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GUESTS AT THE LABYRINTH EXPERIENCE & MASKED BALL
LEGENDARY CONCEPT ARTIST & ILLUSTRATOR
BRIAN FROUD
Brian Froud is very well known for his for his 1978 best selling book 'Faeries', and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films 'Labyrinth', 'The Dark Crystal' and the Netflix TV Series 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance'.
Without Brian it is fair to say that there would be no Labyrinth Film. It was even Brian's idea to set the movie in a labyrinth stating 'It just seemed to me that labyrinths have a mysterious depth, and that there are symbolic things that go on underneath. So it wasn't just a physical place, but also a mental state'.
Brian designed all of the characters in the Labyrinth and created that magical world we love.
LEGENDARY ARTIST, SCUPLTOR & WRITER
WENDY FROUD
Wendy Froud is a very talented artist, sculptor, writer, illustrator and teacher.
Wendy worked not only on The Dark Crystal but on the Muppet Show, Muppet Movie, The Empire Strikes Back ( as fabricator of Yoda) and Labyrinth.
Wendy spends much of her time making models and mythic figures. She has illustrated three books - A Midsummer Night’s Faerytale, The Winter Child, and The Faeries of Spring Cottage - with author Terri Windling. She has also published a book of her own writings, illustrated with her dolls and figures - The Art of Wendy Froud. She also writes for magazines and has had her fiction writing included in two anthologies . Wendy teaches sculpting, doll and model making and mask making workshops incorporating mythic and faery imagery.
AWARD WINNING ARTIST & ILLUSTRATOR
IRIS COMPIET
Iris Compiet is an award-winning traditional artist and Illustrator from the Netherlands. She is well known for creating a world called Faeries of the Faultlines. A glimpse into that world can be seen in a book with the same title.
Jim Henson fans will recognise her beautiful artwork from Labyrinth: The Official Bestiary and The Dark Crystal Bestiary. Both are filled with incredible, vibrant creature illustrations. Iris enjoys working on projects ranging from picture books to gallery art, concept art and sculpting. Drawing inspiration from European folklore, mythology, fairytales, ghost stories and anything from tombstones, Victorian photography to popular movies and music.
SCULPTOR, FABRICATOR, FILM MAKER, PUPPETEER & PERFORMER
TOBY FROUD
Toby Froud made his film debut in Labyrinth as baby Toby, the infant brother of Sarah and has gone on to have an impressive career.
Toby has many talents including stilt-walker, dancing and juggling. He apprenticed at the Muppet Workshop in New York City and with Peter Jackson on The Lord of the Rings films. He worked with WETA Workshop on the films The Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong. Toby worked for the stop-motion studio Laika as a puppet fabricator on films including ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. Toby also returned to Jim Henson's Creature Shop as design supervisor on Netflix The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. He made the short film Lessons Learned in association with Heather Henson's company Handmade Puppet Dreams. Most recently Toby worked as a puppet sculpture on Guillermo del Toro's Oscar winning animation Pinocchio.
ARCHIVES DIRECTOR - JIM HENSON COMPANY
KAREN FALK
Since 1992, Karen Falk has served as the Archives Director and historian for The Jim Henson Company and is Vice President of The Jim Henson Legacy. She is the author of Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal and the main contributor to the Jim’s Red Book blog on Henson.com, featuring excerpts of Jim Henson’s personal journal with supporting archival material. As part of her work with The Jim Henson Legacy, she curated the Jim Henson’s Fantastic World traveling exhibit and has organized numerous Henson exhibits for museums and universities. Falk works closely with the Worlds of Puppetry Museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta on their Jim Henson Collection and special exhibitions. She collaborates with the Museum of the Moving Image in New York on their permanent Jim Henson Gallery and serves on their board. In addition, Falk has contributed to numerous publications, documentaries, web sites and video releases relating to the life and work of Jim Henson.
DESIGN, FABRICATION, ANIMATRONICS
SHERRY AMOTT TIPPEY
Sherry Amott lent her theater design and production expertise to the Henson Company throughout the 70s and 80s. She was among the many Muppet designers for The Muppet Show and The Muppet Movie, and worked at Jim Henson's Creature Shop on various characters for The Dark Crystal and Dreamchild.
For Labyrinth, Sherry worked on the initial organisation of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and establishing the relative sizes of the different characters, she also worked as Senior animatronic designer mainly on the Fireys, Junk Lady and the Wiseman.
Sherry worked as Head of Fabrication of Audrey II for the Frank Oz film Little Shop of Horrors and worked on Sesame Street as well, creating Linda's pet dog Barkley and designing the outfits for the cover of the famous Sesame Street Fever LP, among other feats.
PUPPETEER & PERFORMER
TOBY PHILPOTT
Seven years of work as a comedy acrobatic juggler (and studying masks and mime) led to working on animatronic puppets with Jim Henson.
Toby worked on Labyrinth in 1986, operating several characters, including a goblin puppet that sat at the foot of the throne of the Goblin King & one of the Fireys, "Firey No. 1”. Toby also controlled the eyes of the Junk Lady and was one of the many sets of hands among the Helping Hands shaft.
