Brett and Elissa recently took two weeks off for a “reef to rainforest” holiday.
They visited family up in Townsville before exploring the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef (including snorkelling at Hook Island, swimming at Whitehaven Beach and cocktails on Hamilton Island).
Then they went down south to the Gold Coast hinterland, into the mountains of Springbrook for a relaxing week at “The Mouses House” rainforest retreat.
This was supposed to be a break from puppetry. But that didn’t stop Frazzamatazz from stowing away in Brett and Elissa’s luggage and tagging along.
Here he is at The Strand in Townsville:
And then he came up to the lookout on Castle Hill to see Townsville from above:
Frazzamatazz had a great time at Sunday lunch with Elissa’s extended Townsville family.
Just when Brett and Elissa thought they had a moment to themselves for the drive from Townsville to Airlie Beach, Frazzamatazz made another appearance at Home Hill, where he gave a special shout out to Elissa’s mother:
Not many people know this, but Frazzamatazz is very fond of watermelons. So you can imagine how delighted he was to find a gigantic slice of watermelon at a roadside fruit stand in Bowen. Of course he climbed inside:
In Airlie Beach, Frazzamatazz made friends with some of the cruise ship passengers who were stopping by for the day:
In Springbrook, Frazz made friends with a scrub turkey in the rainforest…
… who then ran away.
All up it was a lovely holiday for Brett and Elissa. And you know what? Why take a break from puppets? Turns out Frazzamatazz was actually great company during the break.
Upon their return, they performed a puppet show at the Kawana Waters Hotel in Buddina on the Sunshine Coast.
Category: Puppets On Tour
The Mary Poppins Festival in Maryborough
The Magic of Mary Poppins Comes to Maryborough
Brett and Elissa spent the weekend in Maryborough, Queensland, approximately 255 kilometres north of Brisbane on the Fraser Coast.
Maryborough is famous as the birthplace of author P.L. Travers (Helen Lyndon Goff), creator of the beloved Mary Poppins books. Following years of persistence from Walt Disney, her stories were adapted into the classic film that continues to delight generations.
Each year the town celebrates its literary heritage with the Mary Poppins Festival, a wonderful celebration of storytelling, creativity and live performance. In 2017, Larrikin Puppets were invited to present puppet shows and interactive puppetry workshops throughout the festival.
A Day of Puppetry
Our performances and workshops took place throughout Saturday, 1 July 2017, inside the historic Maryborough Excelsior City Band Hall. We were delighted to discover that Troggg had even been drawn in chalk on the sign outside to welcome visitors!
Audiences enjoyed the zany adventures of Troggg, Flossy, Moss, Frizzby, Frazzamatazz, the Cheesecake, Freerange the Chicken and their animal friends, all with a special Mary Poppins twist.
Workshop participants then stepped behind the scenes to learn the basics of Muppet-style puppetry before joining in a Mary Poppins-themed lip-sync and dance routine with the puppets.
Meeting Fellow Puppeteers
One of our lovely workshop participants was puppet builder and performer Alison Crane from Maryborough’s own Aunty Alison’s Puppets.
Troggg Explores the Festival
Troggg had a wonderful time exploring the festival and especially loved the vintage cars that filled the streets throughout the weekend.
Festival Videos
Festival Highlights
Puppetry Arts Festival of Brooklyn
On Saturday, June 25 2016, Troggg and friends performed for the people of New York at the Puppetry Arts Festival of Brooklyn. A full festival dedicated to all styles of puppetry.
As you can see from the photo, we had a nice big crowd of families enjoying the show, and interacting with the puppets during the jokes, games and songs.
Frizzby and Flossy discussed the difference between Australian and American English:
And Troggg argued with the crowd about what kind of animal this is:
Troggg and I also hung out with puppeteer Tau Bennett (from the film, “Being Elmo”) and Moses, who performs a character called ‘Fuzzy Beard’:
In addition to the Larrikin Puppets show, Troggg also joined in as part of the Fuzzy Beard Show:
And I also performed my new chicken puppet (made at the ‘Beyond the Sock’ puppet workshop) during this awesome rap song from the Fuzzy Beard Show:
Good times had by all at the Puppetry Arts Festival of Brooklyn!
New York is a great place for puppeteers to mingle, meet, train and perform with other likeminded people.
Brett
Formal Training at ‘Beyond the Sock’ Puppetry Workshop
In June 2016, I was a student of the intensive puppetry workshop called “Beyond the Sock” at the University of North Texas. There, we were taught many of the advanced monitor puppetry techniques used on professional film and TV productions such as Sesame Street, The Muppets and Fraggle Rock.
We also learned how to construct our own puppets using a professional pattern for a chicken puppet. Our teachers were high profile Henson puppeteers Marty Robinson (The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Street; performer of Telly Monster and Mr. Snuffleupagus) and Noel MacNeal (Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House; performer of Bear) for the puppetry performance lessons, with puppet construction training from master puppet builder Pasha Romanowski (Project Puppet, The Moe Show). Marty Robinson has been a Henson puppeteer since 1981, and has trained most of the puppeteers of The Muppets and Sesame Street since the early 1990s. He also trains puppeteers for international co-productions of Sesame Street. 
