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Official Podcast of The Barretta Brothers. Join them and many great guests from The Muppets, Movies, TV, and more. Bill has been a director, writer, producer and core performer with The Muppets for nearly 30 years. Gene is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. He has also animated and illustrated for Sesame Street, Between The Lions, and The Jim Henson Company. But Wait! It’s a Podcast and a Vodcast! You can Listen or Watch. For the Vodcast go to: www.thebarrettabrothers.com New Podcast episode posts every Friday.
Episodes
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome Muppet Fan and Musician/Producer, Mark Read, plus Muppet Fanatic Chris Stulz. They both present their best Muppet Collectibles.
ABOUT OUR GUESTS:
Mark Read
Mark achieved global success with UK/Norwegian 90s/00s boyband A1, releasing 5 studio albums and a string of UK and international top 5 hits, reaching the coveted no. 1 spot with ‘Same Old Brand New You’ and their cover of A-ha’s classic ‘Take On Me’.
Their critical and popular acclaim led to numerous awards including MTV, Smash Hits, Disney Channel and the prestigious Brit award for Best Newcomer. The band split in 2002 after 4 years of chart-topping success but joined forces once again (this time as a 3-piece with Mark, Ben and Christian) in 2014 for ITV’s hugely popular documentary series The Big Reunion. The candid programme gave fans an insight into the highs and lows of the group’s history culminating in a major UK arena tour and a renewed surge of appetite from their loyal fanbase. In 2018, A1 announced that original member Paul would be reuniting with the band for the first time in 15 years for a huge 20th anniversary tour.
Away from the band, accomplished musician and songwriter Mark has written for international artistes including Michael Bolton, Boyzone, The Hollies, John Barrowman and Charlotte Church.
Mark has also established himself as a confident musical theatre performer. In recent years he has had lead roles in many productions including Cinderella and Aladdin and enjoyed a successful run of hit show Spoonful of Sherman and also appeared as Corny Collins in Hairspray, alongside Russell Grant as Edna. Mark also co-wrote and produced the score for Noah a Musical Adventure which toured across the UK for 2 years.
Chris Stulz
Chris Stulz’s obsession with all things Jim Henson started with hand-me-down toys from Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and has continued into adulthood, encompassing all kinds of Henson related items including Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and, of course everything Muppets!
Since 2012, Chris has run the Muppet Stuff blog where shares news and other information about all kinds of Jim Henson related productions and merchandise.
His award-winning collection, aptly named The Muppet Stuff Museum, consisting of over three thousand items, was featured on MeTV’s Collector’s Call.
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers celebrate the TV show Dinosaurs and welcome the people behind the Unisaurus and Hand Puppet Characters.
Episode Outline:
07:200mins: Conversation with Julianne Buescher, Michelan Sisti, John Kennedy, Rickey Boyd, and Jake Tate
33:30mins: Conversation with Julianne Buescher, Michelan Sisti, John Kennedy, Rickey Boyd, Jake Tate, Bruce Lanoli, Pons Maar, and Terri Hardin
35:50mins: Conversation with Allan Trautman, Terri Hardin, Bruce Lanoil, Tom Fisher, and Pons Maar.
ABOUT OUR GUESTS:
Allan Trautman
Allan Trautman was born in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Miami Beach with his family at the beginning of 9th grade. He began acting in Miami Beach Senior High under the direction of famed drama teacher Jay Jensen. He spent four years in St. Louis at Washington University, earning a BA in Physics and Drama. He then earned an MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts, where he met his wife, Diane.
While in St. Louis, he began his puppetry career working on The Letter People at public TV station KETC. He performed in all 60 15-minute episodes, each one shot on a Friday (he skipped classes).
Two years after graduating from CalArts, while working full-time at Leo’s Stereo in the San Fernando Valley, a friend told him about an audition notice for a “puppet school” sponsored by Sid and Marty Krofft. Allan spent the summer of 1980 at what were a series of workshops under the direction of Tony Urbano. There he met other young puppeteers who all became lifelong friends—Bruce Lanoil, Kevin Carlson, Tim Blaney, and others.
Much of the 1980s were spent working on projects for the Kroffts and for Dave Pavelonis and his Peppercorn Productions, as well as pursuing his acting career. During this time he was sent on an audition for Return of the Living Dead, and was cast as the Tarman, who went on to become an iconic zombie film character—among the first to ask specifically for “Brains!”
In 1990, as part of the then-pending purchase of The Muppets by the Walt Disney Company, Jim Henson came to Los Angeles to direct Muppetvision 3-D, an attraction for Disney’s theme parks. Again, a friend was able to get Allan into the audition, and this was the beginning of Allan’s career with The Jim Henson Company and the Muppets.
In 1991 Allan joined the cast of the ABC-TV series Dinosaurs as the animatronic puppeteer for Fran Sinclair. That show remained in production for 65 episodes, until the end of 1993, introducing Allan to sophisticated animatronics. This experience continued with movies like Babe, Men in Black, Doctor Dolittle, Jack Frost, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Monkeybone, Cats and Dogs, Men in Black II, and The Country Bears.
