By Stephanie D'Abruzzo

Because I have been a Muppet Performer for more than a decade, I received my AFTRA card in 1993 when I started working on "Sesame Street," and I earned my SAG card when I was cast in "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland," but I always felt like I wasn't really an Actor without an Equity card. But my career was headed in a different direction, and though I was frustrated with my inability to get stage work, I chalked it up to fate.

One day in early 2002, I got a call from Ed Christie, who was the head of the Muppet Workshop at the time. The Workshop was building the puppets for the upcoming Encores! Production of "Carnival" and he asked if I would be interested in being one of the puppeteers. How could I turn down the chance to play City Center and share a stage with Brian Stokes Mitchell? Naturally I said yes.

Of course, the whole thing was a little bittersweet, since I didn't get to sing a single note of the show, and nobody saw my face until the curtain call (and yes, I did full makeup for it). But I got to work with an incredible cast, crew and director…and I finally got that Equity card I'd been longing for. The Equity rep informed me that I was under no obligation to join, but I ignored her and handed over my check, which was a little more than half of my Encores! salary, but worth every penny. With that Equity card rounding out the triumvirate in my wallet, I finally felt like an Actor. And it all came from my not speaking or singing or even being seen!

Stephanie D'Abruzzo is currently starring in the Tony-winning Broadway musical AVENUE Q. For her dual performances (as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut) in this show she received a Tony nomination, a Theatre World Award, and a special Outstanding Ensemble & Puppet Artistry Award from the Outer Critics Circle, as well as 2003 Drama Desk nomination for her work in Avenue Q's Off-Broadway run. She made her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops in Skitch Henderson's New Faces of 2004, and has performed in two star-studded concerts honoring Stephen Sondheim: Children and Art: Stephen Sondheim's 75th Birthday Gala and Stephen Sondheim's: The Concert at the Hollywood Bowl. She has also graced the New York stage in CARNIVAL (Encores!), Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash and Chess (Actors' Fund Concert). In addition, she recently made her solo cabaret debut at the famed jazz club Birdland and has performed at Caroline's and Town Hall.

A native of McMurray, PA (a suburb of Pittsburgh, Stephanie attended Northwestern University, where she studied Radio/TV/Film production. While at Northwestern she received a National College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Freeform, her original half-hour comedy starring puppets. After graduating in 1993, she began working with the Jim Henson Company as a Muppet Performer. Since that time she has puppeteer and voiced nearly 200 characters for film and television.