How do you get to Sesame Street? Design your own major in puppetry and take it to your dream career in Broadwayās Winnie the Pooh, on Sesame Workshopāand even on a Super Bowl commercial featuring Cookie Monster.
In 2018, Sebastiano Ricci ā20 started a self-designed interdisciplinary major focusing on puppetry arts. He now has a hand in, literally, some of the best-known puppet characters in the world, working with Sesame Workshop and others in the entertainment world.
Heās been onstage in New York City and Chicago bringing to life characters and puppets from Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, helped in the performance of major and minor characters on Sesame Street, and in a Super Bowl ad, andāone of his personal favorite milestonesāperformed on Sesame Streetās float in the Macyās Thanksgiving Day parade.
āItās hard to put into words how much it meant to meāgoing 40 blocks through the heart of New York City, peeking out the window to see thousands and thousands of people, shouting out our charactersā names,ā Ricci said. āThat was the largest group Iāve performed for to date and, of course, thereās a huge television audience as well. Itās something Iāve wanted to do since I was a kid.ā
Ricci has single-mindedly made his dream of a career in the industry come closer to reality, first building puppets at his familyās home in Franklin Square, New York, starting a YouTube channel and account featuring his work, and networking in the professional world. He used his years at Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³» to explore his interests, hone skills and be ready for the next steps.
A Puppeteerās Dream, Advanced at Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³»
Ricci credits many in the Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³» family for supporting him along the way: in particular, John McDermott, associate professor of theater; John Drew, associate professor of communications; and Christopher Saucedo, professor of art and art history.
āThey were very supportive, taking me under their wing, showing me their knowledge and how I could incorporate that into what I want to do,ā Ricci said. āFor example, I learned about art and sculpture with Professor Saucedo and understood how I could incorporate that into my work building puppets. With professors McDermott and Drew, I saw how puppets can work on the stage and in film and TV.ā
His advice to students? āI highly recommend interdisciplinary studyāand if it makes sense, design your own major.ā
Ricci was also supported by Department of Communications technical director John Furtado in scheduling his studiesāhe double majored in puppet arts (self-designed) and digital media productionāand Cory Poccia ā04, an adjunct faculty member in communications and founder of Mainstream Entertainment Group, who gave Ricci work as a film editor while he was getting started in the world of puppetry. āIt was a great experience,ā Ricci said. āMuch-needed financial support, but he was so understanding and told me up front that the work shouldnāt stand in the way of any puppetry jobs that come along.ā
A major break came when Ricci got a gig with Rockefeller Productions in February 2021, initially as a puppet builder. He then auditioned and was cast in a new stage production of Winnie the Pooh.
āI was a little hesitant to audition because, believe it or not, I had stage fright! āhe recalled.ā I built some of the puppets used in the show, performed as Tigger and Eeyore, which was a blast. And I was a puppet wrangler, cleaning and taking care of the puppets and repaired them if anything was broken. And then I became the puppet captain, whose job it is to teach puppetry to the other cast members.ā
The show ran off-Broadway in New York and then had a run in Chicago and another back in New York. As it was ending, Ricci got an invitation from the lead Muppet performers with Sesame Workshop to participate in its mentorship program. āAmong other things, we get to perform small parts on the show. Basically, theyāre training the next generation of puppeteers for Sesame Street, and Iām honored to be part of that group of very talented folks.ā
Pulling a Few Stringsāand Working on a Super Bowl Ad
A native Long Islander who now lives in Manhattan, Ricci is also working at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, located on the west side of Central Park. He discovered a love for marionette puppetry, different from whatās seen on Sesame Street or in shows such as Winnie the Pooh. āWeāre 10 feet up in the air working the puppets below.ā The group is staging an adaptation of Sleeping Beauty called Wake Up, Daisy through June.
At Sesame Workshop, Ricci is doing background work, assisting performersāfor example, being a right hand for a puppet, as some take more than one personāplaying minor characters in the background, taking on small rolesāa talking banana, a dog and a little robin on a spinoff show on HBO Max called My Sesame Street Friends. Heās also been a background singer on Sesame Street and worked on a PBS Kids show called Donkey Hodie, a spinoff of Mister Rogersā Neighborhood.
The work also got him a last-minute gig helping with the appearance of Cookie Monster in a that also featured, among others, Sylvester Stallone, Kate Hudson, Liam Neeson and Jay Leno.
āIt was super cool,ā Ricci deadpanned.
The Cookie Monster (assisted by Sebastiano Ricci ’20, not shown) appeared in an ad that ran during the 2023 Super Bowl