After Dinosaurs, two producers on that show requested his presence on their next show, Unhappily Ever After, a sitcom on the brand-new WB Network. Allan puppeteered Mr. Floppy, the lead character’s wise-cracking (imaginary) talking bunny, voiced in front of a live audience by Bobcat Goldthwaite.
In the meantime, Allan’s work with The Muppets included videos such as It’s Not Easy Being Green and Muppet Classic Theatre, the movie Muppets from Space, and, for TV, Muppets Tonight, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.
In the summer of 2005, Allan became a founding member of Puppet Up!—Uncensored, Henson Alternative’s puppet/improv show. He performed in the show off-Broadway, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, on tour throughout the U.S., and on the historic Chaplin Stage on The Jim Henson Company lot. He also acted as puppetry technique instructor.
He was one of three on-set puppeteers during production of The Jungle Book (2016), and was a core puppeteer on The Happytime Murders. Allan continues to work in physical as well as digital puppetry, in shows such as Splash and Bubbles for PBS Kids, and has moved into directing for that show and others.
Julianne Buescher
Julianne Buescher is a whimsically versatile, classically trained actor, voice-over artist and Muppet Performer…whose new Muppet character Beverly Plume can be seen in “Muppets Now!” On Disney+! Follow Julianne on IG at @juliannebuescher and see all her credits at IMDb.me/juliannebuescher
Jake Tate
Jack Tate is an actor/puppeteer/voiceover guy. Mostly, he’s retired, but he’d work if someone asked. He was in movies: The Right Stuff, Monster in the Closet, Interview with an Assassin and many others. On TV, he did a lot of day-player roles: Fresh Prince, Frazier, Hotel, Murder She Wrote and many others, before he landed on Dinosaurs, as a regular player, a Unisaur, appearing as many of the characters interacting with the family. Another show he was a regular on later, was The Journey of Allen Strange, for Nickelodeon. He was more successful in commercials than TV or movies, doing pretty near 1000 of them, many as a spokesman for AT&T, Pepsi, Bud Light, Ford Mercury and played, for 20+ years, the character Jack in the Box. Dinosaurs was easily his career favorite.
Michelan Sisti
Michelan began his performing journey as a musician, then an actor with multiple Broadway roles, which directly led to him becoming a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in the original live action movies (Michelangelo). Being Mikey, evolved into our ultimate animatronics show, “Dinosaurs”. The coolest suit show EVER! Since then, Mich has enjoyed 26 more years of Muppets and other neat things with puppets and motion capture. He has loved every minute of the trip.
Rickey Boyd
Rickey’s interest in animation and puppetry began at an early age. At eleven, he and one of his friends produced their own crude TV puppet shows at a local cable access station and experimented with 8mm animated short films. During High School he continued designing and building his own puppet characters.
Later, he attended Shorter College in Rome, Georgia where he majored in art and theater. During an internship at a local cable station he worked with college classmates Keith Thomas and Jeff Brown to produce two children’s shows that featured his creations. This provided valuable monitor experience as well as enough footage for a demo reel. That reel would land him an audition with the Muppets.
In 1988 he was interviewed by Jane Henson then met and auditioned for Jim Henson himself. He was asked to continue working with Jim Henson Productions as both an assistant and as a featured performer on various productions.
He went on to performed various background characters on Sesame Street, The Abby in Wonderland special, Grandma Cookie Monster for Sesame Workshop’s “Sesame Beginnings” project, Scooter and Crazy Harry in “Muppet’s Wizard of Oz”, and Waffle in “Animal Jam”. Other projects include “Muppets From Space”, “Dinosaurs” the series, “Muppetvision 3D”, “Muppets at Disney World”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, The Jim Henson Hour’s “Dog City” and “Song of the Cloud Forest”. Aside from Henson Productions, Rickey has performed lead characters for The Nashville Network’s Peppercorn Productions. Most recently he continues to puppeteer as Doug the Slug in “The Slugs and Bugs Show” for RightNow Media, and as “George” in the web series “Wondermore” for In Touch Ministries.
In addition to performing Rickey is an Emmy winning Creative Director for Magnetic Dreams Animation Studios in Nashville, Tn. There, he designs and directs animations for clients such as “Sesame Street”, among others.
He lives outside Nashville with his wife Judy and their children Emily and Andrew.
John E. Kennedy
John E. Kennedy is a lifelong puppeteer who began performing at age three and met and worked with Jim Henson at the age of 22. He has been a member of Sesame Street since 1994, and currently performs The Amazing Mumford, a character originated by Jerry Nelson. John has also been a Muppet™ performer on projects such as Muppets From Space, The Muppets Wizard of Oz, The Muppets Take the Bowl, and The Muppets Take the O2. He has authored two puppet-making books (Puppet Mania and Puppet Planet), and has been a puppet captain, a choreographer, and a musician.