Toby’s other film credits include Star Wars, the dark Crystal, Little Shop of Horrors and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
PUPPETEER & PUPPET BUILDER
DAVE SHOWLER
Dave pops up throughout Labyrinth in many scenes, The Dance Magic Dance sequence with an assortment of goblins on his arm through strategically placed holes in the set, Also on the battlements and in The Goblin City as the battle raged, Dave 'lent a hand' at the Well Of Hands as background hands, The 'Should you need us' party in Sarah's room and hiding behind a rock and releasing those little hairy bugs that ran around in such a random fashion.
Other films include Little shop of Horrors, Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, Julie And The Cadillacs, TV credits include Jim Henson's The Tail Of The Bunny Picnic, & Space Vets.
When not performing puppets Dave designs and builds puppets for TV, & Commercials.
PUPPETEER & PERFORMER
RONNIE LE DREW
Ronnie was born in Canada, but arrived in England by the time he was three.
At fifteen he became John Wrights second apprentice at the Little Angel Theatre in London. Where he learnt all aspects of puppetry performance. In 1973 he joined the cast of "rainbow" a pre school programme made at Teddington Studios, as the well loved "Zippy ".
He auditioned for Jim Henson and became an additional puppeteer on Labyrinth performing various Goblins and other creature. Ronnie also worked on the Little Shop of horrors and Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island. And recently Dark Crystal age of resistance the Netflix television series.
His book "Zippy and Me" tells his story.
PROP, MODEL MAKER AND SPECIAL EFFECTS
VALERIE CHARLTON
Valerie is a master prop and model maker and has been creating special effects for movies for decades. Jim Henson fans will know her work from Labyrinth, making many of the riding Goblins and famously sculpting Hoggle! Valerie also worked on the Dark Crystal on the Landstriders. Other film credits include;
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Jabberwocky, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Time Bandits, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Brazil (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Valerie will be doing a very interesting workshop on CGI vs practical effects.
Valerie will be doing a fascinating talk on the Saturday with Andrew Schlussel discussing her incredible career and how practical effects paved the way for modern day visual effects.
ACTRESS, SINGER & PUPPETEER
LOUISE GOLD
Louise Gold is a puppeteer, actress and singer. She is best known for her work as a puppeteer on television and for roles in musical theatre in the West End.
Louise began training in the arts at an early age. She was a puppeteer and voice actress for The Muppet Show, for four seasons, and later for Sesame Street, and she has performed voice and puppet work on various other Muppet films, albums and television specials. She was a founder of, and lead puppeteer for, the satirical television show Spitting Image and occasionally thereafter. She has had other television, film and voice roles since then.
For Labyrinth Louise cameoed as a dancer in the famous masked ball scene. In The Dark Crystal Louise puppeteered SkekAyuk the Gourmand Skeksis in the original Dark Crystal, and reprised that role in the new Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance as well as performing the All-Maudra, Maudra Argot (whom she also voiced), Onica and a Podling servant!
PROP, MODEL MAKER AND SPECIAL EFFECTS
NIKI LYONS
Nikki is a designer and fabricator, who worked for the Jim Henson Creature Shop in the fabrication department, primarily creating walk-around creature suits. For Labyrinth she mostly worked on the Riding Goblins.
She has worked on many film and TV projects including Dinosaurs, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Where the Wild Things Are, The Teletubbies and designed Aslan for the BBC version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
PUPPETEER & ANIMATRONIC DESIGNER
DAVE BARCLAY
Dave Barclay is a Master Puppeteer, Animatronic Designer and Supervisor, a CG key frame Animator, and Director and Producer of animatronic and animation projects for film and television. Dave has extensive experience working with the Jim Henson Company from the Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Dark Crystal and of course Labyrinth. For Labyrinth, Dave not only worked in the creature shop on puppets such as Sir Didymus (pictured) but he also worked on the puppeteering teams for Sir Didymus, the Firey', the Worm, and the riding Goblins. Other film credits include: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Little Shop of Horrors, Cats & Dogs & many more
COSTUME DESIGNER & COSPLAYER
VALENTINE MOON
Valentine Moon is a Costume Designer and Cosplayer best known for her recreations of iconic costumes from cartoon and film which she posts on her social media channels. Having made over 50 ballgowns based on a variety of characters including Barbie and Disney princesses she worked on recreating a version of Sarah’s ball dress which took over a month and includes 1000’s of hand sewn beads and hand painted lace.
Valentine Moon will be joining our panel of judges for the Cosplay competition and running two Cosplay workshops. Part one on Saturday and Part two on Sunday. More information on the workshop here.
PUPPETEER, DESIGNER & PERFORMER
WILLIAM TODD-JONES
Labyrinth began for ‘Todd’ in Autumn ’83, when he was invited to join the small team establishing a workshop at 1b Downshire Hill, Hampstead, London.
Over the next months, he watched the team swell and the building fill with characters and costumes, especially created for the film.
As a dancer, he got to try on all of Jareth’s costumes before David.
