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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 Peruggi about all of these projects and more on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Rita Peruggi by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Rita Peruggi: IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0675745/ Wikipedia - https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Ritamarie_Peruggi

Discussed on the show: Rita Peruggi – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0675745/ Jim Henson Company – https://www.henson.com/ Jim Henson Play-Along Videos - https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Play-Along_Video Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets – https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_Holiday Muppet Babies Music Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5EUpo1pXq8 Muppet*Vision 3D – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muppet*Vision_3D Dinosaurs (TV series) – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101081/ The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – https://www.netflix.com/title/80148535 Earth to Ned – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_to_Ned Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock – https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/fraggle-rock-back-to-the-rock/ Jack's Big Music Show – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack%27s_Big_Music_Show Yo Gabba Gabba! – https://www.yogabbagabba.com/ Splash and Bubbles – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splash_and_Bubbles

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Art by Parker Jacobs Music by Dan Ring Edited by Stephen Staver

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Louise Gold is puppetry royalty. A trained theatre performer, Louise began her puppetry career working on the second season of The Muppet Show, where she played many characters — including the role of Annie Sue, much to Miss Piggy's dismay. In addition to continuing her work with The Muppets, she went on to perform in The Dark Crystal, Sesame Street, and the Sesame Street spin-off The Furchester Hotel, where she played the hotel's proprietor, Funella Furchester. She's also performed on Spitting Image, The Ghost of Faffner Hall, Dodge's Pup School, and many, many more puppetry projects. I talk to Louise Gold about her incredible career on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Louise Gold by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Louise Gold: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gold7046 IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0325028/ Muppet Wiki - https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Louise_Gold

Discussed on the show: The Muppet Show - https://shows.disney.com/the-muppet-show Annie Sue - https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Annie_Sue The Dark Crystal - https://www.darkcrystal.com/ Sesame Street - https://www.sesamestreet.org/ The Furchester Hotel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Furchester_Hotel The Ghost of Faffner Hall - https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/The_Ghost_of_Faffner_Hall Dodge's Pup School - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33665574/ Spitting Image - https://www.youtube.com/c/SpittingImage

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Art by Parker Jacobs Music by Dan Ring Edited by Stephen Staver

©2025 Saturday Morning Media - http://www.saturdaymorningmedia.com

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Stacey Weingarten is a puppeteer, puppet wrangler, director, writer, and producer who got her puppet start studying with John Tartaglia and later went on to work on the show Johnny and the Sprites. Since then, she's worked with The Muppets and Sesame Street, where she won an Emmy Award for her work on the show's 50th season. She also has her own theatrical puppetry projects — Rescue Rue and Runaway Rue — that have played Off-Broadwayand at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. I talk to Stacey Weingarten about all these projects and more, including her work on the upcoming The Muppet Show special for Disney+, on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Stacey Weingarten by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Stacey Weingarten:

Website - https://www.saweingarten.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sayetc/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/stacey.weingarten.9 IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3899160/

Discussed on the show: John Tartaglia - https://saturdaymorningmedia.com/2019/02/utp-25/ Johnny and the Sprites – https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Johnny_and_the_Sprites Sesame Street – https://www.sesameworkshop.org The Muppets – https://muppets.disney.com Rescue Rue & Runaway Rue – https://www.rescuerue.com Fordham University Theatre Program – https://www.fordham.edu/theatre CTY (Center for Talented Youth) – https://cty.jhu.edu The O'Neill Puppetry Conference – https://www.theoneill.org/pup Tim Lagasse – https://www.timlagasse.com Jim Henson Company – https://www.henson.com Puppet Kitchen NYC – https://www.puppetkitchen.com John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tartaglia%27s_ImaginOcean

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Art by Parker Jacobs Music by Dan Ring Edited by Stephen Staver

©2025 Saturday Morning Media - http://www.saturdaymorningmedia.com

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Marisol Himmel is an educational puppeteer and ventriloquist and the creator of Moddy Puppets, A puppet company that explores new ways to use puppetry in education. I talk with Marisol about her puppetry journey, her explorations of different styles of puppetry, her collaborations with other artists and much more on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Marisol Himmel by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Marisol Himmel:

Website - https://moddypuppets.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/moddypuppets/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ModdyPuppets

TIkTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@moddypuppets

Discussed on the show: Geoff Rams (ventriloquism coach) - https://www.instagram.com/GeoffRams/

Cynthia Lopez - My Puppet Factory - https://www.instagram.com/MyPuppetFactory/

nunushi - https://www.instagram.com/nunushi.art/

Becca - https://www.instagram.com/Beccasaccount/

Elakha Alliance (otter project) - https://www.instagram.com/ElakhaAlliance

San Francisco Bay Area Puppetry Guild - https://sfbapg.org

Children's Fairyland - https://fairyland.org

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Connect with Grant: http://www.MrGrant.com https://instagram.com/throwingtoasters/

Art by Parker Jacobs Music by Dan Ring Edited by Stephen Staver

©2025 Saturday Morning Media - http://www.saturdaymorningmedia.com

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Jeanne Lauren worked in the creature shop that was building some of the most iconic creatures for Return of the Jedi. She also worked on the film ensuring the creatures looked good on screen and more importantly, that their performers were comfortable while wearing the creature suits. Her own company, Skyana has been designing puppets, mascots and costumes for Corporate events and television for decades. I talk to Jeanne Lauren about all these things and more, including her appearance as a biker in the 1986 film Howard the Duck, on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Jeanne Lauren by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Jeanne Lauren: IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0491067/

