Testimonial: “Larrikin Puppets performed at our daughter’s 1st Birthday party. It was an excellent show, age appropriate from 1 to 9yrs (kids) but also had the adults entertained!
Brett arrived on time, quietly set up and waited for the start time without being pushy ‘watching the clock’.
He was very interactive with the kids even exchanging knock knock jokes! He also spent a lot of time after the show with Troggg talking to the kids and having photos. They’re still talking about it (and singing the songs)!
We loved it! I would definitely recommend Larrikin Puppets and will be using them again in the years to come!” – Julie, Clontarf.
Author: Brett Hansen
60th Birthday Party – Larrikin Puppets
Testimonial: “Just want to thank you for a great puppet show at my 60th birthday lunch last Sunday. Heaps of fun, big surprise for my friends. They are still laughing and talking about it. We got some great pics of Troggg and Frizzby” – Sue, Cleveland.
test.larrikinpuppets.com.au
test.larrikinpuppets.com.au
Troggg on Sam The Ham Show
Troggg was recently an international guest on the web series of popular California-based puppet pig, Sam the Ham. 
Performed by puppeteer Justin Galluccio, Sam the Ham is a pig who is willing to try anything and everything (that people say a pig his size should not be doing, within reason). You can find Sam the Ham all over YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Here’s Sam’s interview with Troggg:
Troggg on The Hobble & Snitch Show
Do you remember when we reported that our very own Troggg had a cameo appearance in The Hobble & Snitch Show?
The Hobble & Snitch Show is a puppet web-series wherein two goblins – Hobble & Snitch – try to make their own web-series from their cave deep under your city, with disastrous results.
Here’s the episode featuring Troggg:
StarNow and LinkedIn
Brett Hansen’s StarNow profile lists details on the various puppetry projects he’s been involved in through Larrikin Puppets, and in theatre, film and TV: http://www.starnow.com.au/LarrikinPuppets
The Larrikin Puppets LinkedIn company profile can be found here. You are most welcome to follow and share these profiles on social media.
Upcoming Public Puppet Shows
Here’s a list of upcoming public puppet shows we’re performing – Starring Troggg the blue monster and his furry friends! —
* Friday, 22 January @ Tabatinga Tweed Heads (Seagulls Club), 11am NSW time (10am QLD time if you’re coming down from Brisbane or the Gold Coast).
* Thursday, 17 March @ Bunnings Warwick – “Easter Family Night”, 6:45pm.
* Friday, 25 March (Good Friday) @ Redcliffe Sails Festival (Suttons Beach, Redcliffe), 10:45am.
* Monday, 28 March (Easter Monday) @ Seagulls Club (Tweed Heads), 2pm NSW time (1pm QLD time if you’re coming down from Brisbane or the Gold Coast).
* Thursday, 7 April @ South Bank Parklands – “Little Days Out”: 3 Puppet Shows, 9am – 1pm.
* Saturday, 16 April @ Ipswich Festival – “Creative Kidz”: 2 Puppet Shows + Roving Puppetry, 12pm – 5pm.
Larrikin Puppets will be performing several private birthday party shows and other events during this time also. Remember to fill out our booking enquiry form if you’d like to have Troggg and the gang perform a puppet show at YOUR event!
Please note, we will be based in Brooklyn, New York (USA) throughout May, June and July. But we’ll be back in Brisbane (Australia) from August. We have openings for more public puppet shows (and private ones) between January and April, and from August onwards. Get in early for those Christmas parties and festivals!
2015 Adventures of the Puppets
This year, Larrikin Puppets has continued to grow from strength to strength. In its third year of business, the puppets have appeared at several festivals, more child care centres and schools than ever before, two Supanova Pop Culture Expos, regular shows at South Bank Parklands, a series of family variety shows at Morningside’s Studio Theatre & Cafe, a film appearance in artist Richard Bell’s movie “5 for 35” (currently showing at APT8, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane), a cameo in “The Hobble & Snitch Show”, and even a hosting gig on “Juiced TV” – a TV show filmed at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital. Troggg even got to meet Agro this year!
We also took the puppets along to perform in Childers, Toowoomba, and at the 5th Kooma Green School – a cultural exchange program held in the remote Indigenous community of Murra Murra in South-West Queensland. And Troggg got to accept a trophy at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne when Larrikin Puppets WON the BizCover NEIS Change Award at the National Small Business Development Conference! 
I managed to arrange Brisbane’s only cinema screening of the award winning documentary film, “I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story” at Event Cinemas (hosted by Troggg of course). We raised $300 towards ovarian cancer research and awareness via Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer in memory of my Mum.
On a personal note, I got married this year! To the beautiful Elissa, who has been the most amazing friend anybody could ever wish for.
Here’s to more puppet fun and adventures in 2016!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
From Brett Hansen 🙂
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Hope everybody had a very Merry Christmas this year! Troggg and the gang look forward to more puppet shows and adventures in 2016! Happy New Year!
2015 BizCover NEIS Change Award Winner
On Monday 12th of October 2015, Brett Hansen, Elissa Jenkins and Troggg flew down to Melbourne to attend the Small Business Development Conference 2015 Gala Dinner for presentation of the National NEIS Association Awards. The Awards Dinner was held in the Limelight Room at Etihad Stadium in Docklands, Melbourne.
