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Brian Henson

Brian Henson Books

Puppeteer

Brian Henson, born on November 3, 1963, is a renowned puppeteer. He is known for his family's outstanding contributions to the field of puppetry, particularly his collaboration with his father, Jim Henson. Brian grew up under the influence of his father and became a versatile puppet designer and performer, involved in numerous television shows and film projects.

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“To anyone who's trying to be an artist, in any medium, it's a very odd and lonely and nerve-wracking and scary process when you let anybody see what you're working on. You have to learn to listen to your instincts. Absorb other people's advice, opinions, or whatever it may be from the outside world, but at the end of the day, you have to be true to whatever it is that you're trying to say in that work.”

People World Trying May Ends Artist Process Opinion Advice Lonely Instinct Scary Mediums Being True Odd The End Of The Day Nerves Outside World

Author:Brian Henson

“"Stuffed and Unstrung" started as a workshop, actually, classes within our company. We found that our puppeteers were not ad libbing as well as traditionally, Jim Henson Company puppeteers have. We're sort of famous for going off script a little bit and ad libbing.”

Wells Littles Found Bits Company Class Little Bit Scripts Ads Workshops Puppeteer

Author:Brian Henson

“We kind of lost a lot of that and puppeteers were sticking to the script and we thought everything needed to get a lot funnier, so we thought we would go to a good improv comedy instructor.”

Kind Lost Comedy Needed Scripts Instructors Puppeteer Improv Comedy

Author:Brian Henson

“he puppeteers really responded to it. Patrick Bistrow really responded to it, it's great fun to do improve comedy with puppets.”

Fun Comedy Puppets Puppeteer

Author:Brian Henson

“Patrick thought we should try to put an audience in front of one of the workshops, basically in front of the class and see how the performers rose to having an audience there, because he said, "You know, it's a really interesting test, because sometimes it gets even funnier."”

Knows Should Trying Said Sometimes Interesting Class Audience Fronts Tests Rose Performers Really Interesting Workshops

Author:Brian Henson

“I thought, well, if we're inviting an audience, let's do it right. So I put in a proper studio audience at our studios in Los Angeles and it was just a little showcase and it was just for fun.”

Ifs Wells Littles Fun Audience Studios Los Angeles Inviting Showcase Just For Fun

Author:Brian Henson

“There was a producer from the Aspen Comedy Festival who happened to be there, as a friend of a friend, and she said, "I'd like to book you into the Aspen Comedy Festival," and we said, "Well, there isn't really a show to book in, this is just a little showcase and it's really our workshop." And she said, "No, it's great, I love it, just do exactly what you did."”

Wells Littles Said Book Shows Comedy Happened Producers Festivals Workshops Showcase Aspens

Author:Brian Henson

“We took a show to the Aspen Comedy Festival, called "Puppet Up" at that point, and in Aspen we just did three shows, and in Aspen, there was a producer from the Edinborough Fringe Festival, who said, "Please come to Edinborough."”

Said Shows Three Comedy Please Producers Festivals Fringe Puppets Aspens

Author:Brian Henson

“we sent a troupe to Edinborough, and then in Edinborough, there was a producer from the Melbourne Comedy Festival, so we went to Melbourne. So it's one of these shows that kind of organically developed and it started developing momentum way before I even thought there was a show here.”

Way Kind Shows Comedy Producers Developing Festivals Momentum Melbourne Troupe

Author:Brian Henson

“And then after the success at Melbourne Comedy Festival, then we regrouped back in LA and we went back into workshopping and decided to develop a proper show and that's when we started working on "Stuffed and Unstrung," which is a much bigger and sharper version of "Puppet Up."”

Shows Comedy Decided Bigger Versions Festivals Puppets Melbourne

Author:Brian Henson

“We wanted to premiere it in New York, because New York is sort of the home of the Jim Henson Company and it's sort of the tone and flavor, always, of the puppet work that we've done traditionally. And that's what brought us here and now we're here.”

Done Home Wanted Company New York Tone Flavor Here And Now Puppets Premieres

Author:Brian Henson

“I think it's a lot richer than what we call fleshy improv, I think it's very funny, puppet improv and fleshy improv.”

Thinking Puppets

Author:Brian Henson

“First of all, you're improvising through a puppet, so you're not always yourself: you're a cow or you're a pig or you're an old woman, you know, whatever puppet you pick, or you're a demon, you know, whatever you pick up, that's what you get to be in the scene.”

Knows Firsts Scene Picks Demon Cows Pigs Puppets Old Woman Improvising

Author:Brian Henson

“In many ways, I think it's easier in some ways, or it's more entertaining or more guaranteed to be entertaining than traditional improvising. Again, because you're not just you in your body.”

Thinking Way Body Easier Your Body Traditional Entertaining Improvising

Author:Brian Henson

“A puppet that starts to improvise badly is almost funnier than the puppet that's improvising well. So the show gets better when the improvising is really good, but also the show can also sometimes get better when the improvising sort of goes a little wrong and that's sort of a blessing to improvising with puppets.”

