This episode features an exclusive interview with Steve Whitmire! It’s not often that I get to meet our guests in person, so when I got the rare opportunity to meet Mr. Whitmire face to face at the Center for Puppetry Arts I was ecstatic! We covered a lot of ground in our talk, and I know you’ll enjoy hearing it.

The MuppetCast is sponsored by Bell, Book & Comic. Life should be more Fun!

Mr. Whitmire mentioned several websites in our discussion that I wanted to link to. First is KenWilber.com, the official site of philosopher Ken Wilber. There’s also the Integral Institute and the Integral Naked Podcast. Steve even participated in that podcast with Ken Wilber himself, talking about Jim Henson and his own Integral approach to the Muppets!

There is a great discussion threat on the Muppet Central Forums from lots of folks who attended the event at the Center. Read and join in the discussion here.

Thanks for listening! Questions/Comments about the Muppets or The MuppetCast can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Even better, stop by the Muppet Central Forums and discuss this and many other episodes with Muppet fans worldwide. Follow the show on Twitter and join the Facebook page too!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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This is the first of my two-part coverage of Steve Whitmire’s special appearance at the Center for Puppetry Arts. His lecture/workshop event was titled “The Sentient Puppet”. It was an unforgettable opportunity not only to listen to Mr. Whitmire’s insights on what gives a puppet real life, but also for workshop participants to puppeteer right alongside him, benefiting from his valuable instruction.

Stay tuned next week for my exclusive in-person interview with Mr. Whitmire! We cover a lot of ground, but still wanted to get to much more. We decided to call this Part 1 of an ongoing conversation. And yes, we discuss America’s Got Talent.

The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book & Comic. Life should be more Fun!

Thanks to everyone who appeared in this episode and gave their reactions to the Center and the weekend events. These folks include Steve and Liz Vitale, Jamie Hitchcock, Wes, Levi, Garrett Otto, and Keven Miller (who flew in from Seattle, WA just for this event!).

Thanks for listening! Questions/Comments about the Muppets or The MuppetCast can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Even better, stop by the Muppet Central Forums and discuss this and many other episodes with Muppet fans worldwide. Follow the show on Twitter and join the Facebook page too!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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WARNING: THIS WEEK’S EPISODE IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN. I know this is a rare occurrence, but there are parts of this week’s show that aren’t family friendly. This week I’m out of town, so in place of the usual stuff I’ve included different pieces from Avenue Q, the award-winning musical that in many ways parodies and pays tribute to Sesame Street. In fact, many of the puppeteers from the original cast actually performed on the Street! How cool is that!! But the material in the show and its music could be considered vulgar and offensive to some, so I want to warn you here in the show notes, as well as in the podcast itself. As long as you’re okay with that, enjoy! (more…)

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Here it is, the 2009 Year In Review! With the help of Joe Hennes and Ryan Roe (who shares my birthday) from ToughPigs.com, we take a final look back at the Muppet news and events of the past year and have a grand old time talking about them. For a comprehensive listing of everything in the Muppet universe that took place in 2009, please see the 2009 Page on the Muppet Wiki.

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2010 for all of us.

The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book & Comic. Life should be more Fun!

Thanks for listening! Questions/Comments about the Muppets or The MuppetCast can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Even better, stop by the Muppet Central Forums and discuss this and many other episodes with Muppet fans worldwide. Follow the show on Twitter and join the Facebook page too!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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Welcome to the first show of 2010! To celebrate the new year we’ll look at a great Muppet TV special that aired in January of 1896, “The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years“. Sesame Street was less than 20 years old way back then, if you can believe it!

The MuppetCast Street Gang Giveaway Contest is now underway! Send an email to streetgangcontest@muppetcast.com to enter. Winners will be announced on shows 144 and 145. (more…)

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