So it was very special to be able to train under Marty, Noel and Pasha. Who better than the top masters of this craft to receive some very valuable, professional training?
Here are a few photos from this inspiring week!
I took the Beyond the Sock course as part of my three months of professional development in the USA, which included some informal training and rehearsing at The Puppet Kitchen in New York, as well as meeting and performing with American puppeteers of all levels around New York, Los Angeles, and Denton, Texas.
And now have a look at these lovely short videos showcasing the five days of Beyond the Sock 2016. It was a great adventure and well worth the trip if you’re interested in taking part. These videos will surely inspire anyone interested in pursuing professional puppetry to enrol in future Beyond the Sock workshops. It is the highlight of my puppetry career so far, and an experience I will never forget.
– Brett Hansen
New York and Los Angeles Puppet Adventures
At the end of our fourth week in New York City, Brett (and Troggg) spent a day with Musa Moses Bradley, who is the puppeteer for a character called Fuzzy Beard. We went out on the Staten Island Ferry and filmed an episode of “The Fuzzy Beard Show”, with special guest Troggg!
The next day, we flew six hours to Los Angeles, where we stayed just off Hollywood Boulevard for a week. Troggg found Kermit the Frog’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!
We also went to see The Jim Henson Company, where the famous Kermit the Frog statue stands at the front gate. He’s dressed like Charlie Chaplin. Why? Troggg explains why in the videos below:
Then we got to meet up with two Henson puppeteers, Grant Baciocco and Russ Walko, in Burbank, California.
Troggg met some puppet friends: Uncle Interloper (performed by Grant Baciocco), Toiley T. Paper (also performed by Grant Baciocco), and the stars of the web series “The Ultimate Nerd-ament”, Stanley (Grant Baciocco) and JAX (Russ Walko).
We had the honour and pleasure of visiting Grant’s office and Russ’ workshop (known as “The Puppet Garage”).
Russ Walko built a number of Muppets for the recent TV series “The Muppets”, and also built puppet characters for an episode of “Community” and an episode of “The Simpsons” that featured puppets.
One of the puppet monsters in Russ’ workshop looks like Troggg’s long-lost brother! Have a look:
Troggg got to chat with Toiley T. Paper after a successful run of comedy puppet shows at the Orlando Fringe Festival. He’s also about to perform at the Hollywood Fringe Festival:
Then Troggg had a casual discussion with Stanley and JAX about air travel:
So it’s been another fun and busy week of puppet adventures with Troggg!
We’re now in Denton, North Texas, about to start lessons at the big “Beyond the Sock” film and TV puppetry workshop at the University of North Texas. The teachers are a couple more Henson puppeteers: Marty Robinson (Telly Monster and Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street), Noel MacNeil (Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House), and Pasha Romanowski (builder of puppet characters from New Zealand’s “The Moe Show”).
We’ll leave you with Troggg’s guest-starring episode of “The Fuzzy Beard Show”, filmed in New York City:
3 Days of Fun with NYC Puppets
For three days in a row, Troggg, Brett and Elissa immersed themselves in New York’s puppet culture. In NYC puppets are all the rage! From professional film and TV puppeteers to small businesses to hobbyists – everybody loves puppets!
On Friday night, (20 May, 2016) we went to see “Team Lopez” – a puppet improv troupe – at Broadway Comedy Club in the theater district. They were part of a big night of improv comedy called “Pre Game Happy Hour Improv Comedy”. After the show, Troggg got a photo with the puppets, then we all went out for drinks.
On Saturday morning (21 May, 2016) we attended “Morning with The Muppets” as part of the Vulture Festival at Milk Studios in Chelsea. We got to see a panel discussion starring Muppet performers Steve Whitmire (Kermit, Ernie, Wembley Fraggle, Rizzo, etc), Eric Jacobson (Fozzie, Piggy, Bert, Grover) and Peter Linz (Walter from the recent Muppets films), and of course the superstars themselves Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and Animal.
Brett asked a question of Steve Whitmire during the Q&A session about the difference in atmosphere between working with the original team of puppeteers (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, etc) and the team of the last 25 years (incl. Matt Vogel, David Rudman, Peter Linz, Eric Jacobson, etc). He gave an amazing, heartfelt answer reflecting on the magic of being surrounded by those amazing people in the early days. 
Afterwards, Steve had a quick little examination of Troggg, and mentioned that they will be visiting Australia in a few months! He was whisked away before we could find out where and why. Maybe a Supanova or Oz Comic Con?
Brett and Troggg also got to meet a few fellow puppeteers and Muppet enthusiasts, including Zach Woliner (with Wally Wackiman) and Sam (with Mo Monster from web series The Mo Show). 
On Sunday (22 May, 2016) we went to Kaufman Astoria Studios, where Sesame Street is filmed! Yes – Troggg found his way to Sesame Street! Sadly the Sesame Street Muppets are all on Summer vacation. But the studio lot was open for a street fair. So Troggg spent time entertaining the families and posing for photos.