Wells Littles Sometimes Shows Blessing Get Better Puppets Improvising

Author:Brian Henson

“The challenge is, well, there's a huge challenge, which is when you're improvising, you're meant to sort of clear your mind completely, just be open and funny, and paying, you know, paying attention.”

Knows Mind Wells Challenges Attention Clear Huge Pay Attention Improvising

Author:Brian Henson

“And with puppets, especially in our company, we sort of demand a very high standard of puppetry, so it's a real technical skill.”

Real Company Skills Demand Standards Puppets High Standards Technical Skills

Author:Brian Henson

“So while you're trying to improvise, you're also trying to puppeteer, you're doing everything that you need to do to perform a puppet in our style, for a camera.”

Needs Trying Style Cameras Puppets Puppeteer

Author:Brian Henson

“So that's the challenge, you have a big technical aspect of what you're doing whilst you're creatively trying to improvise.”

Trying Bigs Challenges Aspect

Author:Brian Henson

“I'd say that that is a challenge, but it also is, again, it's helpful. It's helpful to have the discipline of, okay, I'm doing, I'm doing something that's quite precise over here, working the puppet, and I'm doing something that's very imprecise and creative and unleashed over here, which is the comedy side. And it's kind of nice to allow your brain to be doing those two things at once.”

Kind Two Sides Challenges Brain Creative Comedy Nice Discipline Okay Two Things Helpful Precise Puppets Unleashed

Author:Brian Henson

“It's actually good when the performers are nervous, because it kind of sharpens up your brain and a little bit of adrenaline is good. Initially it's really tough.”

Kind Littles Bits Brain Little Bit Tough Nervous Performers Adrenaline

Author:Brian Henson

“I think initially it's terrifying because going into a show where, you know, "Oh, I'm going to be on stage for two hours, I have no lines to memorize, I have nothing really prepared," and actually I say that, the show is not all improvising.”

Thinking Knows Two Shows Hours Lines Stage Prepared Improvising

Author:Brian Henson

“The show is probably 60 percent improvising and 40 percent not. So there's quite a bit of it that we do have prepared and that part of it, you have memorized and you've rehearsed and you're prepared, just like any show.”

Shows Bits Percent Prepared Improvising

Author:Brian Henson

“But the fact that most of the show you can't be prepared for, you have no idea really what's coming is initially very nerve wracking, by now, it's kind of fun.”

Kind Ideas Facts Shows Fun Prepared No Idea Nerves Be Prepared

Author:Brian Henson

“You get used to it, you look forward to the adrenaline of the stage fright before you go out.”

Looks Used Stage Adrenaline Fright Stage Fright

Author:Brian Henson

“This is certainly the raunchiest, if you use that word, raunchy. The roots of Jim Henson, though, was adult comedy.”

Ifs Use Comedy Adults Roots

Author:Brian Henson

“The first show that my dad and my mom did together was for, was a comedy series, a short form that went in the middle of late-night news, and then through all of their career, it was always the "Ed Sullivan Show," it was a variety act, my dad was on the "Jimmy Dean Show" for a few years.”

Years Firsts Shows Together Form Night Careers Comedy Middle Mom Dad Late News Series My Dad My Mom Variety Jimmy Dean Late Night Ed Sullivan

Author:Brian Henson

“It was actually what my dad did and with the Muppets, the years with the Muppets, it was really all targeted to adults. It was in a time when everything had to be safe for the whole family. But he was targeting adults.”

Years Whole Dad Safe Adults My Dad Whole Family Muppet

Author:Brian Henson

“"Sesame Street" was really the first kid's show that my dad did. He did a couple of TV specials that were targeted for kids before "Sesame Street," but really, it was, it's kind of going back to our roots, when we start to get adult. This show gets very adult sometimes, and that's because of the audience.”

Firsts Kind Sometimes Shows Kids Audience Streets Tvs Couple Dad Adults Roots My Dad Sesame Street

Author:Brian Henson

“There's an awful lot of scenes where we don't know what the scene's going to be about, we ask the audience, pick a place that the scene is happening, pick the relationship, tell us who they are, things like that.”

Knows Asks Audience Scene Happenings Picks Awful

Author:Brian Henson

“And if the audience is in a kind of naughty, raunchy mood, then they're going to make naughty, raunchy suggestions and then we take them and we do the scene anyway, and that's part of the fun.”

Ifs Kind Fun Audience Scene Mood Suggestions Naughty

Author:Brian Henson

“We try to keep it a classy show, but it certainly is blue at times. And it all depends on the audience, sometimes we've have audiences that don't really want us to go too far in that direction.”

Want Trying Sometimes Shows Audience Depends Blue Want U

Author:Brian Henson

“Really, initially what I very quickly realized that I was loving about the show was, because it reminded me of when I was a kid and I would visit the sets where my dad was shooting with the other puppeteers.”

Shows Kids Dad My Dad Shooting Puppeteer

Author:Brian Henson

“And one of the funnest things was watching what they did before the director called action and after the director called cut. And they'd keep their hands in the puppets, they'd stay in character, and then they'd start goofing around with each other and be off of script, and it would get quite blue.”

