HeartFelt

If you're already a puppeteer, or even aspiring to be a puppeteer, you have to see this wonderful short film by Ryan Sargent. The accuracy and relatability of this story hits so close to home that, of course, only those whose passion is in puppetry can truly comprehend and appreciate this.

My Unfinished Thoughts on Sid & Marty Krofft

I often write about Jim Henson and/or his work with the Muppets, or other projects of his from on this blog - but can I help it? The man is my biggest hero; he's one of the reasons I was inspired to become a puppeteer. That isn't to say that he's my only inspirational hero, though. There have been other noteworthy puppeteers whose influence has rubbed off on me - such as ventriloquist Shari Lewis: that's such an amazing skill, and a tough one to master at that. But perhaps the ones who have been a significant amount of inspiration on me are the ones who practically owned Saturday Morning TV in the 70s and 80s with their psychedelic worlds of strangers in strange lands befriending all sorts of wacky foam rubber creatures, while always thwarting off some outlandish villain in heavy make-up.

I am referring, of course, to Sid & Marty Krofft.

Walt Disney always said to put your name on top of what
you produce.

As much as I admire Jim Henson for what he's done with the art of puppetry, I admire the Kroffts for not only that, but also for their consistent and protective business practises as well (well . . . evidently, Marty is the one with a knack for business; Sid, not so much): as independent producers who worked tirelessly to keep their enterprise afloat with meager budgets that didn't even begin to cover the costs for their lavish sets and life-sized foam rubber creatures, the Kroffts are really the poster boys for artistic entrepreneurs. Taking advice from Walt Disney himself, the Kroffts never sold out to bigger conglomerate corporations (lookin' at you, Jim Henson Company), never sold off their intellectual properties (still lookin' at you, Henson Company), and managed to hold onto everything they ever created over their decades-spanning careers (my eyes haven't left, JHC). This is why the Kroffts are among my biggest heroes: they're savvy enough to make sure that nobody out there takes anything away from them, and remain very protective of what they've created . . . something that Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and Janice Karman learned the hard way after they sold the Alvin and The Chipmunks franchise to Universal Studios in the 90s. While much of what I've done to craft my puppetry comes from Henson, much of my business sense (or, what little sense I've been able to make of business) most definitely comes from Krofft - whatever I create, I intend to hold onto for dear life.

With dozens of shows, a number of specials, and even an odd number of movies under their belts, the Kroffts were recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Daytime Emmy's this year!

If you can believe it, Sid & Marty Krofft are back in action! Just when you think they'd be spending time kicking back, relaxing, and enjoying the fruits of their labor from years past (Marty has said if you retire, and stay home watching daytime television, you'd be dead within a month), the Kroffts have brought in a surge of new projects, from their successful preschool series on Nick Jr. MUTT & STUFF, to digital reboots of SIGMUND AND THE SEAMONSTERS and ELECTRAWOMAN & DYNAGIRL, the Kroffts are certainly beginning to leave a mark on a new generations of fans to enjoy!

Not just ElectraWoman & DynaGirl . . . this is ElectraWoman & DynaGirl -
ON STEROIDS!

Granted, I haven't seen much of their new work - aside from seeing a number of episodes of MUTT & STUFF on Nick Jr., their reboots of SIGMUND AND THE SEAMONSTERS and ELECTRAWOMAN & DYNAGIRL are on platforms I don't have access to, so all I've been able to see of these are online clips, trailers, promos, and what have you. From what I've seen, it's absolutely amazing to see what the Kroffts can do when they actually have budgets to work with! If you know your Krofft history like I do, their shows from the 70s were almost always over budgeted . . . I don't think networks realize that puppetry is not an inexpensive art form - and while the networks would budget the Kroffts' shows for a few thousand dollars, it actually took a few million to create their expansive puppets, costumes, sets, props, and everything else. This time, however, that doesn't appear to be the case. In fact, looking at examples of the Kroffts' recent outings, the difference is quite startling: the production values look almost cinematic, and the puppets and suits almost look like something you would except to see from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. It's almost as if the Kroffts broke free from the confines of limitations and stomped them into the ground.

A magical world of flat, cardboard scenery

With that being said however, I'm also sensing a feeling that what the Kroffts are gaining in budgets and advances in technology, they're losing in charm. Both Sid and Marty have joked that back in the day, the networks would see how much they could produce for as little money as possible, and as a result, if there's one thing that their previous shows are known for is their campiness: through all the limitations the Kroffts had to work through, we got show after show after show after show with sets looking like they were made out of painted cardboard; stiff-looking characters with mouths that didn't necessarily hit each syllable properly, or large googly eyes that had no focus; not to mention the primitive, low-quality video tape recording. Nevertheless, the World of Sid & Marty Krofft was something people hadn't ever seen before, so it can definitely be argued that it was those limitations, small budgets, and campiness that gave Krofft shows their charm - because what they lacked in financial stability, they made up for with adventurous stories, engaging plots, unique premises, and wacky, yet lovable characters.

This isn't unlike what I wrote about a few years ago, about how puppets are now being built so perfectly and flawlessly that they're actually becoming cold and artificial in the process.

But to reiterate, one of the main reasons for the Kroffts' campy look of the 70s and even into the 80s was meager budgets handed out by the networks. Now that we're seeing what the Kroffts can do when they have actual budgets to work with, who knows? Perhaps if they had this kind of financial backing way back when, this could be what Krofft shows were meant to look like all along. As I said, there's certainly a very grand, cinematic scope to their current work that was lacking from their older work (with, perhaps, H.R. PUFNSTUF being an exception, considering it was shot on film as opposed to video tape). Clearly, these aren't the Krofft shows of previous generations . . . but again, the Kroffts are garnering all new generations of fans now that they're back in action, and it's wonderful to see they're still going strong after nearly six decades of psychedelic and magical adventures in puppetry and live action; who knows where all this may lead them in years to come?

