Offscript is American Theatre’s flagship podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts), in which the magazine’s editors, writers, and special guests tell us what they’re up to and what’s on their mind.

In this very special episode, digital editor Gabriela Furtado Coutinho visits with the puppets and puppeteers behind Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a popular stage adaptation of the iconic stop-motion TV special, running at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts through Dec. 29. We get to learn about how CPA adapted the beloved classic and “‘oh, what fun” they offer year-round, from exhibitions to education opportunities. Featured in this conversation about process and magic are CPA artistic director and Rudolph puppet designer Jason Hines, principal puppeteer Sarah Beth Hester, Rudolph director and executive producer Tim Sweeney, and puppet friends from the show! Prepare to enter a wonderland of misfit toys where, as Hines puts it, “Everything is a puppet, even the trees.”

Then editor-in-chief Rob Weinert-Kendt talks to the tireless critic Bill Hirschman, who runs the ad-supported website Florida Theater On Stage as well as contributing informative pieces to American Theatre, about how the industry is faring, and with what kind of fare.

The full audio podcast is below.

You can download the episode here. If you have any feedback or suggestions for Offscript, please reach out to at@tcg.org.