Character Hands Action Cutting Directors Blue Scripts Puppets Goofing Around

Author:Brian Henson

“And it was a whole lot of fun, and in many ways, what we've done with the show is just taken that part of my early memories of visiting my dad, shooting with the Muppets, and taking that and making a show that's really an expansion of that and presenting a show that's all that.”

Way Done Whole Shows Fun Memories Taken Dad My Dad Shooting Expansion Visiting Presenting Muppet

Author:Brian Henson

“And that was always my father's favorite part about shooting as well. Often my dad would shoot very, very late, he was quite a workaholic, they would do 20, 20-hour shoots and stuff like that.”

Wells Father Stuff Hours Dad Late My Dad Shooting Workaholic

Author:Brian Henson

“And again, we're kind of trying to be in that place, that's just so absurd and irreverent and hysterical and it's something that at our company we're kind of, we're so irreverent about everything, we're sort of irreverent about the establishment, we're irreverent about civilization, we're irreverent about philosophy, we're irreverent about religion.”

Trying Kind Philosophy Company Civilization Absurd Establishment Hysterical Irreverent

Author:Brian Henson

“We're also irreverent, we have an irreverent attitude towards puppets, as well. So a lot of what we do is we're kind of making fun of the puppets for being puppets, even while we're doing it. And again, that all feeds into the absurdity of this show.”

Wells Kind Shows Fun Attitude Absurdity Puppets Irreverent

Author:Brian Henson

“In the show, we have recreated two sketches that my dad had, or pieces that my dad had developed. One that he had developed with my mother, one that Frank Oz had developed with my dad. And these are old pieces from the '50's and '60's, and we're going to develop more, too.”

Two Shows Mother Pieces Dad My Dad Frank

Author:Brian Henson

“It's really great to do one piece, "I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face," my dad developed in 1956, when he was 20 years old, and it's great to do that piece again now and see that it still really works as well as it ever did.”

Years Wells Stills Faces Pieces Dad My Dad Your Face Really Great Accustomed One Piece

Author:Brian Henson

“Oh, well, I can't tell you; it would be telling you the end. It's a one-character lip-syncing because in the early days, that's what my dad was doing.”

Wells I Can Ends Character Would Be Dad My Dad Lips Oh Well

Author:Brian Henson

“My dad and mom were, they would take what were popular hits, and lip-sync to them with puppets and do a ridiculous story.”

Stories Mom Dad My Dad Lips Ridiculous Puppets Sync

Author:Brian Henson

“So it's Rosemary Clooney - Rosemary? Rosemary Clooney, right? The singer? Yes. Clooney, doing, singing, "I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face," which is, you know, really a love song, but what we see on stage is we see one puppet that's got a ridiculous blonde wig on and she looks ridiculous, and next to her is a head that's just a piece of fabric with a pretty face on it.”

Knows Looks Faces Song Next Pieces Stage Singing Singers Ridiculous Your Face Fabric Accustomed Blonde Puppets Wigs Pretty Face Rosemary

Author:Brian Henson

“And then while she's lip-syncing, "I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face," to this little head next to her, the head eats the cloth fabric and swallows it and it's sort of this weird, demonic character there, who then tries to eat the singer. But it's a lot of fun. So there's a couple of pieces like that.”

Trying Littles Character Faces Next Fun Pieces Couple Lips Singers Your Face Fabric Accustomed Demonic

Author:Brian Henson

“I always very much enjoyed arts and it was so central in my family, my mother was also an art teacher, as well as founding the Henson Company with my dad, there was a lot of art going on in our household.”

Wells Art Mother Company Teacher Dad My Family My Dad Enjoyed Household Founding Art Teacher

Author:Brian Henson

“But curriculum-wise, I was drawn to the sciences and specifically to physics, and I really enjoyed it and I think for a little while there, I was really thinking my schooling would be in physics, that that was something I loved.”

Thinking Littles Would Be Wise Physics Enjoyed Schooling Curriculum

Author:Brian Henson

“Probably though, by the time I was 17, I already knew that I was probably going to go into film”

Author:Brian Henson

“At that point, I thought probably special effects, something like that, and indeed, the early days when I was working with my dad, after I left school, I only went to less than one year of college, and then I was transferring, and then I delayed my transfer, and I did a movie, and then another movie, and then I never finished college.”

Years School Left Special Effects College Dad My Dad Finished Transfers Delayed Special Effects

Author:Brian Henson

“But initially when I was working with my dad, it was in special effects puppets with radio control and motors and puppet effects.”

Special Effects Dad My Dad Radio Motor Puppets Special Effects

Author:Brian Henson

“The first big thing that I did with my dad was the bicycle sequence in "The Great Muppet Caper," where Kermit and Piggy are riding bicycles in Battersea Park in London and that was a complex marionetting and cranes driving through the park, it was a complicated scene, and I did that with my dad.”

Firsts Bigs Dad Scene Complexes My Dad Complicated London Driving Parks Riding Big Things Sequence Bicycle Cranes Riding A Bicycle Muppet Piggy Capers

Author:Brian Henson

About the Author

Born: November 3, 1963
Known for: Puppeteer
Quotes: 62

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