Discussed on the show: Eco, You and Simon, Too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCqhpxFd8AY&t=517s Light & Magic (TV Series) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_%26_Magic_(TV_series)

To see the photos discussed visit underthepuppet.com

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Art by Parker Jacobs Music by Dan Ring Edited by Stephen Staver

©2025 Saturday Morning Media - http://www.saturdaymorningmedia.com

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Vanessa Valliere creates original solo theater shows combining elements of clown and puppetry. She's performed these shows all over the world and often performs at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. She's also toured with the Manual Cinema and she recently attended the National Puppetry Conference at the O'Neill for the very first time. I talk to Vanessa Valliere about all these things and more on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with

by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Vanessa Valliere:

Website - https://www.vanessavalliere.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vanessavalliere YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@nessagoof

Discussed on the show: Mucca Pazza - https://www.muccapazza.com Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival - https://chicagopuppetfest.org Manual CInema - https://manualcinema.com National Puppetry Conference - https://www.theoneill.org/pup

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.comhttp://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

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Showko Showfukutei is a Ventriloquist, comedian, actor and one of the few female Rakugo performers in the world. Born in Japan, Showko traveled the world with stops in Canada, Singapore, London to learn her craft which combines 400 year old Japanese comedy techniques and ventriloquism. I talk to Showko about her live stage shows, working on cruise ships, creating web series, being on Australia's Got Talent and much more on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Showko Showfukutei by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Showko Showfukutei:

Website - https://showkocomedy.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/showkocomedy/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ShowkoComedy笑福亭笑子 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ShowkoComedy/

Discussed on the show: Puppets Need Therapy Too - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjaNXplABELOBuUeP9WZz7tofsCbcPt7Q Saccharine - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35050712/ Heath McIvor - https://saturdaymorningmedia.com/2019/11/utp-34/

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.comhttp://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

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Sarah Oh is a puppeteer and improvisor who got her start in puppetry working on the Jim Henson Company Show Splash and Bubbles. Since then she's worked with The Muppets, Puppet Up Uncensored, Postmodern Jukebox and on TV shows like Kidding and The Barbarian and the Troll as well the blockbuster film Five Nights At Freddy's as well as the upcoming sequel Five Nights At Freddy's 2! I chat with Sarah about her puppetry career on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Sarah Oh by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Sarah Oh: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/troubadourheart IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5344942/

Discussed on the show:

Jim Henson Company - https://www.henson.com

Splash and Bubbles - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6167962

Puppet Up! – Uncensored - https://www.puppetup.com

Postmodern Jukebox - https://postmodernjukebox.com

Kidding - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7375404/

The Barbarian and the Troll - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13435114/

Five Nights at Freddy's - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4589218/

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30274401

Glorious Ladies of Puppetry (GLOP) - https://saturdaymorningmedia.com/2024/02/utp-92/

UC Irvine - https://drama.arts.uci.edu/

Alan Trautman - https://saturdaymorningmedia.com/2017/09/utp-007/

Earth to Ned - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11176048

Let's Be Real - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13102370

Muppets Haunted Mansion - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14602326

The Muppets Mayhem - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18545980

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.comhttp://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

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Adrian Rose Leonard is a puppeteer, builder and director who has worked in many forms of puppetry. She's puppeteered on TV shows like Waffles & Mochi's Restaurant, Crank Yankers and Mr. Neighbor's House as well as movies such as If It Bleeds and The Butthole Surfers Movie. She's also directed several projects including short films and music videos. I talk to Adrian Rose Leonard about all this and more on this episode of Under The Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Adrian Rose Leonard by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Adrian Rose Leonard: Website - https://www.yoadrianrose.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adrianroseleonard IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6452467/

Discussed on the show: Crank Yankers - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6452467/ Mr. Neighbor's House - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6452467/ Waffles & Mochi's Restaurant - https://www.netflix.com/title/81609457 The Butthole Surfers Movie - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16304140/ Yamasong: March of the Hollows - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4191486/ Crank Yankers - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318959/ LA Guild of Puppetry - https://www.laguildofpuppetry.org

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.comhttp://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

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com -

Stoph Scheer is a puppeteer, writer, and director who has worked with The Jim Henson Company, The Muppets, and even Banksy. Stoph is also a writer, producer and puppeteer for the surreal and nostalgic web series The Creatures of Yes, and has performed in Slumberkins, Puppet Up! Uncensored, and The Muppets Mayhem. I sit down with Stoph to talk about her journey in puppetry and much more on this episode of Under the Puppet.

Plus, hear more of my conversation with Stoph Scheer by becoming a Saturday Morning Media Patreon Patron. Visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia for info and to help create more episodes like this.

Connect with Stoph Scheer:

Website - http://www.scheerbrilliance.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stophscheer_transpuppeteer IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14251884/

Discussed on the show: Muhlenberg College – Theatre Department - https://www.muhlenberg.edu/academics/theatre-dance/ Sandglass Theater - https://sandglasstheater.org/ The O'Neill National Puppetry Conference - https://www.theoneill.org/pup University of Connecticut (UConn) – Puppet Arts Program - https://drama.uconn.edu/programs/puppet-arts/ Jim Henson Company – Puppet Up! Uncensored - https://www.puppetup.com The Creatures of Yes (YouTube Series) - https://www.youtube.com/@TheCreaturesofYes The Creatures of Yes (Official Site) - https://creaturesofyes.com/ Doppelskope - https://www.doppelskope.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.comhttp://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