Okotokian thrilled to be a part of award-winning Fraggle Rock team

The reboot of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock has some Okotoks talent working on it.

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock is a continuation of the beloved 80's children's show, and premiered on Apple TV+ in 2021.

Among the talented Jim Henson's Creature Shop team working on the show is Terri Grant of Okotoks.

As a costumer and "Gorg wrangler," Grant is involved with fabricating and maintaining the outfits and appearances of the show's colourful muppet cast.

"I mainly focus on what cute little shirts they're wearing, making sure their hair isn't matted, sewing them up when they get holes, things like that," says Grant.

She's made costumes for Fraggle Rock's smallest residents, the Doozers, including a Doozer-sized Santa Claus outfit for a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade appearance.

Grant's Gorg-wrangling duties mean she also gets to work with one of Fraggle Rock's largest and most illustrious figures, Pa Gorg.

"Every wrangler for the Gorgs is assigned to a specific Gorg, so mine is Pa Gorg played by Andy Hayward, so him and I spend lots of time together getting him into the costume, making him comfortable. I just to take off his head and shoot a leaf blower at him to cool him down in-between takes, so you become very bonded with your Gorg."

Gorgs pose with Terri and her fellow Gorg wranglers.

These are all things Grant has had a passion for from a young age.

"I've always been really interested in puppets, my mom had these little Sesame Street puppets like Bert and Ernie that she would bring to my elementary school and do little presentations on things like washing your hands and being nice. I was obsessed with making little costumes for them and my Barbies. Pretty much all my toys always had some little coffee filter and balloon outfit I'd made for them. As I got older I kind of just stayed that little kid right through high school I had puppets and was a mascot for A&W, so I had a lot of experience being inside the suits."

She majored in theatre production in university, honing her prop-building and costuming before eventually finding work building animatronics and other specialty puppets.

Grant has worked on a few major productions in Alberta, including Prey, The Last of Us, Under the Banner of Heaven, and The Revenant.

Finding out she'd landed a spot on the Fraggle Rock team was an emotional moment.

"I had been there for one day and thought I was just going to be there for maybe two or three days. I'd come back for a second week and at this point, I was like 'dream come true, I did a whole week on Fraggle!' My coordinator Cam came up to me and says 'Do you want to just stay on the show?' I cried like I'd won Miss America."

The first season of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock won Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design at the 1st Children's and Family Emmy Awards in 2022, and their Night of the Lights Holiday Special was nominated for Outstanding Fiction Special and Outstanding Puppet Design and Styling the following year.

It's been renewed for a second season, which wrapped production last year, though a release date hasn't been announced yet.