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performing arts management . He said he wanted to have business sense , but knew his passion was to perform , so his major was meant to help him on this path .
“ So I took a lot of acting classes , music classes , and then accounting and things like that thrown in there too ,” Hayes explained .
While in Kentucky , Hayes met his wife , a Berea College graduate as well . He would spend his summers in Atlanta , where he visited the Center for Puppetry Arts . While there , Hayes spoke to a woman who said she ’ d had puppeteers who would go on and work with Sesame Street .
“ I ’ d said , ‘ What ? I need to be here ; I need to be doing puppets ,’” Hayes said with a laugh .
For the rest of his college career , Hayes had it in his head to figure out how to do more with puppets .
It stayed a quiet hobby of his which
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“ The best conversation , I find , comes when you are talking to people you love ..” he was obsessed with for some time .
However , when he was getting ready to graduate , he had his resume ready and brought it to the Center for Puppetry Arts , where he interviewed . Hayes also brought his resume to MadCap Productions in Cincinnati , even though they were not taking resumes at the time .
“ I was throwing a lot of spaghetti out , seeing what would stick ,” Hayes said .
When Hayes officially graduated and had not heard from any of his prospects , he had no clue what was going to happen . However , he finally got a call from MadCap Productions asking if he wanted to audition . Of course , he said yes . His audition and acceptance into MadCap Production started three to four years of Hayes touring schools all over the nation doing puppets .
Then , in 2014 , Sesame Street put out a call for puppeteers to join one of their workshops . When the opportunity came , Hayes knew he had to send something in . He was selected and flew to New York and spent three days , all day long , going over everything he would need to know to be a Muppeteer . Then , after the workshop , Hayes was met with a year of quiet .
“ I thought , “ Well , that was fun ,” Hayes said with a laugh .
To his surprise , after the year-long wait , he got a call from Sesame Street asking if he wanted to come and help out . He accepted .
In the beginning , Hayes assisted with anything he could . He explained he would work the right hand of some of the Muppets who had left and right hands . Or he would play things such as butterflies . “ I would do anything and everything ,” Hayes said . Hayes ’ first character he had the chance to take
18 Madison Magazine May- June 2021 over was Hoots the Owl , a saxophone playing owl , in 2019 . He explained Hoots is a legacy character , one he grew up watching .
“ It ’ s crazy to get a chance to play a character you looked up to ,” Hayes gushed . He put in a lot of work and watched countless episodes of Hoots to get the voice and the mannerisms down so he could get the legacy of the character just right .
Now , Hayes has a chance to play a Muppet who is very much modeled after himself , and he said it is an honor to be working with the initiative and helping to expand the talk about race .
“ We ’ re opening up the conversation ,” Hayes said . “ Especially with kids now being curious about why they are different and what makes them different , and why things are different socially . They ’ re questioning how to become a better generation . The videos are helping to open that conversation up . Between parents and their kids who are watching it with them . The best conversation , I find , comes when you are talking to people you love .”
Working for Sesame , Hayes said , is a dream come true .
“ I just hope I don ’ t wake up ,” He joked . He is one of the puppeteers for Sesame Street who doesn ’ t live in New York . With COVID-19 restrictions , when he leaves from Georgia to New York to shoot his scenes , a lot of his time consists of quarantine .
“ It ’ s a lot of sitting in a room and learning the lines and getting ready to go on set ,” Hayes said .
Working with performers who have been on the show for years and years , Hayes said he always goes into his workdays wanting to be as prepared as possible and do justice to the script he ’ s been given .
“ The beautiful part of being able to go there and then come back home to Georgia is I get to watch the shows with my family ,” Hayes said . In his spare time , Hayes works on his own projects . He has also had jobs as an actor , working on shows such as “ Vampire Diaries ,” “ Teen Wolf ,” and commercials .
“ You feel naked without your puppet ,” Hayes aid with a laugh .
On stage , Hayes also does improve and standup . He said he is continually working to better himself with or without the puppet .
Hayes said he is up for any new challenges the world has in store for him when looking towards the future .
“ I just want to keep making a great show ,” Hayes said . “… Even my worst day on the Sesame set is better than the best day any other place .”