Marcus Clarke (puppeteer)

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Marcus Clarke
Marcus clarke talking with his Puppets
Marcus Clarke talking with his puppets
Nationality British
Occupation Actor
Known for Puppeteer, voice acting
Website www.handsuppuppets.com

Marcus Clarke is a puppeteer and voice actor from Nottinghamshire. He is best known as the puppeteer and voice actor behind the BAFTA-winning ITV Kids series Bookaboo and the principal puppeteer of Audrey II in the 1986 version of Little Shop of Horrors. Clarke has worked as a puppeteer in over 60 television series and has created a similar number of puppets. He was also a puppeteer and voice actor in two Muppet feature films and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

History

Marcus Clarke was born in Forest Gate, East London. He spent several years in Canada, Care and in NCH orphanages before being settled in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire where he left West Bridgford School, his local comprehensive school with no qualifications. After a series of jobs behind the scenes in theatres, he became stage manager in a West End production of Little Shop Of Horrors, where he looked after Audrey II – the giant plant. He became interested in the art of puppetry. Clarke went on to audition for Jim Henson's TV Puppeteering Workshop, where he befriended Brian Henson.[1][unreliable source?]

Inspired in part by Henson, he and his partner, Helena Smee, formed a puppet creation company, "Hands Up Puppets", in 1986. To date, they have created more than 60 puppets and worked as puppeteers on a similar number of UK television series.[1][unreliable source?]

    Recent work

    Bookaboo, 2009 BAFTA-award winning kids' TV series has Clarke puppeteering a "rock puppy" who is unable to play the drums before one of his friends has read him a story.[2] Designed to back the 2008 National Year of Reading campaign,[3] Bookaboo's friends are celebrities such as Meat Loaf and David Seaman.[4]

    Since 2009, Clarke has been working on new projects, teaching puppetry classes and working with charities. He created a short film with young people at Clayfields House, a secure children's home in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire. Clarke is also on the Board of Funny Wonders Inc, a community interest company, co-organisers of the Buxton Puppet Festival.[4]

      Since 2010 Clarke has also been an exhibiting contemporary artist. He created the art movement Puppet TV Graffiti to encompass his new art and craft of puppetisation and began creating and exhibiting puppetised contemporary artworks.[5] Exhibitions and hangings include.

      File:Diver Dad. DogHorse Coat No6.JPG
      Marcus Clarke created this puppetised, PuppetTVGraffiti work for his DogHorse Coat art exhibition.

      2015 The DogHorse Coat Art Exhibition. Floor 1 Gallery, Nottingham Central Library, Feb 2 - 28th 2015 [6]

      2014 Homeless in the Puppetised City Art Exhibition, one man show, Nottingham. 13x works and video. [7]

      2014 Surface Gallery International Postcard Show 1x postcard work. [8]

      2012 FAB Fringe Arts Bath 2012. Mis-in-Formation. 3x works exhibited. Curator Diana Ali. [9]

      2011 Surface Gallery Nottingham 'Salon des Refuse's' 2x works exhibited. [10]

      1977 Mansfield College of Art. Various. [11]

      Awards

      Clarke has been nominated for and won a number of awards, including two BAFTAs for Pre-school Live Action. The first was in 2004 for PJ's Storytime[12] and the second in 2009 for Bookaboo.[13] Bookaboo went on to win Best Children's Programme at the Broadcast Awards.[14] and its category at the Prix Jeuness International. Clarke was also Milky Cat in The Christmas Milkshake Show nominated in the same category in 2009.[15] The young people in Clarke's puppet film, Clayfields House, won two writing awards from the Koestler Trust. [4] He was listed as one of the "prominent people in Nottinghamshire" in 2010 at the Nottinghamshire Archives.[16]

      Filmography

      Film

      Year Role Film
      1985 Audrey II principal puppeteer Little Shop Of Horrors
      1988 Various puppeteering Who Framed Roger Rabbit
      1992 Additional Muppet performer (voice), various puppeteering The Muppet Christmas Carol
      1996 Additional Muppet performer (voice), various puppeteering Muppet Treasure Island

      Television

      Year Character Show Location/Company
      1986 Devil The Storyteller The Jim Henson Company
      1987 Ultragorgan, little Gorgan Monster Maker The Jim Henson Company
      1988 Dog and Cat Playbox Ragdoll Productions
      1989 Hotdog Hotdog/Treasure Box Thames Television
      1990 Dapple, Millie, Stubble Dappledown Farm Clear Idea Television
      1991 Crabtree Tricky Business BBC Television
      1995 Void the Android, Hopper, Dreeb Children's Channel On-Air Presentation Starstream Productions
      1996 Sid WoW ITV
      1997 Venus Venus on the Hard Drive Fox Broadcasting Company
      1997 Johnny Chimes Here's Johnny Chimes NBC
      1998 Buzz Dottie and Buzz Prospect Pictures
      1999 Patch Tickle Patch and Friends Series 1 Channel 5 (UK)
      1999 Bird Tenth Kingdom Carnival Films
      1999 Bag Big Bag Sesame Workshop
      2002 Doogy Dog SMarteenies CBeebies
      2000 Bird 10th Kingdom
      2003 Cosy The Softies Channel 5 (UK)
      2003 PJ PJ's Bedtime Playhouse Disney
      2003 Dusty A House That's Just Like Yours Channel 5 (UK)
      2004 PJ PJ's Storytime[12] Playhouse Disney
      2005 Mr. Flapper Sandy and Mr. Flapper Two Hand Productions
      2005 Patch Christmas Milkshake Channel 5 (UK)
      2005 Ant Vent Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Granada Television
      2006–2007 Patch Tickle Patch and Friends 1 & 2 Two Hand Productions
      2007–2008 Milky The Milkshake Show Channel 5 (UK)
      2008, 2010 Bookaboo Bookaboo (series 1 and 2)[13] ITV
      2009 Producer Director and Performer Clayfields House Film
      2009 Body Guard, Minder, Bouncer, Heavy This Morning ITV
      2009 Salty Ticketmaster Monkey Channel 5 (UK)
      2010 Puppetry Consultant BBC Learning Zone GameLab London

      References

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      External links

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