Maxwell Jessop - Welcome, Muppet fans, to the revival of the revival of
The Muppet Mindset Presents How To! Sorry I haven’t been posting more often. Blame it on schoolwork. Had test after test for the last week of school, but now it is summertime and you'll be seeing... err... reading from me a lot soon!
Anyway, for today's How To, I thought we'd do something a little different and show you how to become the ultimate storyteller rivaling
The Storyteller himself! Let's begin.
The Muppet Mindset Hesitantly Presents...
HOW TO...
Be An Awesome Storyteller
1. First, to be a storyteller you've got to remember to have a passion for stories. If you don't have that, this "How to" is not for you. (But please keep reading anyway.)
2. Moving on to simpler stuff, you must have a talking dog or some other anthropomorphic animal. They really help for plot exposition and they cure loneliness. Oh! And have him be performed by Brian Henson. That makes for a really cool dog.
3. Now for another vital step: personality. To be a storyteller, you must be a fun-loving person. While the storyteller who told Greek myths was very melancholic, it is better to have fun reading your stories than to not. This makes for an entertaining and enticing story that can also provides comedic relief.
4. And before I forget, much of everything you do has to be done in a comfy chair near the fire. In a way, how everyone does it in Christmas specials. So you're gonna have to have a chair and a fireplace. Pretty simple step, huh?
5. Optional step: Use prosthetic and some wacky coats to look like a wise old storyteller when reading your story. Doesn't add anything really, but gives you the chance to dress up before Halloween comes.
6. Next, is an integral part of this "How to": the story. If anything, the story should probably come first... but I think it's more fun to dress up like John Hurt first. Now, a good storyteller doesn't limit himself to the more popular tales. Suggested stories should be unique and rare, if not an original of your own. Oh, and fan fictions count in my book. I'd suggest a German fairy tale, more specifically, an Early German one... if you got that reference, then five points for you! But, I will say, change it up every now and again. Even pick one of your favorite stories and read it.
7. Now, visual aid is also highly recommended. I'd suggest getting some cool creatures to show during your story. A dragon is a highly recurring creature and is a must when telling such fairy tales and myths. Also maybe get a few snakes or one of those hybrid man-animal things. These will definitely help when telling stories.
8. Once you've got all the musts, it's time to put the frosting on the Muppet-themed birthday cake. You'll need A-list or B-List actors to further help with visual aid for the story. For example, Brad Pitt's perfect to play the male lead you're telling the audience about. Or even Scarlett Johanssen could play your leading lady.
9. Last but not least, make sure the audience loves it. If you and the audience enjoys it. That's really all that matters.
DISCLAIMER: The Muppet Mindset is not responsible any physical, mental, or emotional harm you, your friends, your family, or your pet hamster(s) experienced by following these steps. We do not believe these steps will guarantee that you will become a storyteller similar to the Storyteller portrayed by John Hurt on
The Storyteller. Additionally, we are not responsible for any harm that is caused by celebrities you approach to play characters in your storytelling. We also do not agree that you should purchase snakes or other dangerous animals in attempt to further enhance your story. We seriously doubt using poisonous animals will help tell your story, especially if you have an audience. Look, we really are not responsible for anything that happens because of this article. Our legal department is down the toilet… literally (our new lawyer was Ryan's goldfish and he forgot to feed him so...). So please, please, pretty please with Cröønchy Stars on top, don't sue us. That's all we ask!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com
Jim Henson's Creature Shop created many creatures
for the show, and many of them make the show so great. Among the creatures are
the devils from "The Soldier and Death," The Griffin from "The Luck
Child," and the lion from "The True Bride." Some stories, such as
"Sapsorrow," only have realistic animal characters who don't actually
talk, and some creatures, such as The Storyteller when transformed into a
hare in "A Story Short," are only there for one scene. The actors in
these stories also do wonderful jobs, though I can't remember any of
their names off-hand (except for Jennifer Saunders, who plays one of the
bad sisters in "Sapsorrow"). Many of these actors would later become
well-known stars, but with the exception of Jennifer Saunders I don't
know what they are famous for. The show's music is also good, sounding
like ancient classical music. 
The best episodes are the ones that aired as part
of The Jim Henson Hour. My favorite episode is "The Soldier and Death,"
one of two (along with "The Heartless Giant") directed by Jim Henson.