And again, after those six decades of Krofft magic, they more than deserved their Lifetime Achievement Award!

Fantasy: Niche Puppetry Channel

I certainly would watch, wouldn't you?

Remember the old days of cable, when niche channels catered to a specific demographic? Like how MTV used to be all about music videos and other music programs? When Cartoon Network used to be all about animation? How about when A&E used to show informative and educational programs? Or when TV Land used to be the ultimate home for television classics of yesteryears? Or when Animal Planet used to have programs about animals? Heck, even the Weather Channel used to be about weather!

No matter what the interest, demographic, or community, there used to be (and in some cases, still are) niche channels catering to those specifics, but if there's one thing that never really got to experience that was puppetry. I suppose, in a sense, having such a channel might seem senseless: not only is puppetry an underrated art form that most people tend to overlook, but a majority of puppet shows on TV have been preschool shows, and there's been niche preschool channels throughout the years (Noggin, Sprout, PBS Kids, etc.). But a lot of people tend to forget there's been puppet shows for other audiences and demographics out there, and not only that, there's been a lot of puppet shows that are all but forgotten in this day and age.

I doubt we would ever see such a niche channel for puppetry, but it's something nice to think about. I can even figure out what a decent schedule would be like:

- Early Morning (6am - 10am): Sid & Marty Krofft shows. These guys dominated Saturday Morning back in the 70s and 80s, so it seems only fitting that this slot in the schedule be home to such fare as H.R. PUFNSTUF, THE BUGALOOS, LIDSVILLE, SIGMUND AND THE SEA MONSTERS, LAND OF THE LOST, THE LOST SAUCER, FAR OUT SPACE NUTS, and their latest contribution: MUTT & STUFF.

- Daytime (10am - 5pm): Those "preschool" shows I was talking about. Any of those shows you can imagine, they could fall into this slot. SESAME STREET, BARNEY & FRIENDS, TELETUBBIES, WIMZIE'S HOUSE, BETWEEN THE LIONS, MUPPET BABIES, ALLEGRA'S WINDOW, JACK'S BIG MUSIC SHOW, BEAR IN THE BIG BLUE HOUSE, THEODORE TUGBOAT, LAMB CHOP'S PLAY-ALONG, THE CHARLIE HORSE MUSIC PIZZA, JOHNNY AND THE SPRITES, ANIMAL JAM, and those are just to name a few.

- Evening (5pm - 8pm): Family shows. These are the shows that have broad audience appeal, such as THE MUPPET SHOW, MUPPETS TONIGHT!, FRAGGLE ROCK, THE GREAT SPACE COASTER, COUSIN SKEETER, and again, just to name a few.

- Primetime (8pm - 11pm): One thing about niche channels is they always brought us original programming that you couldn't find anywhere else - Nickelodeon gave us Nicktoons, Cartoon Network gave us Cartoon Cartoons. This slot would be perfect for all-new original programming: just imagine if Tim Kelly's Zook and Max had their own half-hour show, or if Kevin L. Williams's Muley the Mule and his cohorts had their own show, or if relatively newer acts such as A Company of Fools or The Creatures of Yes had their own shows. This would be perfect for them.









- Latenight (11pm - 2am): The adult shows. CRANK YANKERS would probably fit at home here, but so could televised broadcast of puppet improv showcases, such as the Jim Henson Company's PUPPET UP!, and other similar fare.

- Dear Air (2am - 6am): I could easily see this being reserved for obscurities. Probably a lot of these syndicated Christian puppet shows you used to see on local channels. But certainly, rarities that time has forgotten, such as that Mr. Potato Head show from Fox Kids, and perhaps this slot could conclude with some of the Kroffts' lesser-known shows like PRYOR'S PLACE and D.C. FOLLIES.

And that would be the Monday through Friday weekday schedule . . . I could see the weekend schedule showcasing Muppet movies, individual standalone specials from any of the above mentioned shows, short independent films, and the like.

Now that would be some good TV.

Even Nick Park Gets It

Quite some time back, I wrote an entry about how sometimes the more flawless and pristine you can make puppets look, the more artificial they appear. As I mentioned, there's a certain warmth and edge in whatever imperfections you may see in puppets (seams, arm rods, pilly fleece, among others) that somehow makes them seem more real and believable; thoughts on the matter seem to differ among puppetry aficionados.

Interestingly enough, this doesn't just apply to puppetry, but also animation as well. Nick Park, the creator of the lovable plasticine duo Wallace & Gromit, and other animators at Aardman Animation, share the exact same mindset, that it's the imperfections that give the characters their warmth and realness - hence why whenever you watch any of the Wallace & Gromit films (or, really, any of Aardman's work), you often see the fingerprints and thumbprints on the characters. For Nick Park, it also goes beyond just a sense of warmth for the characters, but he also feels this is a way of showing a little bit of the artist themselves in their art. I don't even know if the layperson would even understand that, but I definitely think I do: as long as I've been watching and observing anything Muppets for almost all of my life, I can kind of see a little bit of Don Sahlin in the puppets he's built, or Kermit Love, or Caroly Wilcox, or Ed Christie.