As a puppet builder, Kennedy has represented Jim Henson's exhibits around the world with his puppet kits; he has also instructed young puppeteers on cruises, camps, and festivals. He lives in Ocoee, Florida with his wife, Julie, and creates custom puppet characters for theme parks and performs music with his band, Johnny K Band.
Bruce Lanoil
Bruce ”B” Lanoil, spawned in Brooklyn N.Y., raised on steady diet of Saturday morning Cartoons, Sugary cereals, Mad Magazines, Jerry Lewis and Classic Star Trek, is today, a proud and grateful 30 year veteran Muppeteer,.. Oh, the beaten path was never in the mix!
As a Theater major at Cal State Northridge, a vaudevillian improvisational clown at heart, fate truly lent a “hand” when Master Puppeteer Tony Urbano chose Bruce from hundreds, for Sid and Marty Krofft’s exclusive 1980 workshop. Many Commercials and videos followed, furthering his performance skills with Master teachers, Paul Sills, Avery Schreiber, (Spollin Theater Games), and Harvey Kalmanson (V.O.).
Destiny and Jim Henson came knocking when Brian Henson cast Bruce as “Charlene Sinclair”, in TV’s DINOSAURS for five glorious seasons on ABC/Disney (1990-93). Animatronics and Facial Puppeteering was a specialty as Bruce traveled the world complements of the incomparable Jim Henson Creature Shop, both in Films, Dr. Doolittle (1998), Adventures of Pinocchio (1996), Jack Frost (1998), Cats and Dogs 1 & 2, (2001 2010) and Television, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss as The Cat in the Hat, Nickelodeon Season one (1996). Bruce helped pioneer Real-time CG animation with Henson’s HDPS-Digital Puppetry System, Are We There Yet (2005), Francis (2008), Sid the Science Kid Movie (2012) and partnered with Dave Barclay Studios Where the Wild Thing Are (2009), and Ice King (2017).
Muppet madness included MuppetVision 3D (1991),The Muppets Live at the Hollywood Bowl (2016),The O2 (2018), recent FEATURE FILM/TV reboots, The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014), and Muppets Tonight (1996), Muppets (2017). Live-action Reference Puppetry, Mon- keyBone (2001) Henry Selick Dir.,and Looney Tunes-Back in Action (2003) Joe Dante Dir., and nu- merous V.O. gigs, including voicing Lion King’s TIMON (SAFTY SMART! video series) for Disney.
Bruce is extremely grateful for lifetime of collaborative joy and laughter, and believes, that Everyone
deserves to give themselves the Inner Permission to pursue their truth and passion freely, with an open heart. As a Teaching Artist, his quest is to release fear and doubt, allowing each learner and Artist the opportunity to connect, to share, to Soar! We stand upon the shoulders of all creative souls before us, that enables every single voice to tell Their story, their version, of life’s unpredictable magnificent journey, while illuminating all our lives with the Magical Gift of Play :)
Pons Maar
Pons Maar trained as a visual artist in Florida, (yep, a Florida Man) then studied various performance disciplines in the SF Bay Area and, as a ‘performance artist’, created and toured his solo shows. He somehow ended up with a career in film and television appearing in; Return to Oz, Golden Child, The Blob (1988), Dead Heat, Masters of the Universe, Teddy Rex, George of the Jungle, Monkeybone, and Dinosaurs TV series.
Beginning with Return to Oz Pons also acted as Movement or Creature Coordinator on various productions.
Terri Hardin
Terri has been performing and creative all her life. She started earning a living doing art and acting at age 8.
Known as Walt Disney’s Legendary Imagineer, she has designed and created attractions for Disney Theme Parks all over the world and is best known for creating the Dragon’s Lair in Paris Disneyland where you can see a 35’ dragon come to life before your very eyes.
She is also an accomplished actress, Puppeteer and Voice Talent. Her work can be seen in over 45 different films and television including GHOSTBUSTERS, MEN IN BLACK I & II, THE COUNTRY BEARS and CAPTAIN EO w/ Michael Jackson, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola.
She became a MUPPETEER with the Jim Henson Company in 1989 after meeting Jim in New York. Terri Hardin has worked on MUPPET 3D THEATRE, MUPPET MINI CLASSICS and DINOSAURS where she played BABY SINCLAIR’S arms.
Other projects include the FOSTER FARMS CHICKENS where she designed the Original concept and has played the PASSENGER CHICKEN since 1993.
Her career has given her many opportunities to work with a multitude of celebrities like Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, Whoopie Goldberg and Guillermo Del Toro.
A fully TRADEMARKED artist and sculptor Terri’s work can be seen Internationally. Fine collectables, commissions and prototypes of all kinds she creates for clients DISNEY, MATTEL, G DEL TORO and MORE.
She has even had her sculpture featured in LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Her Company is TERRI HARDIN DESIGNS, INC.
Tom Fisher
No bio provided
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers celebrate the TV show Dinosaurs and welcome the people behind the characters, Roy, Monica, and Spike.
Episode Outline:
05:50mins: Conversation with Pons Maar about casting the show.
13:30mins: Conversation about the character Roy.
