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Here's a fantastic story on Muppeteer Peter Linz... 
'Muppet' puppeteer wows children at Stepping Stones
Hundreds of children and parents piled into the multimedia gallery at Stepping Stones Museum for Children on Tuesday for a side-splitting performance by celebrity puppeteer Peter Linz.
Kiera Cunniffe, 6, her sister Isla, 3, and brother Finn, 7, were first in line for the "Extremely Silly and Incredibly Close" variety show, which featured a zany cast of characters, from Curtain Pig to Professor Blah Blah Blah, whose antics delighted a crowd of children and adults alike.
"They are so excited," said Kiera's mother, as she ushered her children into the gallery. "They've been looking forward to this all week."
A longtime performer on the hit children's television series "Sesame Street," Linz is the hand behind Walter, star of the 2011 Disney film, "The Muppets."
Linz' one-man performance at Stepping Stones was something of a historic piece.
"This is basically the same show I was doing when I was a little kid," Linz said in an interview before the start of Tuesday's show. "It's been tweaked a little bit, but a lot of the puppets are some that I've had since I was 6 years old."
Linz, who characterizes himself as "the world's biggest Muppet fan," began puppeteering in preschool, using a cotton squirrel puppet to entertain classmates.
"I actually remember walking around with the squirrel puppet and making other kids laugh," he said. "I just love that feeling. It's very empowering to make other people laugh by manipulating these little things on your hand."
His love for puppeteering was enlivened by the 1969 debut of Sesame Street, a program which Linz counts as one of his greatest childhood influences.
"I was teased in high school because I still watched Sesame Street," the 44-year-old Georgia native said. "That's how much I loved the Muppets."
His talents brought him to the Center for Puppetry Arts, where Linz performed with resident puppeteers before landing his first Muppets audition in 1990.
He left the center a year later for Sesame Street, and has since performed numerous characters over the course of 20 seasons.
"I love the illusion of life, especially with Muppet characters on film and television," Linz said. "It's a magic trick what we do. It's an illusion and it's also just flippin' fun. I mean, I play with dolls for a living. How great is that?"
Alan Louis, public programs manager at Stepping Stones, joined the West Avenue children's museum last year, having previously worked at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Ga.
Louis said he plans to include more puppet shows into the special programming offered at the museum.
"I came here from a puppetry background and saw how much the people enjoyed it," he said. "Kids love puppets."
http://www.thehour.com/story/523804/muppet-puppeteer-wows-children-at-stepping-stones
'Muppet' puppeteer wows children at Stepping Stones
Hundreds of children and parents piled into the multimedia gallery at Stepping Stones Museum for Children on Tuesday for a side-splitting performance by celebrity puppeteer Peter Linz.
Kiera Cunniffe, 6, her sister Isla, 3, and brother Finn, 7, were first in line for the "Extremely Silly and Incredibly Close" variety show, which featured a zany cast of characters, from Curtain Pig to Professor Blah Blah Blah, whose antics delighted a crowd of children and adults alike.
"They are so excited," said Kiera's mother, as she ushered her children into the gallery. "They've been looking forward to this all week."
A longtime performer on the hit children's television series "Sesame Street," Linz is the hand behind Walter, star of the 2011 Disney film, "The Muppets."
Linz' one-man performance at Stepping Stones was something of a historic piece.
"This is basically the same show I was doing when I was a little kid," Linz said in an interview before the start of Tuesday's show. "It's been tweaked a little bit, but a lot of the puppets are some that I've had since I was 6 years old."
Linz, who characterizes himself as "the world's biggest Muppet fan," began puppeteering in preschool, using a cotton squirrel puppet to entertain classmates.
"I actually remember walking around with the squirrel puppet and making other kids laugh," he said. "I just love that feeling. It's very empowering to make other people laugh by manipulating these little things on your hand."
His love for puppeteering was enlivened by the 1969 debut of Sesame Street, a program which Linz counts as one of his greatest childhood influences.
"I was teased in high school because I still watched Sesame Street," the 44-year-old Georgia native said. "That's how much I loved the Muppets."
His talents brought him to the Center for Puppetry Arts, where Linz performed with resident puppeteers before landing his first Muppets audition in 1990.
He left the center a year later for Sesame Street, and has since performed numerous characters over the course of 20 seasons.
"I love the illusion of life, especially with Muppet characters on film and television," Linz said. "It's a magic trick what we do. It's an illusion and it's also just flippin' fun. I mean, I play with dolls for a living. How great is that?"
Alan Louis, public programs manager at Stepping Stones, joined the West Avenue children's museum last year, having previously worked at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Ga.
Louis said he plans to include more puppet shows into the special programming offered at the museum.
"I came here from a puppetry background and saw how much the people enjoyed it," he said. "Kids love puppets."
http://www.thehour.com/story/523804/muppet-puppeteer-wows-children-at-stepping-stones