To get a better understanding of what I mean, here's a collection of WALLACE & GROMIT'S CRACKING CONTRAPTIONS shorts, as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette, in which you can hear Nick Park and his fellow Aardman artists discuss this very thing (starting at the 20:14 mark):

The Renaissance Age of Puppetry *VIDEO EXTENSIVE*

This is something I've mentioned in passing before, but recently felt more compelled to write about it in greater detail. If you're familiar with TV Tropes (a site that has gone horribly downhill in terms of moderation and overall management), you're aware of a trope known as the Renaissance Age of Animation: this describes the period from the 80s up till the Turn of the Millennium, when the animation industry, in general, seemed to be in a real boom, from feature films (Don Bluth departing from Disney, the genesis of Pixar) to TV series (the Spielberg-produced toons, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, etc), and seemed to bring the medium out from its Dark Age (from the 50s and up till the 80s, when limited animation was the set standard). In comparison to this Renaissance Age of Animation, I've often felt that we've recently had a similar age with puppetry. As mentioned, one of the defining factors for the Renaissance Age of Animation was cable: granted, cable wasn't exactly new at the time, but it was really booming, and with niche channels aimed specifically at kids and animation buffs, we saw a string of really creative and imaginative new animated series that defined a generation - whether it was Nickelodeon juggernauts RUGRATS or HEY ARNOLD! to Cartoon Network smashes like DEXTER'S LABORATORY or THE POWERPUFF GIRLS - these shows really set new standards in television animation. Looking at that as a model, I would have to say that one of the main reasons I feel we've had a Renaissance Age of Puppetry is because of the internet: more specifically, YouTube. When YouTube first emerged in the mid-to-late 2000s, its sole purpose was to offer creators a virtual platform to showcase their original videographic work with the rest of the world (no, really, it was . . . and we ruined it, but that's another discussion for another day), and plenty of people turned to it for that very reason, including puppeteers of varying degrees of experience.

 

I began producing and uploading Steve D'Monster videos in 2007, though there were others already utilizing YouTube to showcase their puppetry before then; most notably, Kevin L. Williams's Muley the Mule, and Tim Kelly's Zook and Max. For both of these talented individuals, their respective creations had existed years prior to their YouTube debuts, both in illustrated and foam rubber form; Kevin and Tim are cartoonists and puppeteers, and Muley, Zook, and Max have appeared in comics and in puppet forms.

 

Not to mention around the same time, there was also TRANSYLVANIA TELEVISION, an adult-oriented horror-sendup comedy with surprisingly impressive production values that was also really popular at the time, with such characters as Furry Ackermonster, Dwayne Frankenstein, and Batfink.

 

And there was also Julio Robles's dysfunctional little troupe that make up the gang of ScrapsTV, which I always thought of as a puppet version of a tribute band, anchored by the likes of Freddy J. Frog and Kodiak T. Bear.

 

Around the time I began regularly producing and uploading Steve entries for YouTube, other puppet acts were coming forward with new videos on a regular basis as well, with perhaps one of the better-known (and longer-running) examples being Shane Keating's dry and sardonic green monster Fenwick, with his aptly-named sidekick Bob Blob.

 

Jordan Sibayan also brought his Colbynfriends characters (who - like Muley, Zook, and Max - also existed in both cartoon and puppet form) to YouTube as well; most notably are the two headfigures of the cast, the green ratillion Colby Hussir, and the deadpan canine Dumb Dog.

 

Angela Altomare also introduced a number of characters as well, including a series of puppet vlogs hosted by Carly Sanderson, and later Charlene Heart (neither of which, unfortunately, have any videos still available), and the delightful Roaring Twenties-inspired showgirl dog Harmony Barker.

 

A little while later, other acts began emerging as well, such as the now-defunct CHEEKTV, which featured the beanie-wearing, cockney-accented purple monster, Cheeky, who would often offer up commentary and parodies of celebrity news and gossip, viral videos, and current events.

 

Also later arriving to the scene was Casey the Muppet, an FAO-Schwartz Muppet Whatnot avatar of creator Casey Daron, the self-proclaimed World's Biggest Muppet Fan.

 

And those are just a few to name!

 

During this time as well, there was almost something of a cozy little brotherhood that was formed amongst those of us involved in this internet puppetry flux, so much so that it wasn't uncommon for some of us to begin actually making references to each other's videos or characters; Fenwick was bold enough to completely parody Steve's "'Snow' is a Four-Lettered Word" episode (which also instigated Fenwick and Steve's fictional and non-existent feud between each other):

 

Colby and Dumb Dog also made a crossover appearance in a DEAR STEVE entry:

 

PUPPET POWER even served to gather together many of these different internet puppets into one special (it even marked the triumphant return of Zook and Max, after disappearing for a while):

 

Much like the Renaissance Age of Animation bringing forward a slew of animated series that were unlike anything you had seen before in television animation, the puppets you found on YouTube were all unique and distinct in comparison to so many other puppet series found on television before them - which, because almost all of them had Henson people involved, evoked such a Muppety vibe, that it's almost hard not to generalize television puppetry as "Muppets." Each of the YouTube puppets brought their own brand of humor, commentary, satire, and other levels of entertainment that really distinguished them from others, yet they all maintained an appeal that you could easily watch their videos again and again, and never tire of them.

 

Eventually, though, that age of YouTube puppets did slowly begin to fade away and die down; although the aforementioned PUPPET POWER was inspired to be a puppet version of the Nicktoon KaBLAM! (bringing together different forms and styles of puppetry in one special), it was also sort of an attempt to give the Renaissance Age of Puppetry something of a booster shot. Unfortunately, by then, the old magic that permeated through the older videos had fizzled away. Although there are small number of these characters that still pop up on rare occasions (Muley being one of them), many of the others have stopped uploading new content quite some time ago, for a variety of different reasons.

