Puppet Up!

BRIAN HENSON (Executive Producer, Performer) is Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Jim Henson Company and an award-winning director, producer, writer and performer.

In recent years, Henson served as Executive Producer on the television projects It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, Muppet Wizard of Oz,Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (which he also directed) and Jim Henson’s Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (which he also co-wrote and directed). Previous television projects that Henson produced include Farscape, Bear in the Big Blue House, Gulliver’s Travels, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Muppets Tonight and Dinosaurs. Henson’s long list of film credits includes The Great Muppet Caper, Labyrinth,The Witches, Little Shop of Horrors, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet TreasureIsland.

Henson also oversees the groundbreaking work at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, one of Hollywood’s pre-eminent character building, digital and physical visual effects facilities. Henson was part of the team that first created and utilized the Henson Performance Control System, a powerful custom-based interface for puppeteers, which won an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science Scientific and Engineering Award in 1992. Recently, he has been leading the Shop’s work with its revolutionary puppeteered animation system. He most recently directed an episode for TNT’s anthology series Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King and Executive Produced and starred in Late Night Buffet, a talk show pilot hosted by puppets, for TBS.

PATRICK BRISTOW (Stage Show Director/Host), is best known for his numerous television appearances most notably as "Peter" on the groundbreaking ABC series Ellen. Other television credits include, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Friends, Mad About You, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and others. Film credits include last summer's The Longest Yard, as well as the first Austin Powers, So I Married An Ax Murderer, Twilight of the Golds, and the accidental comedy Showgirls.

Bristow is an alum of The Groundlings (Main Company) where he continues to teach and direct improv and sketch comedy. His direction credits include Groundlings; City of the Future, Beyond the Valley of the Deviants, Deviant Shores, Battle of the Deviants, the weekly Groundlings Theatre all improv show Cooking With Gas, and the 2004 L.A. Weekly Theatre Awards Show.

He is currently writing a pilot for FOX with Heather Morgan (The Comeback) and most recently appeared in the hit musical, The Break-up Notebook at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood.

	Julianne Buescher is a whimsically versatile actor, writer, voice artist and Second City alum with a freakish ability to voice-match most celebrities and singers. Credits include The Simpsons, Star Wars, Naruto, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Robot Chicken, Angel, Babel, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Pirates of the Caribbean. She also created and starred in the award-winning film Resculpting Venus: A Comedy about Breast Cancer and helped create some of the many puppets featured in Puppet Up! – Uncensored.
	Tyler Bunch has been working as an actor for fifteen years. In addition to performing such characters as Parris in The Crucible, Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pooh Bah in The Mikado, he may also be recognized by youngsters (or the young at heart) for his performances as Pop, Treelo and Doc Hogg (Bear in the Big Blue House), or Grampu, Dr. Nitwhite, Winslow or Baby Cookie Monster (OOBI, Between The Lions, It’s a Big, Big World, Sesame Beginnings).
	Leslie Carrara-Rudolph's television work includes Abby Cadabby on Sesame Street, Ginger on Disney's Johnny & The Sprites and she's currently recording Nate, for PBS's Nate the Great. Carrara-Rudolph was also a member of the PBS puppet tour that visited shelters in Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. Her stage credits include her one-woman show, Young at Heart which she wrote and produced. Carrara-Rudolph also illustrates children's books.
	Brian Henson:(see production staff bios)
	Ted Michaels is an alum of the performing company at the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles where he was featured in their main stage shows. Other stage credits include One Word Improv with Eddie Izzard and the one man show Boy From Mars. In addition to many commercial appearances, his television credits include roles on The Comeback, Campus Ladies, According to Jim, Girlfriends and Mad TV.
	Drew Massey is an actor, puppeteer, and voice-over guy whose film credits include Muppets Wizard of Oz, The Producers, Doctor Dolittle, Cats & Dogs, Team America, and Men In Black I and II. Drew has also performed on TV in Greg the Bunny, Angel, Malcolm in the Middle, Muppets Tonight, Cousin Skeeter, Crank Yankers and in ads for Foster Farms, Sony and Levi’s. He also draws really well, loves animals and helped create some of the many puppets featured in Puppet Up! – Uncensored.
	Paul Rugg, a founding member of the ACME Comedy Group in Hollywood and an award winning writer for TV animation, has lent his vocal talent to such shows as Animaniacs, Pinky and The Brain, Histeria, Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command, Dave The Barbarian, Toonsylvania, American Dragon, Catscratch. Paul also wrote, produced and starred in Freakazoid as well as the “Manny The Uncanny” segments for ABC’s One Saturday Morning.
	Allan Trautman began his performing career as an actor, noted for his portrayal of “Tarman” in the cult classics Return of the Living Dead: Parts One and Two. He has gone on to puppeteer in such features as Muppets From Space, Cats & Dogs, Babe and Dr. Dolittle (for which he was also performance coordinator). His television puppeteering credits include Greg the Bunny, Unhappily Ever After, Muppets Tonight and Dinosaurs.
	Victor Yerrid is an actor and puppeteer who likes calling people “Hank” regardless of their name. His credits include The Producers, Team America, Just Like Heaven, Men In Black II, Angel, Crank Yankers, Robot Chicken, Drawn Together, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, Greg The Bunny, Sesame Street, Between The Lions, and Bear in the Big Blue House. Victor enjoys most berry-based smoothies and adores his wife Janet.