Ivy Austin

Ivy Austin (b. January 19, 1972) is a voice actress and singer who provided character vocals for many Sesame Street segments, records, and other productions since the early 1980s. One of her more notable contributions has been performing Sooey Oinker, leader of The Oinker Sisters, beginning with "A New Way to Walk" and continuing through the group's later appearances such as the Elmo's World segment "Families."
Austin has lent her voice to many of Sesame Street's music parodies, singing lead on "Cereal Girl" and "Stand By Your Can" among other songs, and animated inserts such as "The Room Is Full of Chickens." She also performed Linda's internal voice in Episodes 2485 and 3059, and dubbed Tita's English voice on Sesame Street Stays Up Late. In 1997, she supplied the voice of Blanche the Polar Bear for the Sesame Street Live show Elmo's Coloring Book.
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Austin's appearances on Sesame Street records, including new recordings and recycled performances, have included Big Bird Discovers the Orchestra, Sesame Road, Born to Add, Sesame Street Christmas Sing-Along, Sing-Along Travel Songs, and Silly Songs.
Austin additionally provided the voice for Jenny in the book and audio adaptation of The Muppets Take Manhattan. She also provided the voice for Nina in the "Samuel & Nina" segments on Big Bag.
She is the daughter of the late Danny Epstein, a music coordinator who has a long history with Sesame Street production as well as their LP recordings. Outside of Sesame Street, Austin was a frequent performer on A Prairie Home Companion, appeared on film in Grease 2 and portrayed Raggedy Ann in the 1986 short-run Broadway musical (with music by Joe Raposo).
===Early life and education===
Ivy Austin is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and Colgate University.
===Career===
Austin's stage career began with national tours of Hair (as Crissy) in 1976 and They're Playing Our Song (Alter Ego) in 1979. She made her New York City Opera debut in 1982's Candide (Pink Sheep) and remained on the guest artist roster through 1989. Other NYCO credits include Naughty Marietta (Lisette), The Merry Widow (Zozo), The Music Man (Ethel Toffelmier), The New Moon, The Desert Song, South Pacific, and Sweeney Todd (Beggar Woman). Austin's Broadway debut in 1986 was as the starring role in the Joe Raposo/William Gibson musical Raggedy Ann, directed by Patricia Birch.
In 1989, Austin performed "The Story of Gloria" on American Radio Company (now known as A Prairie Home Companion). According to Time Magazine, "The show's funniest sketch, a serial, produced a new star, actress Ivy Austin." She also played the crusty-voiced French lady Babette, and sang with Rob Fisher and The Coffee Club Orchestra.
Austin has recorded countless songs for Sesame Street, and is the voice of Sesame Street characters Cereal Girl, Hammy Swinette, Sublime Miss M, Soo-ey Oinker of The Oinker Sisters, and Gloria Esta-worm. As writer/producer, Ivy Austin created holiday programs for National Public Radio and a long-running concert series at The World Financial Center. Ivy Austin appeared in numerous television commercials and has an impressive list of theatrical and concert credits.
Austin is in her sixth year as a contributing lyricist and performer in The Thalia Follies, a political satire in on New York's Upper West Side.
Austin performs regularly at Symphony Space on WNYC radio broadcasts of Selected Shorts and Bloomsday, and has participated in years of "Wall-to-Wall" music marathons. She appeared in Wall-to-Wall Broadway singing "Adelaide's Lament". She has performed several plays with the Night Kitchen Radio Theater for XM Satellite Radio.
==Selected credits==
===Discography===
*Sing! Songs of Joe Raposo
*Big Bird Discovers the Orchestra
*Sesame Road
*Born to Add
*Splish Splash: Bathtime Fun
*Sing-Along Travel Songs
*Silly Songs
*Hot!/Heat! Hot!/Heat! Hot!/Heat! Dance Songs
*Sesame Street Platinum-All Time Favorites
*Elmopalooza!
*We Are All Earthlings
*I’m Green and I’m Proud
*Signs of the Times from Moo-town Records
*Sesame Street Kids/Kid Favorite Songs
*Sesame Street Best
*Cheap Thrills
*New York City Opera Candide
*Lady Be Good!