 

It does appear, however, that there is some sort of renewed interest in internet puppetry. Recently, cartoonist and puppeteer Jonathan Brangwynne has been uploading a few humorous puppet shorts on Vimeo:

 

More recently, a new series debuted on YouTube called WILTON'S WORLD, featuring humorous insight on a variety of different current events and hot topics, as well as starring two of some of the most impressive internet puppets I've seen to grace YouTube since the days of TVTV:

 

I really could go on and on about this subject (even Blogger wouldn't allow all of the labels I wanted to tag onto this post), but I think that if you were a part of this so-called Renaissance Age of Puppetry, or just watched from the sidelines, then you probably remember those days well enough to know that the magic spoke for itself. I think, perhaps, the most significant thing about this age was that with such an incredible tool like YouTube, puppeteers across the board were able to express their art and creativity in a way that would otherwise not have been possible. That, and it certainly sparked something of a boom in the general interest of puppetry itself, and proved that there's more to puppetry out there than just Muppets.

Fresh! Hot! Small! Square!

Another reason why Krystal is better than White Castle: they got Jim Henson's Creature Shop to provide puppetry for their commercials!

Advances in Puppet Building: Are They TOO Perfect Now?

Trust me, these are not good puppets . . . and
they're available at a Christian bookstore near you!

To be perfectly honest, I know that when it comes to puppetry, the actual building process is really one of my biggest weaknesses: I can perform a puppet, and I can certainly design a puppet, but to actually build one just isn't quite forte. However, I know good and bad puppets when I see them; we've certainly come a long way in the last sixty years or so in terms of puppet building: techniques and methods have improved and advanced, and in doing so, puppets can be built in ways that are absolutely pristine and flawless . . . perfect, even! But. . . . are puppets, perhaps, built a little too perfect now?

 

Showing how the Henson Stitch minimizes the
appearance of seams on a puppet.

Before we get into that, we need to go over a little history lesson. When Jim Henson was bringing his Muppets into the world back in the 1950s, he wasn't just creating a bunch of wacky and goofy characters that we would come to love and adore, but rather, he was completely transforming the art of puppetry as we knew it: the true innovator that he was, Jim was pioneering a completely new style of puppetry that drew on earlier inspiriation from other styles of puppetry, combining them in ways to make puppets work better in many ways, especially the way they could be seen on film and television (the latter of which was also relatively new at the time). When being seen on television, a key to the Muppets' belief is that they appear as lifelike as possible; but they're puppets, so how is that possible? Remember, Jim was an innovator and pioneer: he developed methods of constructing and building puppets that minimized visible flaws and imperfections to help hide the fact they're puppets. One of the most talked about method of puppet construction that Jim developed is what's called "the Henson Stitch," this is a sewing technique that involves sewing into the edges of the fleece covering - it's a very painstaking method, but by sewing like this, you minimize the appearance of the seams. Of course, it also helps to have the right fabric as well: most professional puppet builders prefer to use a special kind of fleece known as Antron: Antron is a particularly fuzzy and frizzy fleece, so even after sewing, the fuzz of the fleece can be brushed over the seams to further minimize their appearance. In short: the fuzzier the fleece, the less likely you'll see seams.

 

Puppet builder extraordinare, Don Sahlin, gluing a
foam pattern to create a puppet skull.

But building puppets is more than just sewing pieces of fleece together, you have to create an inner shell before you do anything else: this is what gives the puppet its shape, it's essentially the skeleton of the puppet, and the fleece is the skin. There are many different methods and techniques to putting together a foam skeleton, whether you cut patterns from half-inch to inch-thick pieces of foam and glue them together for simpler puppets, to carving and sculpting from giant blocks of foam for puppets that have more distinct shape to them. Much like sewing fleece, putting together the foam skeleton can also be a painstaking process that requires a keen eye and attention to detail, otherwise, you could end up with a lopsided, misshapen mass of foam rubber.

 

Aah! Visible arm rods! My face is melting!

As the old saying goes, "practice makes perfect." Puppets have been built in these ways for the better part of the past sixty years, so it's only natural that over that span of time, not only would these techniques improve, but others would be developed to help further make building puppets even better. Jim Henson didn't just create a new way of building puppets alone, his apprentices carried on and in time also developed and introduced additional techniques since the inception of the Muppets, and as they spread, even more people can find ways to improve on these techniques. Nowhere is that more evident than the Muppets themselves, the true modern pioneers of an ancient artform, and with the Muppets now back in mainstream media after a lengthy bout of somehow obscurity, more than a few people are taking notice: the Muppets certainly look different than they did before. Obviously, the main reason is because since Disney now owns the characters, the Jim Henson Company no longer builds the puppets, but rather, a company known as Puppet Heap does; the Henson Company does still build the SESAME STREET Muppets. As mentioned above, a key to building puppets it to make them seem as lifelike as possible, but even though it's always been a painstaking process, it seems to have become even moreso in recent years; it's not just advancements made in building techniques, but advancements in production technology is also playing a factor. One of the first things you may notice about newer Muppet productions is a serious lack of rods. How can this be? Puppet hands and arms are operated by rods, so how can they disappear? Digitally. As opposed to the older days of 35mm film and videotape, in this day of high definiton, more and more details are being picked up by cameras, and as a result, rods that were once barely visible on screen are now so much so that they need to be digitally erased in post. And again, because HD gets so much detail, one has to go to great lengths in building puppets to ensure seams are invisible. While this certainly shows what a long way we've come since the days of Jim Henson and Don Sahlin, somehow, something seems off about the entire process.

