Puppetry
I've been a lover of puppetry my entire life, with a particular fascination and fondness for Jim Henson's Muppets. In college I started performing in school variety shows, and since then I have performed in Scotland and Alaska, in commercials and music videos, on stages and in the street. I ran my own business, The Ridiculous Puppet Company, in Minneapolis from 2012 to 2018. Here is a selection of some of my puppetry work.
Acorns
I was one member of a three-puppeteer team that brought this "spokes-squirrel" to life for Acorns, the investment app. One puppeteer operated the mouth, one did the hands and arms, and I did the eye lids and tail. We performed to Christopher Walken's vocal track on a green screen set. Below are two of those spots.
Minnesota State Lottery
I was one of seven puppeteers on this campaign, and it was a delight to work with Minnesota Twins legends Kent Hrbek and Bert Blyleven. We shot four different spots over the course of five days, on an entirely practical set. I performed the loon. Below are two of those commercials.
Other Projects
How To Get A Tattoo
The Ridiculous Puppet Company did this "edutainment" video for Jackalope Tattoo in Minneapolis. I edited, co-wrote, and performed in this piece.
Felton's Vlog
Felton the Troll is my signiture character. The Ridiculous Puppet Company produced an episode of Felton's Vlog every week for over a year, and it's where I learned a lot of my basic editing skills. This is one of my favorite episodes.
"Whiskey Chaser"
The Ridiculous Puppet Company worked with Irish folk-punk band The Langer's Ball to produce this music video for their song "Whiskey Chaser." I worked with the director to do the plotting and storyboarding, as well as performed both puppet characters.
Transylvania Television
Transylvania Television is a puppet show for adults, which I have been a part of since 2009 or so. We started with short "webisodes," then moved to full 30 minute episodes for broadcast. This is our 45 minute Halloween special. I play Von Bucket the demon and Robbie the Zombie.