An Interview with Eric Jacobson
by Donald Devet
June • 2003
It’s not an attractive shade of green. More like a green gone bad– too bright, too gaudy, too demanding of attention. Ironically, it’s exactly the shade of green that a video camera loves to ignore because this green hue is designed to electronically disappear. Looking at a composite picture on the video monitor, all you see are two puppets, Roo and Tigger, emerging from a spaceship plopped down in a computer-generated Scary Woods. The effect is magical. The green is nowhere to be seen. And neither is Eric Jacobson, one of a cadre of puppeteers who bring puppets to life in the new Disney Channel series, “The Book of Pooh,” now in production for a second season.
Like a doctor prepared for surgery, Eric is cloaked from head to foot in green– smock, pants, boots, gloves, hood—the better to disappear. His presence may not be seen but it is certainly felt. As the head of a team of puppeteers for Roo and Piglet, Eric is involved in almost every scene. Puppeteering on a major television series may sound glamorous but in reality it’s a tough job requiring extreme amounts of stamina and patience– two qualities that 30-year-old Eric seems to possess. His working day begins at 8:30 a.m. and often lasts until 7 p.m.
Quiet and soft-spoken, Eric seems to melt into the background even when he isn’t wearing his disappearing green suit. But don’t let his youth and shy manner fool you. Eric is a veteran television performer who has worked on such high profile series and films as “Sesame Street,” “Bear in the Big Blue House,” “The Puzzle Place,” “Once Upon A Tree,” “Rory’s Place” and “Elmo in Grouchland,” as well as numerous commercials. Eric has experience in theater puppetry; as well: Steven Widerman’s The Puppet Company, The Czech-American Marionette Theater, The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater and Basil Twist’s “Symphonie Fantastique.”
What is it like to be a television puppeteer? How does it compare to work in the theater? I sat down with Eric during his lunch break from a busy morning shoot to answer those questions. But first a little background on Eric.
Q: How did you get into puppetry?
Eric: Jim Henson once said that nobody as a child grows up dreaming of being a puppeteer. I tripped into it like a lot of puppeteers do. I came to New York to go to film school at NYU. I know many puppeteers who share the same background. When I graduated from film school in 1993 I already knew I wanted to be a puppeteer. I became disenchanted with the film industry at large. If I was going to be in the film industry I wanted to do something worthwhile. So I leaned toward children’s TV.
I was one year into film school when Jim Henson passed away. A number of events like that pushed me toward the kind of things Jim Henson did. I realized how important this one man had been to my childhood, my maturation. I wanted to do something to help continue the legacy that he left behind. I didn’t know how, exactly. I was able to get an internship with the Henson Company. Only later did I discover that this was the right way for me to go– working with the company that Jim founded and doing the kinds of things he did in puppetry.
Doing children’s television puppetry is hog heaven for me. I’m working behind the scenes and in front of the camera at the same time. A lot of the knowledge I acquired at film school I’ve been able to apply— a knowledge of focal lengths and the lens of a camera really helps me to help the cameraman do his job. For example, I know I can only move the puppet just so far before it goes out of focus. I can offer suggestions. I can speak the cameraman’s language.
Q: Are the worlds of TV and theater puppetry different?
Typically, there has always been a distinction between puppeteers in the realms of television, film, and theater. But to tell the truth, they aren’t that separate anymore. On new shows like “The Book of Pooh” and “Between the Lions,” you have casts with an interesting mix of backgrounds. The Bunraku style of puppetry used on “The Book of Pooh” requires an army of puppeteers. Since Bunraku is a more traditional form, the theater skills of many of the puppeteers transfer very well. As more shows begin showcasing different styles of puppetry that have their roots in theater, I think you will see the line blur more and more. I hope so. It’s fun to work with all my friends on a single project.
Q: Did your theater work help your television work?
Eric: Sure. Any kind of experience you can get performing in front of an audience or camera is going to help you grow as a performer. There are common sensibilities that can be applied but they are very different disciplines. You have to work hard at both to gain any kind of competence. The techniques are different. But the acting and the relationship between performer and puppet are similar.
