124 - Artie Esposito (Muppets, Jungle Book, Crank Yankers) - Under The Puppet
Under The Puppet
- Artie Esposito began working his puppetry skills at a young age. Several years puppeteering at Walt Disney World as well as workshops with The Jim Henson Company and The Muppets would propel him to television on shows such as Crank Yankers and Sesame Street. He puppeteered Baloo the Bear in the live action remake of Disney’s The Jungle Book and puppeteers Freddy Fazebear for the film Five Nights At Freddys where he also served as Puppet Captain. I talk to Artie Esposito about all these things on this episode of Under The Puppet. Plus, hear more of my...
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123 - Lee Armstrong (Fraggle Rock, Images In Motion)
Under The Puppet
- Lee Armstrong is a puppeteer, producer and the co-owner of Images In Motion, a company that specializes in TV Production, puppets and 3D Printing. Lee worked as a puppeteer on three seasons of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock and her other screen puppetry credits include Being John Malkovich, Follow That Bird and Mustard Pancakes. She won a Regional Emmy for her special Land of I and as a lifelong teacher, Lee has taught puppetry to thousands as well as teaching the course “Jim Henson and the Art of the Muppets” at the University of California at Santa Cruz. ...
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122 - Behind the Scenes with ventriloquist Terry Fator
Under The Puppet
- On Friday, July 21, 2023, I was honored to be asked to host a post-performance question and answer session with ventriloquist Terry Fator at the Puppeteers of America Festival at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. I was able to chat chat with Terry about performing on America’s Got Talent, where his early puppets came from, how much improvisation goes into his act, his singing chops and more. I’m happy to share a recording of that audio with you on this episode of Under The Puppet. Connect with Terry Fator: Website - Instagram - YouTube - ...
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121 - Honey Goodenough (Word Play, Sock Monkey Circus)
Under The Puppet
- Honey Goodenough is a puppeteer, clown, educator and magician. She’s traveled the United States and the world with her shows Sock Monkey Circus and Word Play and she’s been featured at the National Puppetry Slam several times. She’s toured with the Frisch Marionettes and worked with past Under The Puppet guest Nick Coppola performing at Macy’s in New York City. Honey has also founded several grants to assist puppeteers and is the creator of Puppet Pandemic, a nationally touring puppet slam funded in part by Heather Hensons Puppet Slam Network. ...
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120 - Nicolas Coppola (Puppetworks)
Under The Puppet
- Nicolas Coppola became enchanted by puppetry at an early age. This enchantment lead to a life of building, performing and running puppet companies that has lasted over 70 years. He created shows for The Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. and had a long standing job creating shows and performing at Macy*s in New York City. He also created PuppetWorks, a non-profit marionette theater in Park Slope Brooklyn, New York that has entertained families since 1980. I chat with Nicolas Coppola about his amazing career on this episode of Under The Puppet. Plus, hear...
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119 - Jim LoGiudice (Far Outpost, The Rocketeer, The Abyss)
Under The Puppet
- Jim LoGiudice began his career making props and models for films such as The Abyss, Con Air, The Rocketeer, and Armageddon. He made the move to puppetry though his church and started developing the characters and the show that would become Far Outpost, which performs weekly at Granite Creek Church in Claremont, California. I talk to Jim LoGiudice about the development of Far Outpost, the building of the puppets on the show, their crazy special effects, and more on this episode of Under The Puppet. One quick note. During my interview with Jim we discuss some of the special...
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118 - Bill Barretta & Frank Oz on Judge Boing Boing
Under The Puppet
- In July of 2025, an incredible group of people got together at the Amazon MGM studios in Culver City, California on historic stage 15, to shoot a series of shorts called Judge Boing Boing. I recently sat down with the creative forces behind this project Bill Barretta and Frank Oz to find out how it all came together for this episode of Under The Puppet. Connect with Judge Boing Boing: Instagram - YouTube - TikTok - Discussed on the show: Milton Berle on the Muppets clip - WIlkins and WOntkins - Connect with the Show: Connect with Grant: Art by Parker Jacobs...