*Wall to Wall Richard Rodgers
*A Prairie Home Christmas
*A Prairie Home Companion 25th Anniversary Collection
*Selected Shorts: A Night at the Office
===Filmography===
*Grease 2 (1982) – Girl Greaser (Francine)
*"The Charmkins" (1983) – Skunkweed (voice)
*My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina (1985) – (voice)
*Snoopy!!! The Musical (1988) – (voice)
*Sesame Street – Cereal Girl, Hammy Swinette, Sublime Miss M, Soo-ey Oinker of The Oinker Sisters, Gloria Esta-worm, Additional Voices
*High Strung (1991) – Contestant
*Big Bird's Birthday Celebration (1991) – (voice) Oinker Sister
*The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1991) – (voice) Flopsy/Bluejay
*Animaniacs – Carloota, "Garage Sale of the Century/West Side Pigeons" (1993)
*Sesame Street Stays Up Late! (1993) – (voice) Tita
*The Real Shlemiel (1995) – (voice) The Lantuch
*Elmopalooza! (1998) – (voice) Oinker Sister
===Artistic direction and producing===
*Christmas at Rainbow Corner (co-producer Denise Lanctot) 1993, National Public Radio
*Her Funny Valentine, 1994, National Public Radio
*Women in Cabaret, 1994, World Financial Center
*Women on Broadway, 1995, World Financial Center
*The Tony Awards, 50 Years of Broadway's Best Musicals, 1996, World Financial Center
*The Men I Love, A Centennial Salute to Ira Gershwin & George Gershwin, 1997, World Financial Center
*Happy Birthday New York, A Musical Tribute to the City's Centennial, 1998, World Financial Center
*The Great Songwriters of Hollywood, 1999, World Financial Center
*Spring Fling, 2000, World Financial Center
==Character gallery==
3154s.jpg|Sooey Oinker|link=The Oinker Sisters
CerealGirl character.jpg|The Cereal Girl|link=The Cereal Girl
StandByYourCan.jpg|Hammy Swinette|link=Hammy Swinette
3671n.jpg|Gloria Esteworm|link=Gloria Esteworm
3036b.jpg|Mariah Cowey|link=Mariah Cowey
SublimeMissM.JPG|Miss M|link=Miss M
Madamme Alma Cluck.jpg|Madame Alma Cluck|link=Madame Alma Cluck
LeadBookworm.jpg|Bookworms lead singer|link=The Bookworms
Shagri-las.jpg|Shagri-Las lead singer|link=The Shagri-Las
Tita.jpg|Tita|link=Tita
SSCows.jpg|Moo Wave singer|link=How Now Brown and the Moo Wave
Ivy Purple.jpg|Ivy Purple
Miss U.jpg|Miss U (Revival Series)
==Other vocals==
Ivy-Afriad.jpg|"Afraid"(Joan)
Song.Air.GuySmiley.jpg|"Air"(cheerleaders)
AllDressedUpBert.JPG|"All Dressed Up"(Green AM)
Antarctica.jpg|"Antarctica!"(AM woman)
4115y.jpg|"Banana"
Ivy-Bells.jpg|"Bells"(Grandma)
BloodTest.jpg|"Blood Test"(doctor)
Ivy-Dishes.jpg|"Daddy Helps with the Dishes"(Purple AM girl)
InYourCloset.jpg|"Exploring in Your Closet"(sock)
FirstGrade.jpg|"First Grade"(nurse)
3978e.jpg|"Five Waltzing Chairs"
ItsMyFeather.jpg|"It Ain't Heavy, It's My Feather"
Throwitmyway.jpg|"Just Throw It My Way"(Trashette)
KidsLovetoBrush.jpg|"Kids Just Love to Brush"
Letsgodriving.jpg|"Let's Go Driving"(mother)
MGJam.jpg|"Mother Goose Jamboree"
Soundofmusicgrover.jpg|Monsterpiece Theater: "The Sound of Music"(singer)
Mountainsong.jpg|"Mountain Song"
NightBugBoogie.jpg|"Night Bug Boogie"
OneSingularSensation.jpg|"One"(Number 1)
Song.Tothevet.jpg|"Pet at the Vet"(veterinarian)
Song-purecleanwater.jpg|"Pond Full of Fish"(fish)
PurpleBucket.jpg|"Purple Bucket"
Ivy-Rebel.jpg|"Rebel L"(police officer)
3150u.jpg|"Rollin' on the River"
3959c.jpg|"The Room Is Full of Chickens"
SadSadSad.jpg|"Sad, Sad, Sad"(AM girl)
Song.scratchmyback.jpg|"Scratch My Back"(Jill)
7Goldfish.jpg|"Seven Goldfish"(goldfish)
Song.ShortTall.jpg|"Short or Tall"
Shpritz!.jpeg|"Shpritzer Honker Splasher Song"
3806d.jpg|"Six Circus Balls"
2963-A12.jpg|"Street Garden Cooperation"(Lavender AM)
TortelliniSong.jpg|"The Tortellini Song"
3816h.jpg|"We're All Growin'"
Ivy-Alphabeat.jpg|"You Got a Nose"(Lavender Female Alphabeat)
Cartoon-takeawayfood.jpg|"Zero Song"
===Miscellaneous backing vocals===
* "Above It All"
* "Back Front Song Muppet Opera"
* "Do De Rubber Duck"
* "Do-Op Hop"
* "Letter of the Day Pageant"
* "Me Gotta Be Blue"
* "Peligro"
* "The Frogs in the Glen"
* "The Insects in Your Neighborhood"
* "They Can't Take That Away from Me"
* "Wedding Pictures"
* "You Say Hola and I Say Hola"
==Notes==
*Austin's first vocal performance for the show was an unused recording of "I'm Pretty" for The Official Sesame Street 2 Book-and-Record Album.Ivy Austin at "Sing: The Music of Sesame Street" panel at the Museum of the Moving Image, August 18, 2019.
*Austin recalled the only times she was actually on the Sesame Street set was for performances by Nathan Lane and Diana Krall (both of which involved the Oinker Sisters).
==Sources==
==External links==
*IMDb
*Official site
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Category:Muppet Voice Actors
Category:Animated Voice Actors
Category:Vocalists
Category:Audio Voice Actors
Category:Ivy & John
Category:1972 births
Category:Cast (Classic Series)
Category:Cast (Revival Series)