Artist Feature: Ali DeRegt
Waaaay back in the early days of lockdowns and social distancing, I got a mysterious email from the Jim Henson Company informing me about upcoming auditions for a show under the code name: Raphanis. I thought, “wow, these phishing scams are getting weirdly specific” and went back trying to bake my own sourdough bread. The next day, I was assured that no one was trying to steal my identity and that, yes, actually the real Jim Henson Company was coming to Calgary and they wanted ME to audition for them.
Raphanis, Latin for radish, turned out to be the loving reboot of Fraggle Rock, a musical puppet series originally created by Jim Henson. Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock started filming in Calgary in early 2021 and, after a nerve wracking audition, I was so grateful/shocked/terrified/ecstatic to be cast as a puppeteer for the show. I have been an advocate for high-quality Theatre for Young Audiences for over a decade now, and to have to opportunity to work for such a powerhouse of children’s programming was truly a delight. Like the original series, Back to the Rock focuses on themes of interconnectivity, empathy, and self-acceptance; all themes that I strongly align with and layer into my own theatrical creations.
As an additional puppeteer on the show, I was mostly lurking around in the background, playing around with other Gaggle Fraggles. I got to operate some really amazing puppets, including, after much fan-girling, an Inkspot (who you may remember from the original series, and films such as Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure island)! One of my favourite days was spent squished together with two good friends playing a flower bush.
For 6 months I got to live IN Fraggle Rock. There were some long, hard days that required ice cream immediately afterwards, and there were some absolutely magical days filled with music and dancing (on set and in the parking lot). I was surrounded by all of these beautiful puppets, including several from the original series, but more importantly, I was surrounded by all these fantastic people. The team they assembled was so loving, creative, and enthusiastic. Most of whom were fans of the original series, or, had been STARS of the original series. We all had the sense that we had been trusted with something precious and we were doing our darnedest not to muck it up. All of us had actually gotten our Dream Job, and I don’t think anyone on set ever got over their awe at being there.
The show is out now and the first episode of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock is available for streaming on Apple TV Plus even if you don’t have a membership.