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117 - Amanda Maddock (Five Nights At Freddy's 1 & 2, Bear In the Big Blue House, LazyTown)
Under The Puppet
- Amanda Maddock is a puppeteer, builder, wrangler, and teacher who has experience working with puppets of all sizes. From the regular puppets of The Book of Pooh, Bear in the Big Blue House, Between the Lions, Sesame Street, and The Muppets to the enormous puppets of Walking with Dinosaurs and How to Train Your Dragon, Amanda’s career has taken her across the country and around the world—including to Iceland to work on LazyTown and to Russia to puppeteer in the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Versed in many styles of puppetry, from tabletop to hand-and-rod to...
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116 - Geneviève Flati (AJR's Maybe Man Tour, Fraggle Rock Live, Puppet Up)
Under The Puppet
- Geneviève Flati is a puppeteer, producer, and one of the most driven creative individuals I know. Her passion has led to work as Puppet Director, Puppet Captain, and Puppeteer on several nationwide tours, including a role as puppeteer and puppet director for The Maybe Man Arena Tour by pop band AJR. She’s performed with the Jim Henson Company’s Puppet Up! Uncensored, worked on Earth to Ned, and was the Jim Henson Company’s youngest female puppet captain on the Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Live Tour. From commercials to web series to live shows, Geneviève has done it...
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115 - Rita Peruggi (The Muppets, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Fraggle Rock)
Under The Puppet
- In 1981, Rita Peruggi was hired by The Jim Henson Company as a production assistant on various projects including Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and The Muppets. She then moved on to the role of producer for the company working on many projects such as the Jim Henson Play along Videos, Muppet Vision 3D, Dinosaurs, Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, Earth To Ned and Fraggle Rock Back To The Rock. Outside of the The Jim Henson Company, Rita has served as Producer on Jack’s Big Music Show and Yo Gabba Gabba! and the updated Yo Gabba GabbaLand!. I talk Rita...
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On February 2, 2025, Under The Puppet along with past show guest Christine Papalexis, the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry and Bob Baker Marionette Theater held a live episode recording celebrating the puppeteers of Pee Wee’s Playhouse. This event sold out in less than 10 minutes and is, as of this recording, the fastest sell out Bob Baker Marionette Theater has ever had. And how can it not be when you bring together Wayne White, Ric Heitzman, George McGrath, Alison Mork and Kevin Carlson who are responsible for bringing to life some of the most beloved television characters of all time. I’m incredibly happy to present the audio recording of that evening on this episode of Under The Puppet.
We'd also like to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Lynne Stewart who played Ms. Yvonne on Pee Wee’s Playhouse. This event was recorded before her passing on February 21, 2025 but as you'll hear, she meant a lot to those who worked on the show. We send out our thoughts to Lynne Stewart’s family and to all who knew her and were lucky enough to work with her. She is, was and always will be the most beautiful women in puppet land.
Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia to help create more episodes like this.
Thanks to
Wayne White - https://www.waynewhiteart.com
Ric Heitzman - https://richeitzman.com
George McGrath - https://www.instagram.com/itsgeorgemcgrath/
Kevin Carlson - https://www.instagram.com/kevincarlson1962/
Alison Mork - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605817/
Christine Papalexis - https://www.christinepapalexis.com
Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry - https://www.laguildofpuppetry.org
Bob Baker Marionette Theater - https://www.bobbakermarionettetheater.com
Alex Evans, Winona Bechtle and Mary Thompson
Volunteers: Sally Phillips, Nick Leonard, Stef Choi, and Tony Candelaria
Videographers: Dylan Young and Sean Goodwin
Photographer: Angel Origgi - https://www.instagram.com/angeloriggi
Stagehand: Jessica Gonzales.
Puppeteers: Ginger Dunca, Nova Odette, Caden Healander, and Hannah Watanabe-Rocco.
"At The Playhouse Door" Written by Wayne White
Performed Live by Wayne White, Alison Mork & Kevin Carlson
Discussed on the show:
Pee Wee's Playhouse - https://shoutfactory.com/products/pee-wees-playhouse-the-complete-series-deluxe-limited-edition
Pee Wee Herman - https://peewee.com
Beauty is Embarrassing - https://buy.beautyisembarrassing.com
Connect with the Show:
http://www.instagram.com/underthepuppet
https://www.facebook.com/underthepuppet
http://www.twitter.com/underthepuppet
Connect with Grant:
http://www.MrGrant.com
http://www.twitter.com/toasterboy
https://instagram.com/throwingtoasters/
Art by Parker Jacobs
Music by Dan Ring
Edited by Stephen Staver
©2025 Saturday Morning Media - http://www.saturdaymorningmedia.com