“Sesame Street” is coming to the University of Virginia’s Grounds.
Cast members from the friendliest street in America will perform Thursday at Carr’s Hill for an Arts on the Hill event, following a workshop with students in Helms Theatre.
Sesame Street puppeteer Matt Vogel, who gives life to Count von Count and Big Bird, is one of the cast members who will perform at Carr’s Hill. Vogel talked to UVA Today ahead of the performance about how he joined the show’s cast and some of the most surprising things about being on the show.
Q. How do you become a puppeteer?
A. As a kid, I was inspired by Jim Henson, “Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show” to build my own puppets. I did shows for the kids in the neighborhood, at school, the PTA, etc., but I never thought of it as something that I could do for a living. It was just something I enjoyed.
I went to college to be an actor and we saw an ad that had a picture of Kermit the Frog on it and it asked, “Do You Measure Up to Be a Muppet?” I answered that ad and started working alongside John Henson, Jim’s youngest son, as his double for the Coca-Cola Polar Bear for public appearances. I then started working on developing the kinds of skills one needs to be a Muppet performer – lip sync, working with a monitor, etc. and was invited to some puppet workshops. Shortly after the workshops, I started working for “Sesame Street.”
Q. Do you ever get tired while performing?
A. Yes, it can be physically tiring to puppeteer. Your arm is up in the air, sometimes for quite a while, or you may be locked into a position that prevents you from putting your arm down. Plus, the puppet might weigh a lot. Big Bird, for example, is a puppet that you wear. My whole body is covered by the puppet and it can start to feel pretty heavy. I need to come out of the puppet often when we’re working.
Q. How do you get into character?
A. At this point, it’s pretty second nature to get into character. When I started out (or sometimes after long periods not playing the characters) I used a “trigger” word or phrase that helps. For Big Bird, it’s his signature sing-song, “La-la-laaa!”
