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PODCAST

Under The Puppet

Saturday Morning Media

Since 2017. Under The Puppet is a monthly show that is preserving puppetry through the personal stories of professional puppeteers. Guests include puppeteers from The Muppets, Sesame Street, The Jim Henson Company and more. The show also covers other forms of puppetry such as marionettes, shadow puppetry and Bunraku . Hosted by puppeteer Grant Baciocco (The Jim Henson Company, Mystery Science Theatre 3000).

arts performing arts

All Episodes

01:19:06

124 - Artie Esposito (Muppets, Jungle Book, Crank...

Under The Puppet ·

2026/10/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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01:24:13

123 - Lee Armstrong (Fraggle Rock, Images In Motion)

Under The Puppet ·

2026/09/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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24:54

122 - Behind the Scenes with ventriloquist Terry Fator

Under The Puppet ·

2026/08/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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02:33:28

121 - Honey Goodenough (Word Play, Sock Monkey Circus)

Under The Puppet ·

2026/07/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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52:27

120 - Nicolas Coppola (Puppetworks)

Under The Puppet ·

2026/06/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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54:27

119 - Jim LoGiudice (Far Outpost, The Rocketeer, The...

Under The Puppet ·

2026/05/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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47:30

118 - Bill Barretta & Frank Oz on Judge Boing Boing

Under The Puppet ·

2026/04/07

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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 - https://www.instagram.com/judgeboingboing/ YouTube -

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01:25:05

117 - Amanda Maddock (Five Nights At Freddy's 1 & 2,...

Under The Puppet ·

2026/03/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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01:13:58

116 - Geneviève Flati (AJR's Maybe Man Tour, Fraggle...

Under The Puppet ·

2026/02/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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01:01:45

115 - Rita Peruggi (The Muppets, Yo Gabba Gabba!,...

Under The Puppet ·

2026/01/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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54:45

114 - Louise Gold (The Muppets, Dark Crystal, Sesame...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/12/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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01:29:07

113 - Stacey Weingarten (The Muppet Show Special,...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/11/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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01:07:11

112 - Marisol Himmel (Moddy Puppets)

Under The Puppet ·

2025/10/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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55:31

111 - Jeanne Lauren (Return of the Jedi, Eco, You and...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/09/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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,

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01:09:33

110 - Vanessa Valliere (LOOK! LOOK!, The Life And...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/08/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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55:26

109 - Showko Showfukutei 笑福亭笑子 (Australia's Got...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/07/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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,

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01:04:47

108 - Sarah Oh (Five Nights At Freddy’s, Muppets,...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/06/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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,

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01:39:57

107 - Adrian Rose Leonard (If It Bleeds, Waffles &...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/05/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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01:02:51

106 - Stoph Scheer (Creatures of Yes, Muppets Mayhem,...

Under The Puppet ·

2025/04/01

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

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58:53

105 - The Puppeteers of Pee Wee's Playhouse Live

Under The Puppet ·

2025/03/01

http://www.UnderThePuppet.com - 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

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