Pete Brooke, Julianne Buescher, Pons Maar.
30:50mins: Conversation about the character Monica.
Jack Tate, Julianne Buescher, and
55:00mins: Conversation about the character Spike.
John Kennedy, Lisa Rocco
ABOUT OUR GUESTS:
Pons Maar
Pons Maar trained as a visual artist in Florida, (yep, a Florida Man) then studied various performance disciplines in the SF Bay Area and, as a ‘performance artist’, created and toured his solo shows. He somehow ended up with a career in film and television appearing in; Return to Oz, Golden Child, The Blob (1988), Dead Heat, Masters of the Universe, Teddy Rex, George of the Jungle, Monkeybone, and Dinosaurs TV series.
Beginning with Return to Oz Pons also acted as Movement or Creature Coordinator on various productions.
Julianne Buescher
Julianne Buescher is a whimsically versatile, classically trained actor, voice-over artist and Muppet Performer…whose new Muppet character Beverly Plume can be seen in “Muppets Now!” On Disney+! Follow Julianne on IG at @juliannebuescher and see all her credits at IMDb.me/juliannebuescher
Jake Tate
Jack Tate is an actor/puppeteer/voiceover guy. Mostly, he’s retired, but he’d work if someone asked. He was in movies: The Right Stuff, Monster in the Closet, Interview with an Assassin and many others. On TV, he did a lot of day-player roles: Fresh Prince, Frazier, Hotel, Murder She Wrote and many others, before he landed on Dinosaurs, as a regular player, a Unisaur, appearing as many of the characters interacting with the family. Another show he was a regular on later, was The Journey of Allen Strange, for Nickelodeon. He was more successful in commercials than TV or movies, doing pretty near 1000 of them, many as a spokesman for AT&T, Pepsi, Bud Light, Ford Mercury and played, for 20+ years, the character Jack in the Box. Dinosaurs was easily his career favorite.
Pete Brooke
Peter Brooke is the Creative Supervisor for the Academy Award®-winning Jim Henson's Creature Shop™ and is responsible for the conception, design and sculpt of each character and creature brought to life at the Shop's Los Angeles location. His work can be seen in such films as the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, George of the Jungle, Cats & Dogs, Dr. Dolittle, and Where the Wild Things Are, as well as the television projects Dinosaurs, Jim Henson's The Storyteller, and most recently, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Brooke works closely with the director and creative team of each project to guarantee that their vision is realized in the character he creates. He also liaises with the Shop's builders and supervises characters on set to ensure that the original concept and design style is maintained throughout the build and performance.
Brooke began his relationship with The Jim Henson Company in 1988 as a graduate of the film school at Manchester Polytechnic. His first project was Jim Henson's The Storyteller as a sculptor of the series' various fantasy and folklore characters. When the Company began production in Los Angeles on Dinosaurs in 1991, Brooke relocated to the United States as a sculptor and designer on the technically ambitious comedy starring an entire cast of animatronic full-body dinosaurs.
Brooke’s own fine art sculpture has been featured in galleries and museums across the country for the past 25 years.
He is a recipient of the Gold Medal for Best Sculpture from the California Art Club and the Award of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists. His work has been featured in several magazines including Southwest Art, Art Talk, Art Revue and Wildlife Art News.
John E. Kennedy
John E. Kennedy is a lifelong puppeteer who began performing at age three and met and worked with Jim Henson at the age of 22. He has been a member of Sesame Street since 1994, and currently performs The Amazing Mumford, a character originated by Jerry Nelson. John has also been a Muppet™ performer on projects such as Muppets From Space, The Muppets Wizard of Oz, The Muppets Take the Bowl, and The Muppets Take the O2. He has authored two puppet-making books (Puppet Mania and Puppet Planet), and has been a puppet captain, a choreographer, and a musician.
As a puppet builder, Kennedy has represented Jim Henson's exhibits around the world with his puppet kits; he has also instructed young puppeteers on cruises, camps, and festivals. He lives in Ocoee, Florida with his wife, Julie, and creates custom puppet characters for theme parks and performs music with his band, Johnny K Band.
Lisa Rocco
No bio provided
Sunday Jan 17, 2021
Sunday Jan 17, 2021
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers celebrate the TV show Dinosaurs and welcome the people behind the characters, Charlene, Robbie, Baby, and BP Richfield.
Episode Outline:
03:15mins: Conversation about the character Robbie Sinclair.
Day Murch, Steve Whitmire, Leif Tilden, and Lisa Rocco join Gene & Bill.
25:27mins: Conversation about the character BP Richfield.
Jane Gootnick joins Day, Steve, and Leif.
40:30mins: Conversation about the character Charlene.
Bruce Lanoil, MIchelan Sisti, and Jill Thraves join Gene & Bill.
1:07:00mins: Conversation about Baby Sinclair.
Kevin Clash, Terri Hardin, John Kennedy, and Jane Gootnick join Gene & Bill.