Doing live theater every so often keeps me on my toes and reminds me that there is an audience out there. I think anybody who works in television can benefit from doing some theater. And anybody who works in children’s television can definitely benefit from doing a birthday party or two!
Q: Does your televsion work help your theater puppetry?
Eric: Puppeteering for televsion is a refined art. The camera comes in very close. You have to be sure your movements are precise. That precision carries over to theater puppetry. When I do theater, I tend to gravitate toward other kinds of puppetry that are not used on TV. I don’t use hand puppets on stage. I enjoy working with marionettes– having a distance from a performance. I’m aware of what the audience can and cannot see. I can’t project myself into the audience. That’s why I enjoy TV puppetry so much. I can make the puppet look exactly the way I want it to for the audience’s eye because I’m seeing through their eye while I’m performing.
Obviously, one thing live theater provides that television doesn’t is immediate feedback from your audience. There is nothing like hearing a live audience gasp, laugh, or even moan while I’m performing. I know if I’m getting through, and when I do, it feels great! In contrast, there’s a lot of guesswork involved in performing for a television audience. A television audience exists in another time and place, separate from the performance. And even though the numbers can be in the millions, you lose the group dynamic.
Q: What’s it like to bring a character to life on television?
Eric: I’m acting out the part with a puppet on my hand. And trying to execute TV puppetry technique- a refined and delicate art. It takes years to develop that muscle. And I’m never working alone. There are other assistants or other puppeteers working another puppet that I have to relate to. There’s a lot of discussion on the set between the puppeteers, team members and amongst the teams. Because we see everything we do on a TV monitor as we do it, we have no excuse for how it looks.
A lot of self-direction takes place… I see something and change it right away before it becomes an issue. I work with the director to give him or her what they want.
Q: Is there a lot of pressure in this job?
Eric: Because of the nature of the business you don’t have weeks and weeks to rehearse a show. You have a few minutes before they roll tape. If you’re lucky you’ll get 2 or 3 takes to get it right. So I have to look at the big picture and let some things slide and be happy if I get 80% of what I want. There are instances when I’m unhappy with a certain take and ask for another “go.” Usually the director is agreeable. They want the best looking show as well. That’s what we’re all here for.
There are time constraints. To get it perfect you could waste a whole day shooting one scene. You have to learn to be efficient and to compromise when you have to. I try to develop my abilities to the point where I can do it fast and make it look good.
Q: When you watch your work being televised, what goes through your mind? I’m very hard on myself. I’m my own worst critic. Many times the director says, “I’m going to buy that one. It looked great. I don’t know why you would be unhappy.” And admittedly when I watch the show months later, I don’t even remember what I was complaining about.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do?
You must beg, borrow or steal a camera. A practice camera is more important than a puppet. You have to have that camera plugged in and on all the time. Whenever you walk past your TV you can’t help but stick your arm up and practice. That’s what I did. You have to love it too. You have to be obsessed with puppetry and TV pupppetry. It has to be really fun. And if it’s really fun for you, you’ll practice your socks off and you’re going to get really good. It takes time. If you’re obsessed with it, it’s a joy, a passion. You’ll see progress. And you’ll know if you’re any good or not because it’s an objective performance.
If you have an eye for it, you will see the mistakes that you make and you will correct those over time and you’ll get better. If you’re just starting and you haven’t spent 5 minutes in front of a camera and you think you’re terrific you probably are never going to grow as a puppeteer and you’re not really going to become good at TV puppetry.
Q: Are you obsessed with TV puppetry?
Eric: I think of TV puppetry as the ultimate vicarious experience. Many times we find ourselves in a movie theater wishing we could be that movie star larger than life on the screen. But we have to sit back and be on the receiving end. In the case of TV puppetry you get to actually walk up onto that screen like in Purple Rose of Cairo and become that character and continue to enjoy the show.
That’s my big rush– being able to walk up onto that screen. That’s why I went to film school in the first place. I was enchanted by the experience of going to the movies and losing myself in the world of the film. And that’s what I do in TV puppetry. I absolutely can’t think of anything else I would rather do than to be a puppeteer. I get paid to play with puppets!
Puppets in Review 