Brendan James Boyd Member Since: 2021

Reese Scott Member Since: 2023

What has been your favorite role?
We had the recent pleasure of originating two puppet characters for a children’s television pilot shot here in Calgary. It really gave us a chance to show off our skills and we had a ton of fun riffing together and making the crew laugh. We adore the characters, and (fingers crossed!) we will hopefully have more time to play with these characters in the near future! They also make a brief cameo in the next season of the locally shot Secret History series, keep an eye out… 

What do you do when you are not performing?
We own and operate Puppet Stuff Canada, Western Canada’s only full time puppet creation business. I don’t think people know how serious we are when we say we live and breathe puppetry! We build puppets for theatre, film and TV productions all across North America. We recently built the puppets for Frozen at the Citadel Theatre and we are about to begin the process of building the very complex puppets for the first ever regional stage production of  Life of Pi.  We also create our own performances, and this coming October we will be embarking on the first Western Canadian tour for our original black-light musical, The Boo Revue!

What organization / activity are you involved with or passionate about that people would find interesting?
Brendan: Outside of puppetry, I’m a huge Halloween and haunted house nerd. I love designing and program Halloween yard displays with custom built animatronics and sequenced lighting design.

Reese: I love scouring through thrift and antique stores to find new pieces to add to my collections! I’m a big collector of vintage Muppet pieces and Pendelfin rabbit ornaments.

What Director would you like to work with?
Brendan: I’m a huge 80’s horror movie buff, I’d love to puppeteer some creature or practical effects for Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson!

Reese: I’d love to get the chance to perform in a Frank Oz or Brian Henson directed film!

What is your favorite movie and/or TV show?
Brendan: The reason I do what I do is because of “The Dark Crystal”, “The Muppet Movie” and “Meet the Feebles” (if you know, you know!)

Reese: The first three Muppet movies and “The Muppet Show” are classics. I’m also really in love with “Schitt’s Creeks” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”!

As a Performer, what is one thing you wish you would have known sooner?
Brendan: There is no such thing as “egoless,” so don’t feel bad if you find it difficult to find your place in this business when you are starting out. All performers struggle with ego in one way or another. As young artists, we’re told it’s a negative thing, but, when used correctly, ego can also be a tool that pushes you to grow as a performer and human being… You just have to learn to understand your own and not let it get in the way. And yes, you can have an ego without being an a-hole.

Reese: You have to work HARD to make opportunities happen for yourself. In a niche field like puppetry, there isn’t a lot of performance opportunities, so a lot of the work that I’ve been lucky enough to do has come from constant perseverance, networking, cold calling, and continuing to practice and keep my skills as sharp as they can be. I believe in fate and that things happen for a reason, but I also believe they happen because I’ve worked very hard to get myself to the place where I am with my career as a puppeteer.

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
Brendan James Boyd
Insta: Brendan James Boyd (@skelemo) • Instagram photos and videos
LinkedIn: Brendan James Boyd | LinkedIn
Website: BRENDAN JAMES BOYD – ABOUT

Reese Scott
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/puppetstuffcanada/
Insta: ACTRA Alberta (@actraalberta) • Instagram photos and videos
LinkedIn: Reese Scott | LinkedIn

Business: Home | Puppet Stuff Canada