>> Mando & Friends: Michelle Zamora (S2, E11)
Star puppeteer and CEO of Viva La Puppet Michelle Zamora is on Mando & Friends! Michelle talks about her career journey from finding her passion at a very young age to now running her own company — working alongside first lady, Michelle Obama. She also talks biggest inspirations, how believing in yourself opens doors and the importance of executing one’s ideas. Watch her hit children’s cooking television series Waffles + Mochi executive produced by Michelle Obama — and their latest special ‘Waffles + Mochi’s Holiday Feast’ streaming now on Netflix!
>> Puppeteer Michelle Zamora Shares Why ‘Waffles + Mochi’ Is Such a Hit – On Air With Ryan Seacrest
Michelle Obama and Netflix have teamed up for the latest kids hit, Waffles + Mochi, and puppeteer Michelle Zamora, who voices Waffles, joined Ryan Seacrest on-air on Wednesday, March 24, to share why you’ll love it too.
>> ‘Waffles + Mochi’ Creators Can’t Believe They Got Michelle Obama to Star, Either – Newsweek
…I had only worked with one puppeteer ever, and that was Michelle Zamora from [the puppet shop] Viva La Puppet. She is now the star and plays Waffles. She is somebody who has worked with every comedy person in Los Angeles. She’s done a lot of cool, funky, different work. She did Black Lady Sketch Show and Garfunkel and Oates, and she was the first person we called when we sold the show. We built on that and hired a [puppet] company called Swazzle. We hired Russ Walko to do Mochi…
>> How the ‘Waffles + Mochi’ Puppets Were Built to Eat – Variety
Michelle Zamora, of Viva La Puppet, has worked as a puppeteer on titles including “Garfunkel & Oates,” “Comedy Central’s Adult Swim Fun House” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” to name just a few. But stepping into “Waffles + Mochi,” Netflix’s food-based series that starts streaming Tuesday, raised the bar for what puppets could do on-camera — by having them eat. “I did not think I would be eating soup as a puppet,” Zamora tells Variety.
>> Michelle Zamora stars as Waffles…Michelle Obama Befriends Foodie Puppets in ‘Waffles + Mochi’ Trailer – Rolling Stone Magazine
The former First Lady stars as a supermarket owner who hires Waffles and Mochi, two puppets who dream of being chefs. Obama helps the duo embark on a global adventure, using a flying shopping cart as their guide. They visit restaurants, kitchens, and farms around the world — riding in gondolas in Italy and llamas in Peru.
The series features appearances by Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo, as well as Jack Black, Zach Galifianakis, Common, Rashida Jones, Sia, Mandy Moore, Lyric Lewis, and others. Chefs Samin Nosrat, José Andrés, Massimo Bottura, and more also star, teaching the puppets how to cook and having fun along the way.
Waffles + Mochi was created by Erika Thormahlen and Jeremy Konner, and executive-produced by Michelle and Barack Obama, as well as Erika Thormahlen, Jeremy Konner, Tonia Davis, and Priya Swaminathan. Michelle Zamora stars as Waffles, while Russ Walko plays the roles of Mochi and Intercommy.
>>How Do You Feed a Puppet? Behind the Tasty Edutainment of Waffles + Mochi – Vulture
Luckily, Konner knew puppeteer and designer Michelle Zamora from previous collaborations with her L.A.-based company Viva La Puppet, whose puppets have appeared in places like A Black Lady Sketch Show and Adult Swim. She was initially brought on just to help design the puppets, but eventually became the voice (and hand) of the ever-curious Waffles. Zamora and the creators bandied about a host of ideas for how involved the puppetry should be. At one point, they thought about making the puppets as detailed as possible with animatronics, but decided that the simplicity of the old-school, Muppet-like design was the right approach for such a kid-friendly show.
>> Puppeteer Michelle Zamora Gives Life to Characters in Netflix’s ‘Waffles + Mochi’ – Remezcla
Puppeteer Michelle Zamora has been doing the “puppet hustle” in Los Angeles for about 20 years. During that time, she has worked on creative projects with everyone from Katy Perry to Snoop Dogg to Pee-wee Herman. In her latest venture, Zamora, who is originally from Brownsville, Texas, lends her voice and talent as a puppeteer to Waffles, one of the title characters of the new Netflix original children’s series Waffles + Mochi. The show, which stars former First Lady Michelle Obama, is designed to encourage kids to eat healthy by introducing them to different foods, culture and culinary facts.
>> ‘Waffles + Mochi’ Stars Phenomenal Puppeteers Like Michelle Zamora and Russ Walko – Distractify
Meet Michelle Zamora and Russ Walko, the puppeteers portraying Waffles and Mochi. Striking the perfect balance between educational content and entertainment, Waffles + Mochi offers bite-sized pieces of information on topics such as Benjamin Franklin’s role in popularizing the potato or the best way to make a thirst-quenching bowl of gazpacho. The cast features Hollywood hotshots such as Stranger Things alum Gaten Matarazzo and Queer Eye’s Tan France — alongside phenomenally talented puppeteers such as Michelle Zamora, Russ Walko, and Diona Elise Burnett.
>> Puppeteer and Brownsville native Michelle Zamora lends a hand, and her voice, to Netflix series – San Antonio Current
Brownsville native Michelle Zamora brings life to the character Waffles in Netflix’s Waffles + Mochi. On the Netflix children’s series Waffles + Mochi, puppeteer and Brownsville native Michelle Zamora lends her voice to the title character Waffles and also provides the movements that bring her to life. She spoke with the Current about what it’s like turning a puppet into a the star of a TV show.
>>¡Viva La Michelle Zamora! – Puppet Life Magazine (Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry)
For the second installment of my Women of LA Puppetry series, I wanted to talk with one of the most puppetry-prolific ladies I know… the one and only Michelle Zamora! She owns and operates her own puppet company called Viva La Puppet, and I honestly don’t know if they ever have down-time, because Michelle seems to always be busy designing, building and performing puppets of all kinds for commercials, television, film and theater!…
>> Claps & Cheers: ¡Viva La Hustle! – Women Who Submit
I have been fortunate enough and hashtag blessed to have found myself in the company of a community of creative hustlers who are eking out their own path in service of creating a life that serves both personal and professional needs. I met Michelle Zamora when she was an undergrad at Cal State Los Angeles. She moved from Brownsville Texas in 2000 to study acting. We were both working on a theatre project with my roommate at the time (Selene Santiago), who was in graduate school at CSULA.
>> Ovation Awards go to… – The Los Angeles Times
>> Ovation Honors (Puppet Design): Michelle Zamora, “Roald Dahl’s The Magic Finger”
>> JCPenney Awesomely Remixes ‘No Diggity’ as ‘Go Ligety’ for the Olympics – AdWeek
Over the next few weeks, JCPenney will be encouraging customers to round up purchases to the nearest dollar to support the U.S. Olympic Committee. To promote the campaign, Penney came up with an extremely random but also sort-of-genius concept: an Olympics-themed remake (by EVB and Victors & Spoils) of Blackstreet’s 1996 hip-hop classic “No Diggity” featuring alpine skier (and 2006 gold medal winner) Ted Ligety. And if that’s not bizarre-slash-wonderful enough for you, the retailer got Blackstreet’s own C. Black to perform it and star in the video…