This story combines multiple folk tales to tell the story of a soldier
who obtains a magical sack which he uses to capture Death, allowing
everybody to live forever, but when people (including the soldier
himself) start to grow old and want to die, he lets Death free, only for
Death to be afraid to go anywhere near the solider. It's such a great
story, the devils are very funny and steal the show, and it has such a
bittersweet ending. While the ones from The Jim Henson Hour are the
best, my least-favorite also happens to be one that aired on The Jim
Henson Hour, that one being "The Three Ravens." I don't know why, but
whenever I watch that one, I have trouble paying attention. The same can
be said about "Hans, My Hedgehog" and the entire StoryTeller: Greek
Myths series. 
I feel like "Fearnot" is a rather underrated
episode. It's such an interesting story, about a young man named Fearnot
who does not know how to fear or shudder, so he goes on a journey to
find out. He encounters a number of scary characters and situations, but
doesn't fear them, and his lack of fear makes him quite lucky. He makes
a friend who tries and fails to help him, but he seems like a good
friend, and I like the look of the scary characters he meets. Some of
the other great episodes include "The Luck Child," in which a king wants
a "luck child" to be killed, "Sapsorrow," a retelling of Cinderella
with the title character posing as a rotten-looking servant, and "The
Heartless Giant," in which a boy tries to save his brothers from a giant
with no heart. 
Performed by...
In "A Story Short" it is shown that The Storyteller was once a beggar, and he tricked the royal cook into cooking "Stone Soup" and upon realizing he was tricked, the cook brought the Storyteller to the King to be boiled in oil. The Storyteller pleads to the King, and the king agrees that if he tells a story every day for a year, he will be set free. During his time in the kingdom, he gets married. But on his last day he can’t think of a story. That is until he gambles with a beggar and loses everything and goes on an adventure as a hare and a flea with the beggar. Eventually he wakes up and realizes it was a dream. He then tells the king that he has no story to tell due to his dream adventure. But the King states that it was the best story ever told. The Storyteller also appeared in "Hans My Hedgehog" as a royal tarot card reader and general entertainer for the king and his family.
It is unknown how the Storyteller and the Dog met, I like to think that the dog showed up at his castle asking for table scraps and the Storyteller was so impressed at his speaking ability that he let him stay forever. But in honesty not much is known about their history. The Storyteller takes care of the Dog, and the Dog is always interested in his stories, and even will jump in when the Storyteller "isn't telling it right."
A short lived series known as "The Storyteller: Greek Myths" also followed the same format; only with a different Storyteller played by Michael Gambon (best known as Albus Dumbledore). He seems to be more adventurous in that he and the dog go exploring in the places where the stories took place. But he lacks the same sense of humor. 
1. First, to be a storyteller you've got to remember to have a passion for stories. If you don't have that, this "How to" is not for you. (But please keep reading anyway.)
6. Next, is an integral part of this "How to": the story. If anything, the story should probably come first... but I think it's more fun to dress up like John Hurt first. Now, a good storyteller doesn't limit himself to the more popular tales. Suggested stories should be unique and rare, if not an original of your own. Oh, and fan fictions count in my book. I'd suggest a German fairy tale, more specifically, an Early German one... if you got that reference, then five points for you! But, I will say, change it up every now and again. Even pick one of your favorite stories and read it.
8. Once you've got all the musts, it's time to put the frosting on the Muppet-themed birthday cake. You'll need A-list or B-List actors to further help with visual aid for the story. For example, Brad Pitt's perfect to play the male lead you're telling the audience about. Or even Scarlett Johanssen could play your leading lady.
Later this week yours truly, Ryan Dosier, will be appearing on a radio show called The DJ Bob Show hosted by friend of the blog Bob Runkel. I am appearing on the show as part of their upcoming Jim Henson Tribute Show. Bob is looking for Muppet fans to share their thoughts and stories and memories about Jim Henson or Jim's work. If you are interested in sharing and appearing on the radio show to talk about Jim, head over to Facebook and leave a message on The DJ Bob Show's page or email Bob at djbobrunkel@gmail.com. Thanks, Muppet fans!
Yesterday Twitter was all a-twitter (how many times has THAT joke been made?) over a brand new, official account from Sesame Street for Count von Count! Currently the Count (@countvoncount) has merely been counting his tweets (he's up to 11), but my favorite was his tweet for 10, "Ten! 10! In, binary, that's 2!" I can't wait to see how many tweets the Count counts to! Go ahead and give him a follow. I'm sure he loves counting his followers too.
Over at the popular Den of Geek website, friend of the blog Neil McNally wrote a fantastic article called "Looking back at Jim Henson's The Storyteller." The article is truly insightful, funny, and heartfelt--clearly coming from a true fan of the show. We don't often discuss The Storyteller on The Muppet Mindset, but as another facet of Jim Henson's impeccable career it is clearly worth noting and discussing. In the article, Neil discusses how some of the episodes of the show are the best things Jim Henson ever did. How can you pass that up?
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