Self-explanatory... This skit is pretty funny; I think it's only an excerpt of the full thing.

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https://youtu.be/5DF14WqoTbA

Funny, talking to your puppeteer! Pretty blue monster.

I couldn't find the full version of the audition but I did find the puppeteers channel on YouTube!

Yes, sorry I meant to add his website:

http://www.wix.com/keirana/mrarthurspuppets

A school teacher in Sydney...

Nice find Na it is nice to see puppetry is still showing up on talent shows such as this...recently on America's Got Talent there was a vent who used modern technology to do his act and it was brilliant he used a combination between a large TV and a iPad and the magic began...I don't think they have it up yet but I hope it will soon.  They also had a vent with a real dog with a fake mouth piece that made it look like it was talking...seen it before but it was a refreshing to see it again. Keep your eyes open for these two acts on Youtube soon!

StiqPuppets

Not so much a find - I was tweeted the video as we've been conversing via Twitter.

Funnily enough every so often I get an email from TV producers from shows like this looking for puppeteers. They seem to think the 'novelty' is a big draw I guess.

I really don't like reality TV shows like this, so don't pay attention to it normally. (Although I will admit it's nice to see more puppets on TV: we have quite a well known character here that appears on adult - ie. PG and up - shows and it almost seems like there's only one puppet in Australia at the moment on TV. So to have more puppets out there is only good)

The ipad stuff is on another thread...
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,7380.msg66614.html#msg66614
Though I haven't checked it out yet.

Are the puppet acts on these shows always ventriloquists/muppet style? Has there ever been any glove puppets, or shadow, or something else?

Mainly vents and they have been doing some modern style black light theater without black lights...pretty neat stuff...but more focused on dance style than "Real" puppetry stuff...but still falls under puppetry (this doesn't make sense but once you see it you would get it) lol.  I am not much of a reality TV'er (hardly watch TV anymore) but I do love the talent shows to see variety and that jem in the making...the rest could go to ....well you know. 

StiqPuppet

That's what I thought. Is it that that's what producers are more interested in, there's more of vents/muppets/blacklight to go around (therefore more likely to be found on TV), or is it that other types of puppeteers aren't interested in performing on these shows? ... I know that question is more rhetorical than answerable, but I find it an interesting phenomenon of representation.

I think I avoid these shows mainly because the hype annoys me. I feel like screaming "just get on with it" half the time. That and the fact that it's rarely about unique performances or good ones, but popularity (ie. whoever appeals to the most 13 year old girls, wins).

PS. Nice to have you back!

I think one reason you see vent acts more often is partly because there are more of them out there. I am not in any way slighting the art or the talent it takes to do a vent act but they are easier to present and produce. All you need is your talent and suitcase with some puppets in it.   Other types of puppetry take more setup and equipment. I think it might also be self perpetuating. A bit like since the Muppets are such a popular style of puppetry you see more people wanting to get into that style of puppetry the other styles.

Yes good point about the 'out of a suitcase' thing. Although consider that most touring shows need to be able to do that too... I mean that video a while back of the glove puppet booth that rolled in and unpacked itself is kind of easy to set up. And I have seen someone just today who made an old mirror frame into a shadow puppet 'booth'/screen. Considering you could probably ask the TV producers for a light or a power outlet, you could just as easily set up a flea circus or a shadow puppet show if self-contained.

Which is why I asked what I asked. Puppeteers, especially ones in Australia, are no stranger to going on tours and fitting everything into the back of their van. Heck, take a leaf out of Taymor's book and use some shadow puppets behind a piece of cloth with a torch - and yet you never see this kind of thing on reality TV shows.

So it makes me wonder whether the producers are casting a certain way, or if a certain type of puppeteer avoids these opportunities; or it's simply a factor of Western puppeteers being more likely to produce the same kind of stuff. (Ie. would France's Got Talent be more likely to have glove puppets and marionettes?)