 

Fozzie's evolution from Muppet to . . . plush toy?

The benefit of the doubt could be that we haven't seen too many Muppet projects between the time of the Disney purchase in 2004 to THE MUPPETS smashing through the silver screen in 2011, but since then, many people have been talking about how "different" the characters look now. A combination in the evolution of puppet building and the advancements of production technology is resulting in pristine, flawless-looking puppets . . . but as much as they've gained in building techniques, something else in being lost at the same time. In a sense, the more they try to make puppets look as lifelike as possible, the more artificial they appear to be looking in this day and age. One common complaint I've been seeing lately is that Fozzie Bear no longer looks like a Muppet, and looks more like a teddy bear, or a plush toy - part of the problem is because certain furs and fabrics are hard to come by, and in many cases are no longer being made or are no longer available.

 

An older Anything Muppet with visible seams.

Hey there, handsome stranger!

In going to great lengths to improve the appearances of puppets on film and television, much of the puppets' charm is being lost at the same time. Building puppets to look good on film and television has always been a major facet of the entire artform, but what really makes or breaks the character is the performance: whether you have a beautifully crafted puppet, or an ugly mess put together with tape and chewing gum, it's all about the personality, and the life that's breathed into the character from the puppeteer performing it. Nowhere is that more evident than the number one frog himself, Kermit: as most people know, Kermit was not a frog when he was first created in 1955, he was simply an abstract character; he wasn't built using professional materials or high-quality fabrics - he was built from an old spring coat, and his eyes were made from a ping pong ball that was cut in half. In spite of the simplistic materials used to create the original Kermit, the personality was still intact, whether sitting on a wall and eating worms that turn out to be the noses of large monsters, or donning a little wig and lip-syncing to popular novelty records, this little vaguely lizard-like character was oozing with personality, which is what a puppet really needs in order to engage and appeal to audiences. Back in the 60s and 70s when the Muppets were really starting to find their footing, obviously they weren't perfect: sometimes heads were lopsided, sometimes fleece wasn't smooth, sometimes features were crooked or misshapen . . . but again, these characters had such wonderful and great personalities that you still loved them irregardless - it's similar to how Rocky and Bullwinkle had such incredibly smart and witty writing that the humor was enough to win you over the incredibly limited and lackluster animation. So what if you could see a rod here and there? So what if maybe a certain puppet was built in a hurry and you saw seams? There was still a warmth and realness to these characters just the same. In this day and age with puppets looking so pristine and flawless, while their endearing personalities are still intact, they're still losing that warmth and edge that they once had, making them seem a little cold and impersonal. I've said it before that sometimes advances in technology aren't necessarily so advance . . . could the same be said for puppets? Could the advances in puppet building actually be doing more harm than good? I think it's up for debate, from speaking for myself (from two perspectives: as a puppeteer and a puppetry afficianado in general) and other fans out there, I think perhaps the good is a little less.

 

Fleecy, pilly Bert, or silky smooth Bert? You be the judge.

 

Steve D'Monster's 10th Anniversary

It's almost kind of hard for me to believe that it was ten years ago today that Steve was officially born to the world; I think of this as something of a milestone, if only because Steve is, so far, the only character I've ever developed that has survived for this long.

 

 

Steve's genesis is kind of an interesting one... it really isn't a stretch for me to say that when he was first developed, he wasn't anything like he is today, mainly because his personality wasn't really fully established. In fact, he really didn't have much personality at all... the only thing that was established from day one that's still in use today (albeit seldom) is his disdain for anyone calling him, "Stevie."

 

When I first built Steve in August 2004, I didn't intend on really using him in the manner of which I did. I was fifteen-years-old at the time - still young, still ambitious, still immature, and had my head in the clouds far more than I do now - I really had my sights set on someday being a Muppet Performer on SESAME STREET, and I thought if I was able to move up in the ranks and establish myself as a performer, that Steve could be a signature character of mine (which, to me, made sense, as I am now publically admitting for the first time that Steve's overall character design is pretty much borrowed from an Anything Muppet monster seen at least once or two on SESAME STREET in the 1970s, though some of you either already knew that, or already figured that out... and for the record, that's the only time I've done such a thing). To the best of memory, Steve's character, at the time, was that he was a wannabe comedian. I could see it now: he had a makeshift comedy club on the roof of 123, but the jokes and routines he told were so corny or cliched, that nobody really found them funny; Grover would have been his best friend, since somehow, Grover never managed to drive him crazy (that, and I was on a Grover kick at the time), though he would have a habit of calling him Stevie, resulting in Steve snapping, "Don't call me, Stevie!" (Interestingly, my fellow puppeteer, Missey Wright, thought the routine was a nod to the movie AIRPLANE!, but I hadn't seen the movie at the time, and I wasn't aware of Leslie Nielsen's iconic line, "Don't call me Shirley.")

