Ingrid Hansen’s Epidermis Circus: puppetry that’s more than skin deep

Ingrid Hansen is a unique force in the realm of puppetry and theatre. The self-described “small-town Canadian puppeteer” went from performing at a sheep festival straight to Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. And now she is touring her spicy adult puppet cabaret Epidermis Circus, (produced by the BC-based SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles), which she brings to Toronto’s Sweet Action Theatre, inside Artscape Youngplace March 1-3, 2024, to be followed by an Off-Broadway run in New York City. 

Just how did this small-town Canadian hit the big leagues of not one, but two Jim Henson Company mega-shows? By being friendly. While enjoying her lunch at a picnic table at the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY, Hansen struck up a conversation with a stranger sitting next to her, asking him, “What brings you here? Do you like to knit?” The person she assumed was a “random wool enthusiast” was in fact Peter Linz, who puppeteers Ernie on Sesame Street! The chance encounter proved serendipitous, eventually leading to work on the Fraggle Rock reboot and Sesame Workshop’s Helpsters. She also choreographs and puppeteers for the Emmy-Award nominated preschool show Miss Persona (Amazon/Treehouse TV).

When asked about her passion for her craft, Hansen begins an endearing admission: “I’m a big dork.” And this big dork is unambiguous in calling her experience at the Jim Henson Company “just…the best.” “Performing on Helpsters in New York was totally surreal,” she recalls, before detailing encounters with sundry celebrities and conjuring the disorienting experience of being a small-town Canadian “sprinting through parks of Brooklyn wearing a giant orange monster puppet holding hands with Danny Trejo (Machete), or singing with Andrea Martin . . . or dancing with Alan Cumming”. 

The only Canadian on the project, she had spent most of her childhood climbing trees and building epic snow forts. This meant that she was “not very good at recognizing famous people.” She laughs, “I’d introduce myself to celebrity co-stars on set and ask them their names because I genuinely didn’t know who they were!” On the set of Fraggle Rock, Hansen found common ground and genuine camaraderie with her 25 fellow puppeteers. “That is a lot of gregarious dorks in one studio,” she recollects with a smile. ”We created our own b-storylines performing puppet ‘extras’ in the background of scenes. And our puppet extras had crushes, conflicts, complex backstories – we wanted to give them fully developed personal lives in the background of the Fraggle Rock universe! We had a blast.” She had the opportunity to play a new character on Fraggle Rock this season, “a real delightful doofus who speaks only in gibberish”. 

Hansen’s brainchild Epidermis Circus is a vivid and inventive variety show, which she co-created with Britt Small, who also directs. Describing it as a “spicy puppet cabaret,” Hansen takes pride in how it showcases her ability to “turn anything and everything into a puppet”. Epidermis Circus is hosted by a sassy grandma who keeps trying to steal the show. The audience sees behind-the-scenes as Hansen performs a live puppet film on stage, animating “cheeky vignettes” with just her hands and face, and projecting them onto a huge screen. 

And to see Epidermis Circus is to love Epidermis Circus. Hansen still marvels at the dedication of one audience member in Winnipeg who attended six consecutive shows. Such loyalty testifies to the show’s impact, as well as Hansen’s talent and imagination. But this dedicated Winnipeg fan was also onto something, because “the show is always changing”.  Hansen’s latest innovation is “a tiny smoke machine to make tiny smoke billow over the puppet table.”

Now, for those new to the show and who like to know what to expect (or who are thinking about bringing their Fraggle Rock and Helpsters-loving kids), the most urgent question to answer is, “Just how ‘spicy’ is Epidermis Circus? By way of response, Hansen explains how the spice is a benefit, not a limitation: “This show is for anyone who wants a brain massage—-watching surreal stuff is proven to strengthen your brain. GET A BUFF BRAIN!” Translation: the show, with its blend of cartoonish sexual content, curse words and puppet violence, is suitable for audiences “over the age of 14. Or younger people with cool parents,” Hansen winks. 

One other thing that the curious should bear in mind is that the Toronto shows are perilously close to being sold out. Following the Toronto run, Epidermis Circus will tour in Montreal, feature at the Mississauga Puppet Festival, and then commence an off-Broadway run at the Soho Playhouse in New York. 

“If you know any weirdos in New York, invite them!” she grins in a toothy encapsulation of her irreverent, inclusive, and imaginative vision for this whimsical and creative art.

Epidermis Circus runs March 1 – 3, 2024. Hansen is also offering a puppeteering workshop “How to Puppeteer Anything” on Saturday March 2nd, 2:00 – 5:00 pm. Reserve tickets on www.snafudance.com.

© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2024