PUPPETEERS

David Candelaria, Puppet Coordinator
They call him the Puppet Master. Okay, well, maybe the “they” is just us, the admiring creators of “HR: The Series.” But you can totally see why we’d be impressed. David is a master of stop motion animation and puppetry, whose credits include national commercials, and on the artsy side: “Coraline” and the Academy-Award nominated short film “More. He has worked with Walt Disney (Playhouse Disney), Nickelodeon (Spongebob Squarepants), DreamWorks and other animation studios. He has developed stop-action animation software as well as curriculums for classes in the media and teaches courses in his craft, including a current stint at the Beverly Arts Center on the South Side.

Jill Frederickson, Puppeteer
Jill has a long time love of puppets and performance objects. She has made a variety of masks, puppets, props and performance objects for the last 15 years. Past artifacts include Caesar (the head on a stick) for Frankenstein in Love, and a dead dog for American Notes for Will Act For Food, as well as The Queen’s mask and mummers’ masks for Bristol Renaissance Faire. Jill performs primarily as a voice actor in a variety of industrial training programs. She has performed as a puppeteer at Bristol Renaissance Faire. Her last stage role was in Explosive Acts’ production of “The Admirable Crichton.” She is currently a student at School of the Art Institute of Chicago studying primarily fiber manipulation, puppetry, sculpture and painting. You can virtually introduce yourself to Jill (and her fabulous work) at www.jillfrederickson.com.

Maegan Jenkins, Puppeteer
Maegan is a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she is earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus on Performance and Sculpture. Maegan, who is attending SAIC on a Merit Scholarship, also holds a long, impressive list of internships in her chosen field. Among her experiences, she has served as a puppeteer at the Redmoon Theater Company, created armatures for Blair Thomas and Company, and worked with About Face Theater as both a council member and actor. Additionally, she has interned at the Field Museum of Natural History and Gallery 37. And if that isn’t cool enough for ya, Maegan has accumulated some serious skills in circus arts, like stilt-walking, silks, juggling, trapeze and Spanish Web.

Maryann Sarfino, Puppeteer
Maryann Sarfino is a Boston transplant who earned her BA in acting in 2001 and has been working in front of, and behind the scenes, ever since.  Her wide background in the arts includes musical theatre, improvisation, ice over, costume animation and puppeteering.  She has toured nationally with Scholastic’s “The Magic School Bus” both as a puppeteer and costumed performer.  She performed in shows and parades at the Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Studios Orlando.  Most recently, Maryann played a lazy Italian-speaking maid in “Do I Hear a Waltz?”  Upcoming projects include the original murder mystery, “Trouble at the Tropicana,” this August and “GYPSY” in October.  Maryann hopes to continue to learn and grow in all aspects of the arts and would like to thank the Kyles for giving her this fun opportunity.

Andrew J. Pond, Puppeteer
Andrew J. Pond is out of this world over the chance to appear as both the voice of “Richard” and as a puppeteer in “HR the Series.” And we’re delighted to have him pull double duty in our interplanetary project. But “HR the Series” is far from the only place you’ll see this voice and puppetry professional who, in his own words, can be seen throughout Chicago “begging for work.” Andrew currently is appearing with Theatre-Hikes as Captain Hook in “Peter Pan.” Prior to that, he was Max Levene, avaricious boxing manager in Attic Playhouse’s “Heaven Can Wait,” turned dirty politician in “Out of Order” at the Metropolis Theatre, appeared as the ultimate jealous husband in “Murder In Green Meadows” (Citadel Theatre), as Colonel Melkett (Black Comedy–Piccolo Theatre), Repete Johnson (repeat w/Madeline–Blue Heron Theatre), Bob Cratchit,(“Christmas Carol”–Metropolis Performing Arts) and Arthur Hoyle, (“Up ‘n’ Under”–Circle Theatre) Andrew has worked extensively throughout the Chicagoland area with children’s theatres such as AlphaBet Soup, GreatWorks, and Boom Troupe, for whom he wrote four shows. Andrew also is an Elvis impersonator, juggles, does magic, plays with puppets, and has a degree in philosophy so he can use words like “epistemology” at parties. Otherwise, he is completely normal.

Steve Emmons, Puppeteer
‘Memba those old-school stop motion animation classics you watched every holiday season? If you want to see the next generation of those memorable works, you need to meet Steve Emmons. Steve was born in Dayton, Ohio and graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago studying animation. His stop animation and film work is influenced by a life-long love for Hanna Barbara adventure cartoons of the 60s, 70s and 80s, as well as the stop-motion creatures of Ray Harryhausen. Check out his cinematic style at www.steveemmons.squarespace.com.