As a builder, he helped prototype many of the characters, including Sir Didymus and Ludo.
As a performer, Jim gave him insights that became the core of his discipline.
As a result of his ‘Henson Apprenticeship’, Todd went on to become a world class creature designer, performer, director, movement consultant, digital performance artist and writer for award winning film, television, and theatre.
Highlights
Destroying the Earth as a Vogon in “Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy”.
Hagrid’s brother Grawp in “Harry Potter”.
Batman’s cape, Narnia’s Glenstorm & John Carter’s Woola.
Head of creatures, daemons & bears for the recent “His Dark Materials”.
Lots of Muppets
Key puppeteer “Little Shop of Horrors” & “Who Framed Roger Roger Rabbit”
And of course… Goblin & Toby wrangler for “Labyrinth”
ARTIST, SCULPTOR, COSTUME MAKER
MAEVE CALLAHAN
Maeve Callahan grew up running around the forest looking for faeries, and making art through drawing, painting and making dolls.
Her educational background in theater arts and intermedia moved into a focus on puppets and stop-motion animation, which then led to creating costumes and puppets professionally for stage and screen.
Maeve has worked with Toby Froud on his film ‘Lessons Learned’, on Jim Henson’s ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ and most recently on Academy Award winning ‘Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio’.
Her personal work, in the forms of sculpted doll figures, puppets and paintings, is inspired by connection to the natural and otherworlds.
She still looks for magic in the woods and enjoys being able to say she ‘plays with dolls’ for a living.'
Maeve will be joining Toby Froud, Brandie Sylfae and William Todd-Jones for a very special 'Lessons Learned' Panel.
VISUAL EFFECTS, TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
ANDREW SCHLUSSEL
Andrew brings his experience in animation, visual effects, art, and education to his role as Senior Director, Training and Development at DNEG Animation. Prior roles include leading training at Netflix Animation, Framestore and MPC in addition to educational roles at DreamWorks Animation and Pixar. He’s been teaching for over 20 years, and has led educational programs in colleges and universities internationally. Andrew loves to learn and is endlessly curious about the ever evolving craft of animation in all its forms.
Andrew will be doing a fascinating talk on the Saturday with Valerie Charlton discussing her incredible career and how practical effects paved the way for modern day visual effects.
ACTRESS & STUNT PERFORMER
BRANDIE SYLFAE
Brandie Sylfae is an award-winning stunt performer, actor, and voice over performer. As a second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do under Chuck Norris, she got her start in martial arts focused roles, including the television series V.R. Troopers and the feature film Bloodmoon.
While she still enjoys a good fight scene, she is proud of her recent work with roles on SNL alum Aidy Bryant’s Hulu original, Shrill, the TBS comedy, Chad, opposite Nasim Pedrad, the puppet short, Lessons Learned as the voice of Spider Fate, and opposite Willow Shields in the multi-award winning feature film Woodstock or Bust.
Brandie will be joining Toby Froud, Maeve Callahan and William Todd-Jones for a very special 'Lessons Learned' Panel.
DESIGNER & MODEL MAKER
STEVE ALLEN
Steve has been a designer/model maker for 45 years since leaving school aged 16. He has worked with many TV/Film companies including Jim Henson's Creature Shop and Henson Enterprise - artists to the Muppets.
Steve was involved at the pre-production stage of "Labyrinth", making prototype puppets of the characters before they went through various stages of redesign. He did this using sketches done by Brian Froud alongside fellow puppet makers Dave Barclay, Jane Gootnick, and Amy Van Gilder.
He is still a puppet maker and movie merchandise designer.
PUPPETEER & ANIMATRONICS
SUE DACRE
Sue's TV career began in 1975 in an old church hall in Bermondsey, when Mary Turner (of Thunderbirds fame) offered her a job on Here Comes Mumfie. Co-incidentally, Sue would later help bring Brains to life for a Drench Ad! Her film career began in in 1984 working with the Jack Pumpkinhead team in 'Return to Oz' - unaware that destiny would dictate that she herself would return to Oz as the Tin Man in a Spitting Image sketch! Labyrinth followed Return to Oz and she joined the team responsible for performing Ludo.
Sue was one of the lead puppeteers on Little Shop of Horrors, co-performed Bruno in Witches, and worked on many other popular films including Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Muppet Christmas Carol, and the infamous Seed of Chucky!
PUPPETEER
ROBERT TYGNER
Rob Tygner is a puppeteer who has performed in many Jim Henson Company productions for over twenty years. He was also a principal puppeteer on the Frank Oz film Little Shop of Horrors and puppeteered on Spitting Image.
In Labyrinth he was one of the puppeteers operating Hoggle along with various other creatures.
His credits include but are not limited to; The StoryTeller, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Witches, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Flintstones, Muppet Treasure Island, The Adventures of Pinocchio, George of the Jungle, Alice in Wonderland and many more!
Autograph/selfie prices, along with other useful information can be found in our welcome packs.
More guest announcements coming soon!
Illustrations from Labyrinth: Bestiary - A Definitive Guide to The Creatures of the Goblin King's Realm