ABOUT OUR GUESTS:
Jane Gootnick
With college degrees in both acting and set design Jane first moved to Europe working in Belgium and London. In the mid-70's she moved to NYC working with alternative theatre groups (LaMama, Joe Papp's Public Theatre). Jane became head sculptor at Brooks Van Horn Costume Co. making props, masks and creatures for a large variety of venues: Broadway shows (Sweeney Todd, Dracula, Peter Pan), feature films (The Wiz, Hair), Warner Bros walkarounds, commercials, Ringling Bros Circus, and the first four seasons of Saturday Night Live.
In 1978, the costume designer for SNL mentioned that the Jim Henson Company was looking for sculptors for a film called The Dark Crystal and suggested she interview. Jane was offered three weeks work to build a prototype support harness for the Skeksis they were developing. So, she left her three-year full-time job for three weeks of work at Henson's and stayed 40 years!
Jane has worked in both the New York puppet shop and the London Creature Shop throughout the years. Designing/building puppets and creatures, supervising builds, and running workshops on location for Muppet/Henson films and TV series, (Dark Crystal, Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, The Storyteller, The Witches, Ninja Turtles, Dinosaurs, Muppets Tonight, The Muppets, etc.). She has also worked on a variety of talk shows, game shows, and awards shows (Oscars, Grammys, Hollywood Bowl and many more).
Jane is an art director for print and media photoshoots, film posters and endless fashion shoots with Miss Piggy with Louis Vuitton, Prada and other diva designers.
Steve Whitmire
Jim Henson invited Steve Whitmire to join his team in 1978 during the height of the popularity of The Muppet Show, and Whitmire had a hand in virtually every Muppet project for nearly four decades.
He originated such characters as Rizzo the Rat, Lips the Trumpet Man, Miss Piggy’s dog Foo-Foo, and Bean Bunny, and also sustained Richard Hunt’s characters, the hapless lab assistant Beaker and codger Statler after Hunt’s death in 1992.
Upon Henson’s death in 1990, Whitmire accepted the duty for the continuation of several of Jim’s characters and is best known for his 24-years as Ernie and his 27-years as Kermit the Frog.
Projects include Sesame Street and non-Muppet films such as The Dark Crystal, The Witches, Dreamchild and Labyrinth, as well as the popular sitcom Dinosaurs and the classic 1980’s television series Fraggle Rock in which Whitmire originated Wembley Fraggle and Sprocket the Dog.
After 19 films, 8 television series, numerous specials, multiple sound recordings, and volumes of unique live appearances, Whitmire carries forth the essential principles of the lineage as the foundation for a progressive approach to the art of puppetry in today’s world and looks forward to sharing that spirit in his future endeavors.
www.stevewhitmire.website
Leif Tilden
Leif Tilden watched his mother drink herself into a deep depression while living with her in Berkeley California during the late 60’s free love movement. After her suicide he moved to Boston Massachusetts where he grew up in a segregated environment where the Irish, Italian and black neighborhoods beat each other up daily.
Eventually he would find himself studying experimental theatre in New York City where he discovered his vulnerability through movement and the incredible falafel sandwich.
Soon after that, which to him seems like a dream, he found himself inside the soul of a Teenage mutant ninja turtle. Life was good.
Soon after that he drove across country for a minimum wage job on a tv show entitled, Dinosaurs for Disney. Life was not good and Leif will explain the details as to why on the show.
Day Murch
Day worked in the theatre for many years, as a performer in Liquid Theatre, with Stomu Yamashtas Red Buddha Theatre, and the Young Vic, with appearances in provincial rep and the West End, gradually commuting a hobby of designing and making clothes into a career. An early introduction on Time Bandits to the Monty Python team led to a specialist interest in the care and presentation of difficult costumes, with work on The Meaning Of Life, Greystoke, Legend and Fifth Element and several projects for Jim Hensons London Creature Shop. This led in time to making this type of costume and he headed the Fabrication Unit for Nick Dudmans Department of Magical Creatures for the initial Harry Potter Movies, building Hagrid and other fantasticals. In children’s television he helped create characters for In The Night Garden , BoohBahs and Zingzillas. He enjoyed a longterm association with the Batman franchise as Batsuit Wrangler with all the Caped Crusaders except Adam West! Now happily retired with his life partner in Wales, he doesn’t miss show business.
Bruce Lanoil
Bruce ”B” Lanoil, spawned in Brooklyn N.Y., raised on steady diet of Saturday morning Cartoons, Sugary cereals, Mad Magazines, Jerry Lewis and Classic Star Trek, is today, a proud and grateful 30 year veteran Muppeteer,.. Oh, the beaten path was never in the mix!
As a Theater major at Cal State Northridge, a vaudevillian improvisational clown at heart, fate truly lent a “hand” when Master Puppeteer Tony Urbano chose Bruce from hundreds, for Sid and Marty Krofft’s exclusive 1980 workshop. Many Commercials and videos followed, furthering his performance skills with Master teachers, Paul Sills, Avery Schreiber, (Spollin Theater Games), and Harvey Kalmanson (V.O.).