Speaking of which, I was an intern at ETPBS (East Tennessee PBS, then known as ETPtv) at the time, and we were just getting ready for the summer 2004 Friends of Sesame Street Pledge Drive to help support and fund children's programming on PBS (we did two a year, one for two weeks in March, and other for a week in August). I had heard that Missey - who was their regular puppeteer for pledge drives - was unavailable to attend, and that they were thinking about trying to find somebody else, or foregoing puppets altogether; I offered to be a substitute. I wasn't officially a puppeteer at that point yet - I had a strong interest in puppetry, and a desire to be a puppeteer, but I wasn't actually performing yet (Kids on the Block had expressed interest in hiring me to be a performer, but I never heard back from them). They agreed to give me a shot, but there was just one problem: I needed a puppet to actually perform. I was already in the process of building Steve, just to play around and practice with, so I rushed to finish him (and boy, did it show in the beginning). The Friday before we were to start, I brought Steve in to give a little demonstration for Chris Smith, my supervisor; I don't even remember what I did as a demonstration, but they were impressed enough to let me do it. Monday finally came along, and considering this was going to be live on the air, broadcasting in multiple viewing areas (East Tennessee, southern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and the western ends of both Carolinas), I was a little uneasy about possibly not being quick enough on my toes to pull this off, but amazingly, so much of my focus and attention was drawn down to the monitor between my knees, that everything else around me was a void of nothingness; I was separated from the rest of the world, and in a world of my own that felt so natural, that I can't remember ever having any major catastrophes... a few errors, perhaps, but I was learning as I was going.

Chick magnet

But this isn't about me, this is about Steve. On Monday, August 9, 2004, Steve made his debut as a fill-in for Missey's character - a girl named Karla - to show his support for his favorite programs on PBS Kids (this pre-dates the PBS Kids GO! era). At the time, however, Steve still didn't have any personality to speak of, he was really just a generic monster puppet appearing on TV screens to inform kids to have their parents phone in their pledges of support, and they, in turn, would receive thank you gestures, such as t-shirts, bouncy balls, frisbees, circus tickets, Chick-fil-A coupons, among other little goodies; but one day, that all changed. Another one of my ETP colleagues, Russ Manning - who has contributed some terrific input to my work - had this wild idea: he saw something potentially funny in having Steve be something of a casanova wannabe. Every now and then, Russ would have Steve flirt with one of the phone girls, or one of his fellow on air personalities, and as it turned out, it was funny; that was a personality trait that ended up sticking, which is why even to this day Steve likes to think of himself as quite the ladies' monster.

 

Even then, Steve had an active imagination.

 

Karla and Steve

I think Steve went over fairly well his initial week on ETP - he seemed to be something of a hit with everyone in the studio, and I think there may have been an occasion or two where a kid phoned into the station to try and talk to him. Whatever the case may be, it seemed to warrant an invitation to have Steve return for further pledge drives. Missey returned for the March 2005 pledge drive, and after getting acquainted, they had Karla and Steve on air together; it worked pretty well for both Karla and Steve, to have another puppet character to interact with... at first. From a technical aspect, apparently there were too many mics on that particular set for the control room, so Karla and Steve were later separated, and Steve was given Karla's old position, while Karla was promoted to her own newsdesk segment (something that was proposed for Steve for station bumpers and promos, but never materialized, though the idea was later recycled for the MONSTROCITY NEWS entries of Steve's YouTube series).

THE KARLA REPORT and MONSTROCITY NEWS

 

Steve made his internet debut on YouTube, December 26, 2007.

There was no question in having Steve return for the August 2005 pledge drive, but after that, ETP quietly ceased having on air pledge drives for rather sound reasons, and as such, Steve ended up being put to rest for a while. At that time, I hadn't quite made up my mind whether to persue a career in puppetry, or animation: I was taking an animation course my senior year, but by the time that was over, I was so burned out on animation that I swore it off forever, and decided to go with puppetry instead: it came more natural to me, and it felt far more satisifying to manipulate a puppet in real time and get instant results, as opposed to manipulating a drawn figure on a computer screen, frame by frame, and only getting a few second's worth of results that took hours (and sometimes days) to achieve. By then, I also started getting ideas for other shows and characters, so it made sense to stick with puppetry; but there was still a matter of Steve: what was I going to do with him? By the end of 2007, I had a thought: YouTube was still relatively new (Google's fascism hadn't set in for another couple of years), and I had a camcorder, with a pull-out LCD screen that could serve as a monitor; why not take advantage of using a pre-social media YouTube to do something with Steve, and put both him and myself out there? I didn't have a whole lot to work with at first: most of those earlier entries on YouTube were mostly reactions to what was in the news (such as the survey conducted in London that children don't like clowns), or just having Steve lip-sync to a song. It was fun to do, and slowly but surely, Steve started getting a little attention from people who appreciate puppetry - especially the film and television style of puppetry Jim Henson innovated with the Muppets - and it all seemed to snowball a little from there. As time went on, Steve's small yet dedicated fanbase seemed to grow, and at the same time, so did Steve's personality: no longer was he just a generic monster character; the more I played around with him, the more I was able to find his character, and he grew into the little self interested and self absorbed prima donna, with the slight little mischevious streak, and a love for the ladies, that people know him as today (and it's interesting that at one point, his fanbase was largely female).

 

D'Monster for 2012

YouTube was certainly a wonderful tool in helping spread Steve's exposure to a far broader scope, taking him from a nice-sized viewership just in the East Tennessee and surrounding areas, to an even nicer-sized viewership that spans not just across the U.S., but also Canada, the U.K., and Australia. In those years, as the series progressed, more effort was put into the entries: while Steve still maintained his little intimacy with viewers, more and more entries were planned in greater detail, with some reflecting current events, holidays, and at times, the series even got topical with reviews from movies to politics, to Steve even running for President in 2012. Later still, entries were given actual plots and scenarios for Steve to act in. But, as the old saying goes, "There's a little bad in everything good." Eventually, Google's control over YouTube became far more biased - YouTube began favoring partner channels that generate revenue for them (therefore, putting money in their pockets), and as such, smaller channels began being swept under the rug; a combination of a serious decline in Steve's viewership on YouTube, and feeling I've done as much as I could, I decided to end Steve's YouTube series in the spring of 2013 - after seven seasons, and 63 entries. This was also going to allow me to ponder on trying to focus on other projects within The Joseph Scarbrough Universe, including the ambitious anthology special, PUPPET POWER (for which Steve served hosting duty).