Brett had been nominated for the BizCover NEIS Change Award by his NEIS business mentor Sandra Gartner. Larrikin Puppets was set up under the NEIS programme in 2012. To explain what NEIS is, here’s a description from the National College of Business Management website:
“NEIS is an Australian Government initiative to assist eligible job seekers who are interested in starting and running a small business. NEIS commenced in 1985 and is currently the longest running and most successful self employment program in the country.
NEIS can provide you with accredited small business training, business advice and mentoring, as well as ongoing income support for up to 39 weeks”.
Why Larrikin Puppets was nominated in the ‘Change’ award category, is best explained by Brett Hansen himself, in this story he wrote prior to winning the award on the night:
My Story: I have been a creative person since the first time I picked up a crayon. I have always drawn, played piano and performed puppetry. These have always been my greatest talents. I was pretty terrible at most other things at school.
Fast forward to my adult life – After years of studying animation, fine art and film, nobody would hire me in those industries. I was a hobby cartoonist and keyboard player in several bands, but the only paid jobs I could ever get were janitor, dish washer, retail worker, storeman, and call centre phone monkey. I eventually studied business and office admin so that I could get better jobs. But I still couldn’t get into anything better than the above list of occupations. I was never able to earn much money. These are minimum wage jobs.
My wife was very unhappy about both the money side of things, and the fact that I was depressed, miserable, and aching from all the heavy lifting. I’d sometimes work up to 15 hours a day and still not have enough money to pay the bills, let alone take my wife out for a nice dinner.
Performing puppetry was one of my talents, and eventually an opportunity to perform in a local production of Broadway puppet musical Avenue Q came up. I auditioned and was accepted into the company as the show’s ‘puppetry consultant’, as I was the only one with the skills to train the other actors in puppetry. I was also cast as a co-puppeteer for two of the characters. This was a volunteer activity. No payment. But it was a wonderful experience, which I balanced with my full time day job.
Six months later, Avenue Q ended. My full time day job ended. And my marriage ended. All at once. I was at rock bottom, with nothing to my name but whatever savings I had left, and a few puppets.
I had wanted to start up a puppeteer business on the side for a while. But time around long work hours was difficult. Now I finally had an opportunity! I had NOTHING to lose.
Someone suggested that when I go to Centrelink, I ask about the NEIS programme (New Enterprise Incentive Scheme), which is an entrepreneurial alternative to filling out job diaries. If you are unemployed and have a great idea for a new small business, NEIS is fantastic! They put you through a Certificate IV in Small Business Management, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations. Then they team you up with a business mentor for one year. Your assignments throughout the course are literally the things you need to get your business started – All the necessary licences, insurances, marketing tools, etc.
Three years later, my business takes me all over Queensland performing regular puppet shows at parties, festivals, childcare centres, schools and ticketed theatre events. I’ve also been able to puppeteer in several film and TV projects. I met and married a wonderful woman who loves me for all of my quirks and creative madness. She shares my journey as we live and work happily from home together.
And tomorrow, we’re off to Melbourne to attend the National NEIS Association Awards Gala Dinner. My NEIS mentor nominated Larrikin Puppets in the ‘BizCover NEIS Change Award’ category, and now I’m a finalist in the top 3!
My life went through some huge changes at the time I started my business three years ago. That’s why I’m up for a “Change” award. But whether I win the award or not, my life is better than it ever was before three years ago because every day is now different, interesting, exciting and full of love and support.
And that’s what motivates me to get up everyday and run my own business.
Thanks for reading 🙂
Brett (and Troggg) won the BizCover NEIS Change Award on Monday, 12 October 2015 at the Small Business Development Conference in Melbourne.
Troggg meets Agro and Beppo the Clown
During one weekend in October 2015, Brett and Troggg got to rub shoulders with legends of children’s entertainment!
Remember Australian puppet character Agro? Puppeteered by Jamie Dunn, Agro was on TV all throughout the 1980s and 1990s on shows like The Hi Hello Show, Seven’s Super Saturday Show, Wombat, The Super Sunday Show, Boris’ Breakfast Club, Agro’s Cartoon Connection, The Main Event, Family Feud, Tonight Live with Steve Vizard, etc. 
On Friday, 23 October 2015, Elissa, Brett and Troggg went along to the Studio Theatre and Cafe to catch a performance of “Agro Up Late”, starring Jamie Dunn, Jill Ray (one of Agro’s co-hosts in the 1980s) and Agro himself. 
There was a meet-and-greet in the foyer after the show, and that’s when Troggg got to meet his hero Agro.
The next day, Larrikin Puppets performed a puppet show at the Goodna Jacaranda Festival. Performing just before and after the puppet show was the legendary Beppo the Clown (aka Barry Cannon).
Barry has been performing as Beppo the Clown since 1960. He’s now in his 80s and still going strong! Brett chatted at length with Barry (who also used to appear on Agro’s show in the early days) and learnt a lot about the children’s entertainment industry over the last 50 years.
A quote from Brett: “You know you’re doing something right as a children’s entertainer when ‘Beppo the Clown’ tells you that your puppet show is engaging, entertaining and contains appropriate and catchy songs for the litte ones. I should’ve asked him to give that to me in writing!”
It was a very special couple of days, being able to rub shoulders with childhood heroes Agro and Beppo the Clown, who helped inspire us to bring happiness to kids in the same way that they did for many years before Troggg came into the picture.