Destiny and Jim Henson came knocking when Brian Henson cast Bruce as “Charlene Sinclair”, in TV’s DINOSAURS for five glorious seasons on ABC/Disney (1990-93). Animatronics and Facial Puppeteering was a specialty as Bruce traveled the world complements of the incomparable Jim Henson Creature Shop, both in Films, Dr. Doolittle (1998), Adventures of Pinocchio (1996), Jack Frost (1998), Cats and Dogs 1 & 2, (2001 2010) and Television, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss as The Cat in the Hat, Nickelodeon Season one (1996). Bruce helped pioneer Real-time CG animation with Henson’s HDPS-Digital Puppetry System, Are We There Yet (2005), Francis (2008), Sid the Science Kid Movie (2012) and partnered with Dave Barclay Studios Where the Wild Thing Are (2009), and Ice King (2017).
Muppet madness included MuppetVision 3D (1991),The Muppets Live at the Hollywood Bowl (2016),The O2 (2018), recent FEATURE FILM/TV reboots, The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014), and Muppets Tonight (1996), Muppets (2017). Live-action Reference Puppetry, Mon- keyBone (2001) Henry Selick Dir.,and Looney Tunes-Back in Action (2003) Joe Dante Dir., and nu- merous V.O. gigs, including voicing Lion King’s TIMON (SAFTY SMART! video series) for Disney.
Bruce is extremely grateful for lifetime of collaborative joy and laughter, and believes, that Everyone deserves to give themselves the Inner Permission to pursue their truth and passion freely, with an open heart. As a Teaching Artist, his quest is to release fear and doubt, allowing each learner and Artist the opportunity to connect, to share, to Soar! We stand upon the shoulders of all creative souls before us, that enables every single voice to tell Their story, their version, of life’s unpredictable magnificent journey, while illuminating all our lives with the Magical Gift of Play :)
Michelan Sisti
Michelan began his performing journey as a musician, then an actor with multiple Broadway roles, which directly led to him becoming a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in the original live action movies (Michelangelo). Being Mikey, evolved into our ultimate animatronics show, “Dinosaurs”. The coolest suit show EVER! Since then, Mich has enjoyed 26 more years of Muppets and other neat things with puppets and motion capture. He has loved every minute of the trip.
Jill Thraves
After growing up in the countryside of Yorkshire and Derbyshire I moved to London to attend University. Got my degree in French and went straight into making clothes and cotumes for dancers, musicians, strippers, and royalty. Bill Wyman, David Bowie, Freddy Mercury, Jimmy Page, Princess Margaret, were some of the people I dressed. Through friends I started working in films and tv., Time Bandits, The Meaning of Life and Labyrinth were early jobs. Labyrinth led to Mother Goose Stories and an Emmy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and then Dinosaurs! So after 20 years I in London I came to Los Angeles.
Since then I have worked on a lot of Superhero films, from Batman to Avengers and Guardians. I seem to have made a lot of capes! Batman to Thor and many in between.
Sunday Jan 10, 2021
Sunday Jan 10, 2021
Dinosaurs Month, Week One
WIth the announcement that the entire Dinosaurs series is going up on Disney+ on January 29, the Brothers have decided to dedicate an entire month’s worth of episodes to the beloved show. Expect features on the characters, as well as on the designers, builders, performers, and voice actors that brought those characters to life.
On today’s show, the Brothers are joined by Stuart Pankin, John Kennedy, Allan Trautman, Jane Gootnick, Marian McCoin, Nikki Lyons, Julianne Buescher, Brian Henson, Tony Sabin Prince, and Lisa Rocco.
Expect to hear...
...how the puppeteers and performers developed a working chemistry to bring their characters to life.
...puppeteering innovations that came out of Dinosaurs.
...what it feels like to be inside Earl’s, Fran’s, and Ethyl’s body suits.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
- “I visited the set a bunch of times. It was fantastic. It’s too bad that the people who watched it, who loved the show, couldn't get a chance to see that. That set and those people, those animatronics, it was beautiful and unbelievable.” ~Brian
- “We’re just controlling the face, and we’re doing the dialogue. We’re all puppeteers, so I imagine what I want to see the character do. I’m not just doing a voice or making faces. As a puppeteer, I’m always thinking about the body and how I want to compose things and the emotion I want to get across. ~Allan
- “It wasn’t about us. It was about those characters. No matter who you were, we were all working to make sure the characters were great and the relationships between them were great. And that took all of us to do that, no matter who was doing what.” ~Bill
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE
- Introducing our first round of guests [04:02]
- Puppeteering innovations on Dinosaurs and creating Earl Sinclair [07:30]
- Developing Earl’s voice [22:31]
- How Lisa helped Bill survive in the body suit [27:46]
- Reminiscing over behind-the-scenes photos [34:50]
- Introducing our second round of guests [40:10]
- The complexity of performing while utilizing controls to manipulate expressions [45:02]
- Marian’s typical day on set [48:45]
- How Tony and Allan built up their working chemistry for performing Fran [57:17]
- The relationships made along the way [1:02:11]
- Mannerisms or quotes from characters that showed up in their performer’s lives [1:04:40]
- Going through a few more behind-the-scenes photos [1:08:55]
- Introducing our third round of guests [1:10:27]
- Puppeteering Ethyl [1:12:56]
- Jane’s memories of Caroly Wilcox [1:33:09]
- Closing remarks [1:38:10]
Sunday Dec 27, 2020
Sunday Dec 27, 2020
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers take questions from the Live Youtube chat, while they watch old projects, home movies and TV sabotage videos. They welcome their life-long friend, musician, Ben Chatrer.