Steve hosted the webspecial PUPPET POWER

 

And now, here it is, 2014, ten years since Steve first graced TV screens (seven since he first graced computer screens). In all these years, one thing that I've recently come to realize is Steve is actually the hardest character for me to write for... I guess I've performed him in such spontaneity for so many years, that any dialogue for him feels more natural and in-character if it comes off the cuff, rather than off a script page; it's hard to describe, but if a line is written for him, even if it's a line he would probably say, it still feels artificial doing that line, rather than doing a line on the spur of the moment. But, all that aside, it's an interesting feeling to be looking back on ten years of Steve being in existence; I've certainly enjoyed what I've done with him, and there's even more areas I'd certainly would have liked to explore with him... but has Steve stood the test of time? Has he left an impression on the public? I honestly don't know, and I don't even really think it's my place to answer that, I think that's up to the people to decide.

 

I would like to thank those of you who have been watching all of Steve's exploits and escapades these past ten years, whether you've watched him show his support for public television, or get himself into unusual situations on the internet, or host faux news programs and web specials; I certainly hope you've enjoyed all of this. If you have a favorite moment from all of this, please feel free to comment, I appreciate getting feedback, and I'd like to know what you've personally enjoyed.

 

 

'P' is for Puppet

I happened onto this rather interesting little article/interview with Cheryl Henson, about some of the stigmas that seem to be placed on puppeteers about their work,  some of the same kind of "stock" responses they get from people when they're told what they do, and even why some don't even like the term, "Puppeteer" (in fact, in reading Jim Henson: The Biography, I learned Henson himself disliked the term, "Muppeteer", and prefered to refer to himself, and his colleagues, as "Muppet Performers").

 

'P' is for Puppet: It's Good Enough for Me by Leslie Strongwater

 

You can read it for yourself, but I have to be honest, I've actually been on the receiving end of some of these stigmas myself, such as... why is AVENUE Q the go-to puppetry reference people seem to keep dropping? And, in my own, honest, humble opinion, for a puppeteer to do children's birthday parties is pretty much the puppetry equivilant of working in fast food if you're trying to climb the corporate ladder.



My Unfinished Thoughts on Puppet Episodes

I've noticed, and I'm sure you have too, a trend among many of the currently popular primetime television programs today: episodes where one or more of the show's cast is replaced with puppet caricatures and likenesses of the cast members.

30 ROCK had such an episode, "Apollo, Apollo", which originally aired March 26, 2009.

THE SIMPSONS had one, "The Fight Before Christmas", aired December 5, 2010.

CRIMINAL MINDS had one, "The Lesson", aired December 5, 2012.

COMMUNITY had one, "Intro to Felt Surrogacy", aired April 11, 2013.

And now, as I understand it, another popular show is getting ready to have its own puppet episode as well: GLEE. I could not be more mortified. You can says, "Haters gonna hate,", but if you ask me, GLEE is one of the worst shows on television: first of all, the creators insist the show is "different" and offers viewers a "change" from other shows on TV, but it's just more of the same kind of trash that's currently polluting the television atmosphere (the only "difference" is this being a musical series); speaking of which, the music is terrible... so many songs have been ruined for me (I honestly cannot even bring myself to listen to Bon Jovi's original version of "Living on a Prayer" anymore), the singing is absolutely grating and makes my skin crawl... yeah, you can say, "Oh yeah, can YOU do better"... no, I can't... I admit I can't sing, but at least I don't butcher songs by trying to do something I can't do; and this show's a... comedy? Really? Uh, I sure can't tell, it doesn't seem very comical to me (but then again, neither did THE OFFICE or DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES).

But, I'm driving myself off topic here, this post isn't about how terrible GLEE is, it's more about my concerns about popular shows doing puppet episodes like this. I feel that this little trend is something of a double-edged sword: on the one hand, puppetry is considered an underrated and underappreciated art form as far the general public is concerned, however, puppetry in general seems to be really hot and popular right now (especially with the long-awaited and several times delayed major comeback of The Muppets), so this is more or less a part of exploiting the current relevence and popularity of puppetry right now (also notice how there's so many puppet commercials on TV right now); on the other hand, my main worry is that this will end up becoming the same thing that 3D and sequels have become in recent times - overused gimmicks that people get sick of. That is one problem that the entertainment industry seems to have these days, when something becomes popular, suddenly, it has to be milked for all it's worth: James Cameron had a hit with AVATAR in 3D, and suddenly, almost every new movie that was released afterwards was in 3D... sequels? Don't even get me started on sequels. Could TV shows doing puppet episodes meet the same fate? Will it get to a point that so many TV shows do puppet episodes that viewers get sick of them? I hope not. I'd like to see puppetry enjoy some longevity on TV for the time to come, though at the same time, I kind of don't want to see puppetry on TV turning into nothing more than a gimmick that becomes overkill.

