John Morgenstern

I got to work on this absolutely wild puppet short film produced and designed by @camerasauce ! And now… you can watch it!!! Streaming exclusively on @shudder as a part of the @bouletbrothers Holiday of Horrors!! It’s gory, wacky, and reminds me of my cartoons growing up. It was so incredibly fun to build and puppeteer on it, and I can’t wait for you to watch! STREAMING NOWWWWW Produced and Designed by CameraSauce Productions Written and Directed by Kate Siegel @katesiegelofficial Produced By Kate Siegel (@katesiegelofficial ) Dominic Hure (@camerasauce ) Hunter Woelfle (@realdairylarry ) Puppetry Directed by Dominic Hure (@camerasauce ) Assistant Director - Hunter Woelfle (@realdairylarry ) Director of Photography - Trey Betts (@trebetts ) Production Designer - Marisa Gehrig (@mawisaaaart98 ) Puppeteers Robin Walsh (@realitysplayground ) Liz Hara (@hara3461 ) Eli Presser (@eli.presser ) Ricky Chavez (@rikemind ) John Morgenstern (@jmpuppets ) Dominic Hure (@camerasauce ) Hunter Woelfle (@realdairylarry ) Live-Action Santa - Mouth Mike Wiles (@shamuswiles ) Puppet Fabricators Dominic Hure (@camerasauce ) John Morgenstern (@jmpuppets ) Olivia Valdez (@oliviamarievaldez ) Jaque Pche (@jacquepche ) Jeremy Fisher (@OfishO ) Hunter Woelfle (@realdairylarry ) lingerie Designer- Leah Morrison- @lay.uh.design Prop Fabricator - Jocelyn Favela (@favela_joce ) Lead Set Fabricator & Vomit FX - Daniel Clay Fox (@fantasticmrfox11 ) Set Decorator- Laura Seaman (@i.seam.fine ) Gore FX Designer - Eris Deo (@im.not.eris ) 1st Assistant Camera - Autumn Palen (@autumn.palen ) Gaffer - Dylan Chapgier (@dchapgier ) Location Supervisor - Linnea Bullion (@linneabullion ) Colorist - Miki Inoguchi (@mickman_films ) 2D Animation - Casey White (@cas3yartofficial ) Sound Designer & Mastering - Matt Glass (@glassbrain ) Music produced by The Newton Brothers (@thenewtonbroth3rs #puppet #puppetshow #shortfilms #horrorshort #bouletbrothersdragula #holidayofhorrors #gorefx #puppetry #santa

With a talented ensemble like ours, there’s sure to be some dissension amongst the cast… When that time comes, it’s always best to express your grievances in a calm and collected manner. As exemplified in this moment from Varietyville Turns Two! Now on YouTube. Catch Jim, Jane, and The Varietyvillians back in ACTION on Thursday September 11th at 8pm at the @laconnectiontheatre when VARIETYVILLE DIES HARD!! #linkinbio #varietyshow #losangeles #burbank #comedy #theatre #puppet

I had such a blast as the Audrey 2 puppeteer in the @cshplayhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors! 🪴 The incredible cast and crew brought so much heart and joy to the show that made my inner MT boy squeal. Special shoutout to the incomparable @amazingoakes who provided the killer Audrey 2 vocals. Little shop is one of my favorites and I’m honored to have gotten the chance to add my mark to it. Here’s to hoping it isn’t the last time I hop in a plant!!🌱 #puppetry #puppets #puppet #puppeteers #puppeteer #puppeteering #livetheatre #littleshopofhorrors #audrey2 #musical #performance #musicaltheatre #musicaltheatrelife

Part 2 of my first ever commissioned puppet build from over a year ago! ⚡️🌱 This one was supposed to be simple, but I found a way to complicate it. I’m a huge fan of rod and trigger puppets (Pepé the King Prawn was my favorite #muppet growing up) so I was pumped to get to tackle my very own. 🦐 Once the size was locked down, I designed a moving mouth and bracket system with a simple CAD software called @tinkercad . In theory, this entire system can be taken off and mounted on an entirely different rod! In practice… well we’ll cross that road when we get there. 🧑🏻‍💻 I also created this plastic mesh system for the mounting of the leaves. This was a huge help in quickly switching out leaf options until we got ones we liked. I may have gone a little crazy with the airbrush, but practice makes perfect! 🎨 This build used a lot of 3D printing with my @bambulab_official printer. Not only did I print the entire mech system, including the trigger, but I also used it to print out his lovely facial features! It was a perfect way to create smooth, interchangeable expeessions. 🖨️ Once again, swipe to the end if you’d like to see the reference photo! Materials: -F3 Fleece from @dharmatradingco dyed myself -PLA+ 3D print filament -bongos (also 3D printed) -Dowel -Welding rods #puppet #puppets #puppetry #puppetmaking #puppetbuilding #puppetmaker #puppetdesigner #puppetfabrication #makers #3dprints #cad #tinkercad #printing #handmade