ABOUT OUR HOSTS:
Gene Barretta & Bill Barretta
“What are they up to now?” That was the popular question around their house and neighborhood while growing up. It was not unusual to see Gene and Bill dressed up in homemade costumes – filming Super 8mm dramas – attempting risky stunts in the ravine – animating GI Joes and weird-looking clay figures – building and performing clunky puppets – drawing offbeat comics, - and imitating The Beatles.
Today, life isn’t very different. In addition to personal projects and various acting roles, Bill has been a director, writer, producer and core performer with The Muppets for nearly 30 years. Gene is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. He has also animated and illustrated for Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and The Jim Henson Company.
The best part of their careers is that they occasionally get to work together! Unfortunately, no one will pay them to imitate The Beatles.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Ben Chatrer
Ben Chatrer has played his eclectic songs on The Gong Show, The Uncle Floyd Show, and Japanese T.V. More recently, he's opened for Foxygen. Andy Partridge of XTC is a fan. Dean Ween guests on his three CDs.
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome Santa Claus! They also hold the third Muppet Trivia contest, featuring contestants, Joseph Deply and Mike Mroz.
ABOUT OUR GUESTS:
Santa Claus
Yup. The real one. Thank you to actor, Chuck Gill for arranging the visit.
Joseph Deply
Joseph Debly is a young actor, singer, and puppeteer from New Brunswick, Canada. He has been a Henson fanatic since he was very young and is a dedicated Barretta Brothers viewer.
Mike Mroz
Convinced from the age of four that Fraggles were real creatures, 30-year old Mike Mroz lacks no whimsy in his everyday life, apparent in his childlike love of the Muppets and all things Jim Henson. His current endeavor is acquiring the complete Muppet Palisades figure collection.
Sunday Dec 13, 2020
Sunday Dec 13, 2020
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers feature GLOP (Glorious Ladies of Puppetry), a team of over twenty of the most talented female puppeteers working today. And speak with GLOP creators, Donna Kimball, Colleen Smith, and Alice Dinnean.
Episode Outline:
- They discuss why and how they were motivated to start their project.
- We watch and comment on 3 of their 6 short episodes
- Behind the Scenes discussion
- The process of Covid Pandemic shooting, when everyone shot their parts separately.
- Their various Muppets & Henson projects, and more.
- The growing opportunities for female puppeteers.
- And questions for our guests from our Live Youtube Chat.
ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Donna Kimball:
A puppeteer for 25 years, Donna is the new Mokey in the reboot of The Jim Henson Company’s FRAGGLE ROCK (Apple TV). Other Henson credits include EARTH TO NED (Disney+), WORD PARTY (Netflix), SID THE SCIENCE KID (PBS), and the voice of Aughra in DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE (Netflix). Her work with Sid & Marty Krofft Productions includes MUTT & STUFF (Nick Jr.), SIGMUND AND THE SEA MONSTERS (Amazon), and she is the new voice of H.R. PUFNSTUF’s beloved character Freddie the Flute. She was a writer for WORD PARTY and the animated Henson series FRIENDZSPACE.
Colleen Smith:
Colleen is a GROUNDLINGS SUNDAY CO. & SECOND CITY Conservatory Alumna. She joined the cast of Brian Henson's PUPPET UP! as an improviser over ten years ago. As a human her credits include HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, THE OFFICE AND SELFIE. As a puppeteer she played various characters in THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS, Rose from THE CURIOUS CREATIONS OF CHRISTINE MCCONNELL and Beti on EARTH TO NED on Disney +. Colleensmi.com
Alice Dinnean:
Alice Dinnean began her puppetry career in high school at Children's Fairyland in Oakland, CA. After graduating from Oberlin College, she went right back to puppets, starting at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. She has performed principal roles on SESAME STREET and for various Jim Henson Company productions, including TURKEY HOLLOW, SID THE SCIENCE KID, AND THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE. Alice has appeared in multiple Muppet productions including live performances at the Hollywood Bowl. Other favorite projects include JACK'S BIG MUSIC SHOW, THE COUNTRY BEARS, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, CRANK YANKERS, THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, SPLASH & BUBBLES AND WORD PARTY.
Sunday Dec 06, 2020
Sunday Dec 06, 2020
On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome Director, Puppet Designer, Emmy-Award-Winner Puppeteer, and Co-Founder of DillonGale.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Ryan Dillon
Ryan Dillon is the performer of Sesame Street’s Elmo. Inspired by the Muppets since childhood and encouraged by his family and teachers, Dillon did shows wherever he could. In his senior year of high school, he was asked to join the cast of Sesame Street and has been a Muppet Performer for the past fifteen years.
