Jim
Henson's Puppet Improv March 8-12
Puppeteers
Brian Henson, Bill Barretta, Julianne Buescher, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph,
Drew Massey, Paul Rugg, Allan Trautman
and Victor Yerrid will star at the Henson Improv
Courtesy
of The Jim Henson Company
February
8, 2006
From
the company that for fifty years has celebrated irreverence, creativity
and performance comes Jim Henson’s Puppet Improv: a demonstration
of what happens when the perilous and provocative forms of traditional
comedic improvisation are mixed with a bunch of puppets.
With
a motley group of characters brought to life by the world renowned
puppeteers of The Jim Henson Company, this is not your average night
at the improv and it is definitely not for children. But all others
are welcome to enjoy the uninhibited anarchy of live puppet performance
as never seen before.
 This
special live performance at the upcoming U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
- taking place March 8-12 in Aspen Colorado - is scheduled to feature
Brian Henson, Bill Barretta, Julie Buescher, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph,
Drew Massey, Paul Rugg, Allan Trautman and Victor Yerrid. The show
is being advertised as not for children and is going to be a fantastic
night of improv puppetry.
If
you're interested in attending the U.S. Comedy Festival, ticket
packages are on sale now through the USCAF box office at 1-866-350-3369
or online at www.hbocomedyfestival.com.
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Brian
Henson (Producer, Performer)
is Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Jim Henson Company and
an award-winning director, producer, writer and performer.
In
recent years, Henson served as Executive Producer on the television
projects It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, Muppets'
Wizard of Oz, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (which he
also directed) and Jim Henson's Jack and the Beanstalk:
The Real Story (which he also co-wrote and directed).
Recently,
he has been leading the Creature Shop's work with its revolutionary
puppeteered animation system. He is currently in post
production on an episode he directed for TNT's anthology series
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen
King, scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2006. |
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Bill
Barretta is a writer, director, producer and puppeteer.
He is best-known for his Muppet characters including Pepe
the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama and Bobo the Bear as well as
characters originally created by Jim Henson; The Swedish Chef,
Rowlf the Dog and Dr. Teeth. Other television credits
include Dinosaurs, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
and It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
Bill is a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York
City. |
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Julianne
Buescher, a whimsically versatile Henson performer,
Second City alum and graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul,
hosts E!'s Gone Bad and is a regular on Jimmy
Kimmel Live (using her freakish ability to voice-match
almost any actor/singer). Julianne's ear-biting In A Minute
storytelling ran on KPFK LA and KPFA Berkeley. She created
and starred in the award-winning film Resculpting Venus:
A Comedy about Breast Cancer. |
| |
Leslie
Carrara-Rudolph is a puppeteer, voice-over artist,
teacher, writer and illustrator who has created and performed
several shows and interactive workshops for all ages throughout
the United States. Her puppeteering credits include
Muppets Tonight, Johnny and the Sprites,
Blue's Room and Sesame Street. Her
stage credits include her original productions The Wahoo
Wagon for Disney and Young at Heart as well
as Lily Tomlin's The Search for Signs… |
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Drew
Massey is an actor, puppeteer, and voice-over
guy whose film credits include Muppets Wizard of Oz,
The Producers, Doctor Dolittle, Cats &
Dogs, Team America, and Men In Black I and II.
Drew has also performed on TV in Greg the Bunny, Angel,
Malcolm in the Middle, Muppets Tonight, Cousin Skeeter,
Crank Yankers and in ads for Foster Farms, Sony and Levi's.
He also draws really well and loves animals. |
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Paul
Rugg, a founding member of the ACME Comedy Group
in Hollywood and an award winning writer for TV animation,
has lent his vocal talent to such shows as Animaniacs,
Pinky and The Brain, Histeria, Buzz
Lightyear Of Star Command, Dave The Barbarian,
Toonsylvania, American Dragon, Catscratch.
Paul also wrote, produced and starred in Freakazoid
as well as the "Manny The Uncanny" segments for ABC's One
Saturday Morning. |
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Allan
Trautman began his performing career as an actor,
noted for his portrayal of "Tarman" in the cult classics Return
of the Living Dead: Parts One and Two. He has gone on
to puppeteer in such features as Muppets From Space,
Cats & Dogs, Babe and Dr. Dolittle
(for which he was also performance coordinator).
His television puppeteering credits include Greg the Bunny,
Unhappily Ever After, Muppets Tonight and Dinosaurs.
|
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Victor
Yerrid is an actor and puppeteer who likes calling
people "Hank" regardless of their name. His credits include
The Producers: The Movie Musical, Team America,
Just Like Heaven, Men In Black II, Angel, Crank
Yankers, Robot Chicken, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, Greg
The Bunny, Sesame Street, Between The Lions
and Bear in the Big Blue House. Victor enjoys
most berry-based smoothies and adores his wife Janet. |
MORE
HENSON NEWS
• Emmet Otter musical debuts at Goodspeed Opera House
• Houston Henson screenings December 5-7
• The Christmas Toy comes to DVD
• Henson announces Emmet Otter musical
• Henson's "Sid the Science Kid" coming to PBS in September
• Emmet Otter takes the stage
• Empire acquires rights to Jim Henson screenplay
• Fraggles and Farscape now available on iTunes
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