It’s been over a year since I built my first commissioned puppet! And as long as I’m not reading my contract wrong, I’m pretty sure I can talk about it! There were so many first for me during this build, and I learned 100 ways how to not build a full body hand and rod puppet. The asymmetry in the head shape was especially tricky to get right. Here’s a bit of the process from start to finish. Huge shoutout to @lay.uh.design for making all the clothes. Swipe all the way to see the reference image I was working to recreate! If anyone is especially interested in a full list of everything used just DM me but for the most part it was: -Foam -F3 Fleece (dyed myself) -3D Printed Eyes -1 Child’s Dress Shirt #puppet #puppetry #puppetbuilding #puppetmaking #puppetmaker #f3fleece #puppetdesign #puppeteering

I’ve been waiting to share a bunch of adventures for no good reason (besides Instagram stressing me out). So please enjoy moments of puppet joy so far this year and excuse the spam while I catch up on past projects! ✨

What a great year, filled with puppets and the best people in the world! I’m very proud of myself for some major firsts this year: -One whole year with marionettes! -First ever puppet building commission!! -First live staged puppet show! -First Bob Baker Day! -First O’Neill puppet camp! -First Puppet Slam!! -And some fantastic films I got to be a part of!! I am so incredibly grateful to have such wonderful friends and mentors. I can’t believe I get to play with puppets for a living. To everyone I got to spend my year with, thank you for making this one so special. ♥️ 2025 what a time to be alive!

“Dimples” is officially live on @darkcornersfilms Youtube!! Link in bio This was such a blast getting to puppeteer on and I got to have my first experience in a green suit! Enjoy some bts of a really wonderful experience. Huge shoutout to a fantastic puppet team: @camerasauce @realdairylarry @mawisaaaart98 @nikkiivyknack @rikemind DIMPLES Written by: Kate Siegel Directed & Animated by: Dominic Hure Music and Sound Design by: Matt Glass Dark Corners created by Kate Siegel and Krsy Fox Series Executive Produced by Mali Elfman Title and Graphics by Mark Reynolds Series Editor Matt Glass

Skirball Puppet Festival 2024!! I know this happened a few weekends ago but I’m still not over how much fun it was. This was a mini full circle moment as I first found out about the Puppetry Guild at last year’s event. And this year I got to perform?!! So cool! Thank you @skirball_la and @lapuppetry for this opportunity to return to the lint trap and a huge shoutout to my cast mates and everyone who helped along the way! “Where Do The Lost Socks Go” Written by Camille Patrao and David Gordezky Directed by David Gordezky Music by Marie-Claire Macadar Cast: John Morgenstern Nikki Rarick Marie-Claire Macadar Victoria Rocha Dominic Hure Puppets by John Morgenstern Nikki Rarick Ricky Chavez Christine Papalexis with the help of LAGP membership! #puppets #puppetry #puppetfestival #skirballculturalcenter #skirballpuppetfestival #sockpuppet #childrenstheatre #liveperformance

First Bob Baker Day in the books! 🎈🎉 I sort of forgot to take pictures of everything but the highlights include… •Seeing @ragmopandgoose for this first time! They were great and had such a funny and endearing little show 👻🐝 •Helping kiddos make some paper bag puppets with @lapuppetry 🎨 •Hanging with great friends and meeting the most clowns I’ve ever seen in one day 🤡 Thanks @bobbakermarionettes for a great event! Can’t wait for the next one #bobbakerday #puppets #laevents #clown #marionettes #bobbakermarionettetheater #livetheatre

Happy World Puppetry Day!! I am so incredibly fortunate to have joined the creatively insane community of puppeteers, builders, and some of the most generous artists I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I can never say thank you enough to all the incredible people I’ve met along the way. I built my first puppet two years ago. Since then, I’ve fallen head first into this magical world that I never plan on leaving. The excitement and joy I feel when I get to play with puppets is unmatched. I am so lucky to be able to share that joy today with multiple marionette shows! There is something so special about a puppet that brings out a childlike joy and wonder, and I am honored to continue to advocate for and share puppetry with the world. Next time you see a robot, animal, or puppet on your favorite show, remember there’s probably a whole team of talented and dedicated artists behind it. Artists that deserve recognition and fair compensation #worldpuppetryday #puppet #puppetry #puppetshow #marionettes #puppetmaking #puppetmechanism #puppettheatre #liveperformance #theaterforkids

Dad Sock and the Dust Bunny from Where Do the Lost Socks Go? - an original live kids show produced by @lapuppetry These doods were super fun to make. The big sock monster was also my first time on a group build! I added these sock wiggler “mechanisms” that sometimes worked but when they did they looked great. 🧦 Shoutout @lay.uh.design for some fabulous yarn work and @nikkiivyknack for an incredible cowboy hat.🌵 Dust bunny build team and puppeteers 🐇 @gorde_ky @nikkiivyknack @rikemind @taryn.wyss @victoria_herself @adamk7861 Daniel Gaines