proficient working on-camera, you’ll need one – a camera, that is.  And you’ll also need a way to see what the camera is seeing as you manipulate your puppet, i.e., a monitor of some sort.  Many of us have more than one device that can become the monitor for the other’s camera feed.  There are ways to use an iPad as the monitor to see what your iPhone is shooting – again, a Google search.  There are also dongles that will allow you to connect your iPhone camera to a flatscreen TV, so there are budget friendly options.  But the point is that you need to see what the audience will see so it is important to practice with the camera/monitor setup rather than looking into a mirror.

Next, I think it becomes super important to find someone else who shares your interest to work with if you possibly can, another ‘puppeteer’ with their own puppet.  Rehearsing alone in front of your iPhone quickly becomes a rather lonely, often boring, waste of time.  I strongly suggest finding a friend or family member to join in so that the two of you can play off of each other, someone with whom you might already have a rapport and find it easy to have conversations.  It also helps if you stay open to being critiqued by your performance partner.  Leave your ego out of it and learn together.

Also, one of the most enjoyable and useful ways to learn is to lip-synch to a favorite song.  Play the song through speaker so that everyone can hear it and work on the lip-synch until you believe that the puppet on your hand is singing to you as you watch your own performance. 

Resist the urge to move too much.  I always say that the Muppets ‘don’t move without a reason to move’.  Their movements, big or small, are motivate by what they are thinking just as with you or me as humans.  Don’t have them constantly moving just because you can, and yet don’t be afraid to move when it makes sense. Learning this simple lesson is one of the key differences between a believable character and a terrible puppet show. 

When you believe that the puppet on your arm that you are watching on the screen in front of you is alive even when they are nearly still and not speaking, you have mastered the essential first step.

If you are really serious about all of this it isn’t a bad idea to take acting classes with a good acting coach.  Full disclosure: I never did this, and some would say it shows! LOL.  Seriously, I often wish I had because it would have sped up my ability to zero in on depth of character much earlier in my career.

WARNING – none of this means you are ever going to make a living as a puppeteer! You might need a ‘day job’ while your passion for puppetry become a serious hobby, of sorts.  But that goes back to where is was headed before – do you want to be a puppeteer?, or do you want to work at the top of the field?, and if you can’t work with the Muppets do you STILL want to be a puppeteer?  I did, and I would have continued even if I had not met Jim, but there is a good chance I couldn’t have supported myself in puppetry as a career.  Just saying – be realistic, and take care of yourself while you have fun as a creative artist.

Of course this only scratches the surface, but I hope it satisfies as a general answer!

Best.

– Steve