Meet David Stephens | Puppeteer & Banjo Player

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Stephens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, the decisions we make often shape our story in profound ways. What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make?
Professionally speaking, the most difficult decision I’ve had to make was to leave New York City.

I became a professional puppeteer because I was an obsessed Muppet fan as a child. Being a fan morphed into a hobby of making puppets and putting on my own shows. Gradually, I took that hobby more seriously and being a professional puppeteer became a full-time career.

Early on, I was primarily self-taught but as a teen I became involved with the Puppeteers of America and met Terry Snyder, a Virginia-based puppeteer, who would become my mentor for about 20 years. I did my undergraduate work in theater at Troy University in Troy, Alabama (my home state) and obtained a Masters in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut in 2001.

In 2006, I’d been working as a self-employed, solo-business owner of All Hands Productions for about 5 years when I was invited to participate in a “cattle-call” audition for “Sesame Street,” which included puppeteers from all over North America. In the midst of that audition week, my gut started screaming at me that I needed to move to New York and take a serious stab at working as a puppeteer in the film and television industry. I followed that call about a month later when I packed two suitcases and my banjo and set off from Atlanta to pursue that dream.

A gracious friend offered to sublet his studio apartment in Bushwick (Brooklyn) and I began figuring out how to get work. Eventually, I was employed as a puppet wrangler and later as a puppeteer for Cartoon Network in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. I was also hired as a main puppeteer in the cast of “SeeMore’s Playhouse” for it’s second season on PBS. And then I got the call to work on “Sesame Street.” In less than two years, I accomplished my goal of working with the Muppets on one of televisions most successful and longest running shows.

“Sesame” has a very finite shooting season, which means there is not a lot of opportunity for newer performers to get regular work. After the show’s 8-weeks of production was completed, I had worked a total of 4 days, which translated to 2 episodes. I enjoyed every minute of those 4 days but my bank account was running low and my opportunities for working within the industry as a puppeteer had seemingly dried up. “SeeMore’s Playhouse” had wrapped and was not going to be producing new episodes and I was not guaranteed any more (or continued) work for “Sesame.” I faced the hard decision of working a regular job in order to stay in New York where potential opportunities might come up or return to Atlanta and return to working as a solo touring puppeteer.

As much as I loved the work I was able to take advantage of in New York and opportunities in the bluegrass community as a banjo player, I realized I did not enjoy living in the hustle and bustle of the City enough to continue staying there just hoping for work in my field to manifest. Atlanta felt more like a home base after having lived there several years and working closely with the Center For Puppetry Arts, located in Midtown Atlanta. In the end, I feel like I made the right decision for me. I have been able to continue doing my own work as a professional touring puppeteer in a variety of venues in multiple states. I have regularly been a guest puppeteer at the Center for Puppetry Arts and the Roswell Cultural Arts Center. It was difficult to leave behind such lofty professional heights, but it has allowed me to continue forging my own artistic path as both a puppeteer and a banjo player.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been a professional solo puppeteer for over 25 years. For nearly 20 years, I have also been a banjo player and songwriter. Both of these endeavors relate to telling stories and using different tools to tell them. My work as a puppeteer engages family audiences of all ages, primarily appealing to children. My songs are the stories I tell to my adult peers. I find a happy balance in being able to work comfortably with either audience.

My work as a puppeteer has taken me all across the United States and into Canada. I’ve performed for such institutions as the Center For Puppetry Arts (Atlanta), The Puppet Showplace Theater (Boston), The Henson Carriage House (New York), Theater Works (Phoenix), and festivals such as Puppets Up! (Almote, Ontario) and National Festivals of the Puppeteers of America (various cities).

Twice my work has been awarded puppetry’s highest honor: A Citation of Excellence from Union Internationale de la Marionette (UNIMA-USA), which are awards given to outstanding works of puppet theater. I have also been award two Family Grants to create new works by the Jim Henson Foundation.

I take great satisfaction in creating and performing my own work. Designing the characters and constructing them out of various materials appeals to my sensibilities as a visual artist. Putting those characters in front of an audience allows me to flex my muscles as a performer. At it’s best, I think puppetry is a synthesis of both disciplines of visual art and performance.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take visiting guests to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Midtown Atlanta. Besides being a jewel in Atlanta’s cultural crown, it is the nation’s leading institution for the art of puppetry. It houses two theaters, a museum which spotlights puppetry from around the globe as well as displaying the largest collection of Jim Henson’s work, and an education department that offers workshops to both children and adults. There is no other place in the world like it and I love that it is in my backyard, so to speak, so I can show it off. I also enjoying being able to work there as a guest artist from time to time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Have to dedicate the success of this chapter in my life to Jane Henson and Allelu Kurten. Both were stalwart matriarchs of the puppetry community who helped guide my path to New York and back again to Atlanta.

Website: allhandsproductions.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allhandsproductions/

Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/AllHandsProductions

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PuppetsNBanjos/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/allhandsprod

Image Credits
Photo 1: Richard Parsons Photo 2: Gregg Van Lanningham