dwmckim
01-09-2008, 06:58 PM
This weekend i got a special treat to meet one of my all time fave Muppet performers, Fran Brill. She's doing presentations about her life as a Muppeteer and came to Arizona to do several at various libraries and one that was done in conjunction with the touring "Jim Henson's Fantastic World" Smithsonian exhibit which is in AZ for a few months.
Both this presentation and the exhibit is in Mesa where i'm in more NW Phoenix. It so happens that one of my jobs closed its Phoenix offices this last year forcing me to transfer to its Mesa location this last year so i was already in the area when i got off work...i had a couple hours to spare though, so i set off early to make sure i could nail down specifically were it would be at (there had been some changes in announced location) and be sure i could get good parking etc ahead of time instead of scrambling last minute and being late...it just so happened that in doing so, i had pulled up in the same parking lot where Fran herself and her crew were unloading...they no doubt caught wind of my overjoyed expression! They also were a little unsure of where they were supposed to be so i ended up looking along with them...aside from mutually trying to find the spot, i didn't engage in a lot of conversation of gushing, as i didn't want to come off to much as a freakish fan boy (sometimes meeting a fan in a parking lot can be unsettling) at that point (i was already in a Muppet t shirt, had Kermit hanging from my rear view mirror and had Muppet music on my car stereo). Finally we discovered where it would be so they went to prepare and i was off to get breakfast.
I don't know her schedule for other presentations, but if she's in your area, definately go to see this! She talks about her history as a Muppeteer in between video clips of her work (and towards the end of the show brings out Zoe to say hi). The really cool thing was that all week i had been thinking of what some of my all time fave Fran performances have been - and many of them just happened to be in her presentation...the recent Sesame "Meal or No Meal" sketch, the Singing in the Rain bit with Grover and Prairie, an example of Prairie's pageants (the tooth - though my personal faves are flower and four seasons) and though it wasn't in the clips, she also mentioned on her own about her bits as Merlin's assistant in Jim Henson Hour ("ta-daaa")
There were so many things i would have loved to ask her about but again i didn't want to monopolize the Q&A session or take away from others' enjoyment so i held back a lot, but i did ask if she could shed light on the odd "Marylou" character that was on Sesame Street albums in 1977...and she didn't remember anything about it, saying she would have to go back through stuff to try and remember why they had her play someone on these records with that name instead of Betty Lou or Prairie Dawn. One thing someone else asked about which had been on my mind was confirmation of why aside from some musical numbers, she wasn't a part of The Muppet Show despite being the main female Muppeteer at that time...since she also had a successful career outside of the Muppets (which Jim had long been supportive of since he hired her), she didn't want to be locked in to relocating overseas and having to put everything else on the side (she did later say that even though she does still enjoy many other projects these days as an actress, voice over artist and commercials, she is 100% devoted to her Muppet work on Sesame and is determined to be there to play Zoe and Prairie for as long as she can).
I had a chance afterward to have my picture taken with Fran and Zoe, get her autograph and tell her how much i've long been a fan of not only the Muppets but of her specifically and thank her for all her wonderful performances throughout the years. I just wish that i could have had more opportunity to hear her talk about her non-Muppet career (she touches on it a little in the presentation of course but the whole focus is on "Life as a Muppeteer" so this was an area that wasn't touched on as much but maybe someday, there will be an indepth interview somewhere where she looks back more on her "other" career. Would have especially liked to hear more of her time as a leading soap actress.
But all in all a wonderful afternoon. Dave Goelz is here at month's end (have my ticket but don't have full confirmation yet that i have that evening off from work as requested so crossing my fingers!) Also got to take a special tour of the museum exhibit the week prior which was guided by Karen Falk (who was also a privelage and honor to finally meet!)
Both this presentation and the exhibit is in Mesa where i'm in more NW Phoenix. It so happens that one of my jobs closed its Phoenix offices this last year forcing me to transfer to its Mesa location this last year so i was already in the area when i got off work...i had a couple hours to spare though, so i set off early to make sure i could nail down specifically were it would be at (there had been some changes in announced location) and be sure i could get good parking etc ahead of time instead of scrambling last minute and being late...it just so happened that in doing so, i had pulled up in the same parking lot where Fran herself and her crew were unloading...they no doubt caught wind of my overjoyed expression! They also were a little unsure of where they were supposed to be so i ended up looking along with them...aside from mutually trying to find the spot, i didn't engage in a lot of conversation of gushing, as i didn't want to come off to much as a freakish fan boy (sometimes meeting a fan in a parking lot can be unsettling) at that point (i was already in a Muppet t shirt, had Kermit hanging from my rear view mirror and had Muppet music on my car stereo). Finally we discovered where it would be so they went to prepare and i was off to get breakfast.
I don't know her schedule for other presentations, but if she's in your area, definately go to see this! She talks about her history as a Muppeteer in between video clips of her work (and towards the end of the show brings out Zoe to say hi). The really cool thing was that all week i had been thinking of what some of my all time fave Fran performances have been - and many of them just happened to be in her presentation...the recent Sesame "Meal or No Meal" sketch, the Singing in the Rain bit with Grover and Prairie, an example of Prairie's pageants (the tooth - though my personal faves are flower and four seasons) and though it wasn't in the clips, she also mentioned on her own about her bits as Merlin's assistant in Jim Henson Hour ("ta-daaa")
There were so many things i would have loved to ask her about but again i didn't want to monopolize the Q&A session or take away from others' enjoyment so i held back a lot, but i did ask if she could shed light on the odd "Marylou" character that was on Sesame Street albums in 1977...and she didn't remember anything about it, saying she would have to go back through stuff to try and remember why they had her play someone on these records with that name instead of Betty Lou or Prairie Dawn. One thing someone else asked about which had been on my mind was confirmation of why aside from some musical numbers, she wasn't a part of The Muppet Show despite being the main female Muppeteer at that time...since she also had a successful career outside of the Muppets (which Jim had long been supportive of since he hired her), she didn't want to be locked in to relocating overseas and having to put everything else on the side (she did later say that even though she does still enjoy many other projects these days as an actress, voice over artist and commercials, she is 100% devoted to her Muppet work on Sesame and is determined to be there to play Zoe and Prairie for as long as she can).
I had a chance afterward to have my picture taken with Fran and Zoe, get her autograph and tell her how much i've long been a fan of not only the Muppets but of her specifically and thank her for all her wonderful performances throughout the years. I just wish that i could have had more opportunity to hear her talk about her non-Muppet career (she touches on it a little in the presentation of course but the whole focus is on "Life as a Muppeteer" so this was an area that wasn't touched on as much but maybe someday, there will be an indepth interview somewhere where she looks back more on her "other" career. Would have especially liked to hear more of her time as a leading soap actress.
But all in all a wonderful afternoon. Dave Goelz is here at month's end (have my ticket but don't have full confirmation yet that i have that evening off from work as requested so crossing my fingers!) Also got to take a special tour of the museum exhibit the week prior which was guided by Karen Falk (who was also a privelage and honor to finally meet!)