annemjw

[annemjw]

It’s a bit of a running joke with my team at work, but any time we have to do icebreaker stuff or meet new folk, my fun fact is that I got to work with The Muppets, and it is the absolute highlight of my career.

A few years ago the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Bret McKenzie hosted the Jim Henson Retrospectacle, featuring the Muppets, Fraggles, Sesame Street, and music from The Dark Crystal. My choir, Supertonic, was asked to be the choir supporting this, over the three show engagement.

When I found out we’d been asked and could I get time off from work to do it, I racially RAN to my boss, I said I’d come in early, work late, take time off without pay, whatever she needed so I could do the rehearsals and performances. She told me to take just normal time off and that of course it was fine 😅

It’s truly one of the best things I’ve ever been able to do, and I’m been singing semi-professionally for about 20 years now.

We were told early on about how there were strict rules about the characters from the different properties not being allowed to be on stage at the same time, that there were strict rules about not touching anything, not improvising, sticking to what the producers needed to have happen.

It didn’t all go out the window (we were all very respectful of the touching! And the entries and exits kept the legal issues sorted for the copyrights or whatever) but everyone was having far too much fun for it to stay serious.

The first violinist who had the solo for The Count’s number had of course played far more difficult music, but the second they decided that they needed to have the batties come out and fly around him while he played his face lit up

The performers were absolutely lovely all the time, and had so much love and respect for what they were doing and the fact that we were all there together

We had foldback speakers as we were up and behind from the main stage (so that meant we could hear the music and the cues from the performers), and at one point one of the Henson people had a hot mic and was backstage - all of us were I think a bit worried that a façade would drop but he was just back there saying hi to people and having nice conversations

We had three sopranos who have incredible, clear, bell-like tones at a high pitch and who had a solo for the Dark Crystal part of the set. The look on everyone’s faces the first time we ran that and they sang - our country’s national orchestra and people who had worked all over the world with incredible performers - whipping around to hear that because it was so beautiful

The did a bit with Man or Muppet where they had had a Bret Muppet made, so you had Bret, Walter the Muppet, and a Bret Muppet - but they needed a Walter human, so they asked our Director of Music to do it, and act and sing with them on the fly (he’s an incredible bass singer, and absolutely nailed the acting, our fitness who came to see us lost their minds)

Every performance started with Rainbow Connection, and the lights would fall on Kermit and Bret and the bank would start and the crowd would collectively gasp and go ‘aww’, and then crack-up laughing that they’d all done it. All three performances!

There was a person working at the venue who was a woman probably in her early 20s, who was running around doing stage stuff and generally just her job - and they literally needed an extra hand for some puppetting (including the batties!) so she got to just. Perform as a puppeteer with The Muppets for a few days

One performance, there was an older gentleman near the front with I think his grandkids, and I happened to look at him just before Big Bird entered for the first time, and his face just transformed to that of a five-year-old’s and I saw him mouth ‘oh, Big Bird!’ at her, which makes me cry even now

Animal (he’s my favourite) got to play in the Timpani section (the percussion but of the orchestra), with a gong, and all the percussionists treated him like a respected colleague and hero - for all I know he was probably an inspiration for them - and we were right above them so they got us to do a bit about the gong being sooooo loud, it was a joy

It was the best thing I’ve ever done, I think. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. They’re a delight and actual magic.

Reblog if, no matter the size of the role, you would agree to work with the Muppets if offered the chance to do so, no questions asked

[annemjw]

Not now kitten daddy's googling his symptoms

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a single andes chocolate mint from the olive garden can fully nourish an adult human for up to 96 hours

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Shout out to the ten primate species, four bat species, elephant shrews, and the Cairo spiny mouse. Nobody else gets it

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[annemjw]

i need feminism because when jesus does a magic trick it’s a goddamn miracle but when a woman does a magic trick she gets burned at the stake

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Chag Sameach everyone!

Here's your annual reminder that it was a Plague of singular Frog (who must have been so big)

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girls night girls night

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bugs is…. shrimp????

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so we know that humans share 50% of their dna with bananas. and also, they say one in four humans are related to genghis khan. using this information, we can determine that genghis khan was 200% banana

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fuck hussle culture, the toad to success is to sleep well, eat well and have fun

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watched flow, found inspiration

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[annemjw]

moment of unspeakable beauty today when one of my coworkers called another coworker "judas" for not splitting a can of white monster with her, and i got to watch the guy who sits next to me open a new google tab, type in "jeudis," and say quietly to himself "french thursday...?"

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Erogenous Bosch or whatever his name is