Ryan’s Daytime Emmy winning work as Elmo can be seen globally on television and the internet, with appearances on morning and late-night talk shows, CBeebies' The Furchester Hotel, as well as in toys, apps, live Sesame Street touring shows, and more. In addition to performing Elmo, Dillon has taken on performer duties for Sesame fan favorites Don Music, and Lefty the Salesman, as well as countless Anything Muppets.
When he’s not working on the Street, Dillon is a puppet designer, director, and puppet consultant. His work can be seen in national commercials and other television shows including work for The Jim Henson Company and Disney’s Muppets. Dillon built and performs several original puppet characters, and with his creative partner Mark Gale, produces online puppet content for DillonGale (IG : dillongaleidiots)
Sunday Nov 29, 2020
Sunday Nov 29, 2020
Fran Brill
The brothers are joined today by actress, voice-over performer, and legendary puppeteer Fran Brill, best known for her work on Sesame Street. She was the first female puppeteer hired for the show, and over a 45-year career brought to life characters such as Prairie Dawn, Countess von Backwards, Zoe, and many others.
Expect to hear...
...Fran’s diverse and storied career in entertainment.
...what it was like to work with legends in the industry such as Jim Henson, Robert De Niro, and others.
...from two surprise guests who drop in halfway through the conversation!
MEMORABLE QUOTES BY FRAN
- “When I came to [Sesame Street] in the 70s, it was Women’s Lib and I think it was Dulcy Singer who said we really need to get females onboard as puppeteers to make more authentic female characters in this day and age. This is how things changed with the television show over time.”
- “Ride in the direction the horse is going. Sometimes you want desperately to be this. And yet people are screaming for you to be that.
- “I had a blast doing Doug. I loved that show. I thought it was just a lovely show. Jim Jinkins, the creator, was a huge fan of Jim Henson’s. I played so many different characters on that show. I loved it. I was so sorry when that stopped. [...] I loved the freedom of it.”
- “I’ve had a great life. I had great chances to work with wonderful people. No regrets, really. No regrets.”
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE
- Fran’s first professional gig [05:36]
- Why Fran decided to retire [10:46]
- Getting her start with Sesame Street and other early roles [12:55]
- Balancing her work as a puppeteer with acting for film and television and theatre [20:07]
- Working with Frank Oz and Dave Goelz [31:36]
- The first time Dave and Frank met Fran [38:16]
- Dave’s and Frank’s heartfelt messages to Fran [45:46]
- Fran’s classic film roles [53:15]
- Fran’s voice work [59:27]
- The boots made for female puppeteers on Sesame Street [1:05:54]
- Fran’s work on The Jim Henson Hour [1:09:08]
- Fran’s roles in other prestigious TV shows [1:13:06]
- Why Fran has no regrets [1:18:05]
- Sharing Hirschfeld works [1:19:06]
- Saying goodbye to Fran [1:26:14]
- The brothers take a few questions and announce what to expect in future episodes [1:31:04]
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Fran Brill is an Emmy Award winning performer who has had successful careers as an actress, voice-over performer, and puppeteer.
She was the first female puppeteer hired by Jim Henson for Sesame Street and has created the iconic characters of Zoe and Prairie Dawn and many other loveable Muppets. Over the years, she has also worked on Saturday Night Live, The Jim Henson Hour, The Muppet Show, Dog City, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Play With Me Sesame, Men in Black and many CDs and DVDs including Zoe's Dance Moves with Paula Abdul.
Upon getting her B.F.A. from Boston University where she received classical training as an actress, Fran got her first acting job with Theatre Atlanta. Within months, one of the productions, a musical called Red, White and Maddox, got picked up and Fran found herself on Broadway.
As an actress, Fran has appeared in the films What About Bob? directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss, Midnight Run starring Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin, and Being There starring Peter Sellers. On television she has been on numerous soap operas including long runs on All My Children and the infamous How to Survive a Marriage for which she received an Afternoon TV Best Actress Award. Her other television credits include Spenser: For Hire, Third Watch, Lip Service directed by William H. Macy, Conan O'Brien, Hyde in Hollywood and several Law and Orders.
Her appearances on the New York stage include Look Back in Anger with Malcolm McDowell, Desdemona, Shirmishes, and Hyde in Hollywood. She was twice nominated for the Drama Desk Award for What Every Woman Knows and Knuckle. She has also played Stella opposite Shirley Knight and Peter Weller in A Streetcar Named Desire and appeared in Otherwise Engaged with Roddy McDowall.
For three years she was the on-camera spokesperson for Actonel and has recorded hundreds of commercials including the famous Beautymist Pantyhose commercial starring Joe Namath. She has also provided voices for several cartoon series including Doug and Sheep in the City.
Fran served on the Board of Directors for the Screen Actors Guild and currently serves as Vice President on the board of the Jim Henson Legacy.