Coming Soon: PUPPET POWER

I'll go ahead and tell you now: remember for the past couple of years or so, I've been talking about wanting to do a television series with Steve, Bethany, and The Squirrely Squirrels? I was going to call it STEVE D'MONSTER & COMPANY (well, it originally was friends instead of company, but I decided company worked and sounded better)? It was going to be a half-hour series with short segments in each episode of the different kinds of escapades they would get into? Steve and Bethany doing their own little thing, and The Squirrely Squirrels pestering them along the way? Steve and Bethany were going to have a little clubhouse for themselves, while The Squirrely Squirrels would live in a hole in a tree, completely furnished and everything?

Well guess what? Steve's new TV series is FINALLY going to happen! Except for a few things: it's not going to be called STEVE D'MONSTER & COMPANY. It's not going to be a half-hour series with short segments in each episode of the different kinds of escapades they would get into. It won't have Steve and Bethany doing their own little thing, and The Squirrely Squirrels pestering them along the way. Steve and Bethany aren't going to have a little clubhouse for themselves, while The Squirrely Squirrels won't live in a hole in a tree, completely furnished and everything. In short, it's NOT even going to be the show that I wanted to do. At all. I really don't want to talk about it, so, if you're really just itching to know just what Steve's new TV series IS going to be... well, then just make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel, because I'll be uploading the episodes of this new show there eventually anyway.

So, what is this particular post all about then? Well, I AM excited to announce a project I'm working on the side this year! Now, who else besides me, of Generation Y, is familiar with the old Nickelodeon cartoon, KaBLAM!? The "new kind of cartoon show", that was like a televisual comic book: different cartoon shows in a cartoon show, all in different styles of animation: hand-drawn, stop-motion, Chuckimation, etc.? Earlier in the year, I got to thinking that such a concept would work well with puppets, especially considering many people out there, who aren't necessarily followers of puppetry, tend to think of the Muppet style as being the only style of puppetry there is, when that is pretty much not the case. YouTube has been a wonderful tool for puppeteers, like myself, to showcase their work in puppetry, and I know there have been a few of these puppets who have expressed interest in some kind of a special project that would bring all of our different work together in one video, so I believe this is exactly scratching everybody where they itch. In short, this is going to be different puppet shows in a puppet show.

PUPPET POWER, as it is currently entitled, is going to be a half-hour webspecial, hosted by Steve D'Monster, featuring the work of various different YouTube puppeteers. My goal for this special is to not only help gain more exposure for myself and other puppeteers who post their work on YouTube, but to help spark more interest in the art of puppetry in general, and let people know that not all puppets are just like the Muppets. Who knows, if this does well, there may be more PUPPET POWER specials in the future.

At the moment, I haven't set an official release date for the special, but I'm thinking I'll aim for a late summer/early fall release. So far, three of my fellow YouTube puppeteers are on board for the project, and I'm really looking forward to seeing their submissions, and I certainly hope this will be a most excellent program.

So, keep your eyes peeled, and make sure you're subscribed to The Joseph Scarbrough Universe On YouTube!

Beware of Joseph Sirrico

Sometimes there's people out there who like to take the creations of other people, and try to pass it off as their own, and that's precisely what one nutcase is doing, and he's become like a plague to people of the internet, especially those in puppetry.

His name is Joseph Sirrico, and he has claimed creativity and ownership of the works of several other puppeteers from internet, including the likes of Jarrod Boucher, Julio Robles, as well as even claiming credit for writing the song "Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets (2011).

Anyone who uses the internet as a means of garnering more exposure for their puppetry is at risk of being the victim of theft by this guy; while luckily, I haven't noticed the likes of Steve D'Monster, Bethany Crystal, or The Squirrely Squirrels being claimed as accomplishments by this guy, there is some slight damage already being done, considering the two of us do have very similar names, and there has been a case of almost mistaken identity when at first glance, a friend of mine thought it was me who recently sent him an add on Facebook, before double checking and seeing it wasn't me.

Again, if you're a puppeteer and have shared your work on the internet, you're at risk of this guy, I would suggest you check both his YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/jojo18ization though it would seem his has removed all of his puppetry videos) and his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Puppeterz-Show/224938324233218?sk=wall) frequently to make sure your work doesn't pop up on either, and he claims them as his own, and if he does, make sure to fight back, do not let him get away with this; if some of us didn't know anybody, he could very well be certifiably insane.

Downsides to the Art of Puppetry

You know, as much as I love the art of puppetry, the whole thing sadly isn't all beer and skittles, like everything else, there are cons and downsides to it... number one with me is fabric shopping. One thing that annoys me is whenever you're looking for something specific, almost everybody automatically points you to Jo-Ann's... well, I will admit, I have been able to get some great fabric from Jo-Ann's before, but it's the simple fabrics that I can get there: fleece, felt, foam, etc... when it comes to the specialty fabrics on the other, like mostly fur and such, that's much more difficult. Places like Jo-Ann's only have furs suitable for making teddy bears and such, but where do you go to find shaggy monster fur and such? Like years ago when I first built Steve, I had to buy a fifteen dollar throw pillow for the fur I needed for him (and I was able to recycle the stuffing as well, so that was a benefit), but in recent years, I have discovered fabric.com, like a couple of years ago for example, I was able to order the fur I needed for Bethany, however, the fur I could use for The Squirrely Squirrels' tails would either keep running out before I could order it, or I would end up playing phone tag with them... nevertheless, in nearly two years, I finally managed to get the right fabric I need for The Squirrely Squirrels' tails.

Yeah, fabric shopping isn't a picnic... it's one of those cons that comes with puppetry, but oh well, cons are just things you have to deal with.