Next door to the Kaufman Astoria Studio is the Museum of the Moving Image, where Craig Shemin (President of the Jim Henson Legacy) and Karen Falk (the Head Archivist of the Jim Henson Company) hosted a special compilation screening of some old and rare films by Jim Henson from the 1950s and 60s that had been restored. The event was called, “Henson in High Definition: The Early Years”. Troggg of course attended and met some new friends. While we waited for the presentation to start, a small crew from a New York marketing company asked if Troggg could appear in a quick video for them. 
After the screening, Brett and Troggg met up with John Papovitch and Milo J. Monster-Smith in the foyer. Many people posed for photos with the two monsters. Brett also spoke briefly with another Henson puppeteer, Noel MacNeal, who will be one of his teachers at the upcoming ‘Beyond the Sock’ puppetry workshop in Texas. Noel is most famous for performing Bear in “Bear in the Big Blue House”.
A great weekend of puppets and Muppet fun in New York City!
Troggg’s Jim Henson Tribute in NYC
May 16, 2016 – 26 years since Jim Henson (creator of characters from The Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and more) tragically passed away at the age of 53. His memorial service was held here at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, New York City.
Our very own Troggg decided to visit the church and pay his respects to Jim Henson. After all, he is a major influence on Larrikin Puppets. Brett and Elissa came along too, and were very much in awe of the spectacular gothic style buildings.
See Troggg’s video tribute below:
Many of Troggg’s Muppet heroes sung at this glorious old church at that Jim Henson Memorial Service – Scooter, Wembley Fraggle, Gobo Fraggle, Oscar the Grouch, Fozzie Bear, Big Bird, Gonzo, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, everyone! So even though Troggg is 26 years late to the memorial, he’s very glad to be following in those legendary footsteps with his little talk and song here today.
Have a look at this moving footage of all of Jim’s puppeteer friends (with all of their Muppets) at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine performing an epic rendition of “Just One Person” at his memorial service. Music by Larry Grossman. Lyrics by Hal Hackady:
Here are some more photos of Troggg exploring this grand old cathedral:
In loving memory of the great Jim Henson. It was a lovely landmark to see. We’ll be taking a look at some more Muppet-related locations, visiting some conventions, workshops and meeting some more puppeteers as well. So stay tuned.
For more photos of Larrikin Puppets in the USA, please have a look at the ever growing album of images on our Facebook page. Click ‘Like’ while you’re there!
We’ll leave you with another video from the memorial service at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in 1990. It’s Big Bird singing, “Being Green”. We miss you, Jim!
Troggg in New York
Only 24 hours after landing in New York, it was time for Brett, Elissa, Troggg and Frazzamatazz to visit ‘The Puppet Kitchen‘ in Manhattan! They’re a puppet construction workshop, as well as a training facility in the art of Henson-style TV puppetry using cameras and monitors. 
It was ‘Monitor Night’ on Tuesday. So Troggg and Frazzamatazz got to jam alongside various other visiting and in-house puppet characters. The instructor was Michael Shupbach (Jim Henson’s Muppet Workshop, Johnny and The Sprites, Little Shop of Horrors, Avenue Q puppet construction) who was very informative and fun! He’s one of the co-founders of The Puppet Kitchen.
Lots of other New York-based puppeteers and puppetry enthusiasts were part of the session too, including Erin Finnegan, Arlee Chadwick, Gillian “Gus” Andrews, Ivy Cohen, Bobby Dagger and his son Jude. All an absolute delight to practice and perform with! We felt very warm and welcome in the company of these amazing like-minded people.
The New York adventures don’t stop there either. Lots more networking, some puppet shows at the Puppetry Arts Festival of Brooklyn, a trip to Hollywood and a week in North Texas for the ‘Beyond the Sock’ Puppetry Workshop with Muppeteers Peter Linz and Noel MacNeal. There’s even been some talk of me performing some puppetry in an upcoming film project here in New York too, so hopefully we have some more developments on that in the near future.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Brett Hansen
Troggg Visits Adelaide
Troggg’s in Adelaide at the moment to visit Shannon at ‘The Puppet Workshop‘. She made his friends Flossy and the Singing Cheesecake. Troggg is also looking to have a ‘stunt double’ of himself made. Here’s a video from this morning (April 4, 2016) in the city:
And here’s a photo of Troggg and Brett meeting with Shannon Cooke, owner of ‘The Puppet Workshop’ in Adelaide:
Larrikin Puppets is proud to be a repeat customer of The Puppet Workshop, and would recommend Shannon to anybody wanting professional custom puppets built for them.
Troggg & friends visit the outback community of Murra Murra
On September 19 2015, after a 10 hour drive from Brisbane with an overnight stop at Moonie, Elissa and Brett (along with all of the puppets) arrived at the outback community of Murra Murra near Nebine (between Bollon and Cunnamulla), the traditional land of the Kooma people. A large portion of this land is now an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA).
They took part in a cultural exchange program called “Kooma Green School” where they camped, toured the land, saw ancient remnants and learnt about looking after country and nature.
Troggg and friends performed a puppet show as part of the program. The local Kooma kids of Murra Murra and all others present as part of the program had a great time!
