David Strassman

Chuck Wood and Ted E. Bare in his stage show iTedE Strassman's trick is making his characters move without a hand inside them. He wires them with remote-controlled "puppetronics," so the foul-mouthed Chuck Wood can come to life on his own. In iTedE he runs and voices five characters at once, with the lovable Ted E. Bare as the foil to Chuck's contempt, and the show doubles as a sly comedy about everyone glued to their screens. Chuck's mouth makes it a grown-up night out. American viewers may know him less well than Australians do; he once hosted his own talk show there.