I moved to Portland in 1993 to work for Tears of Joy Theatre, the second largest puppet theater in the U.S. It had been founded by Reg and Janet Bradley, who still ran the company. For years, I toured for them, built puppets, and designed shows. Through it all, Janet juggled the schedules of four […]
While Mary’s off in Seattle, I thought I’d offer up a little content from Houston – a peek at Odd and the Frost Giants rehearsals as we approach our May 3 opening. Or, more accurately, a peek at a photo shoot we did for the Free Press Houston last night before working on the first
A Peek at Odd rehearsal Read More »
One of puppetry’s greats passed away this weekend, Albrecht Roser. In the puppetry community the term Master Puppeteer is used sparingly, but Albrecht was a master. The things this man could do with a puppet would leave you breathless. I think seeing him perform his stork marionette at the Center for Puppetry Arts was the
RIP Albrecht Roser Read More »
I’m heading home after a very productive week working on Odd and the Frost Giants for Stages Theater in Houston. I should note that if you want to see the show, most of the performances are for schools. There are only three public performances. It’s a small theater and I suspect the show will sell
Heading home, with pictures of the puppets Read More »
I will do process posts when I get home. Promise. Right now though I have a small invitation for folks based in Houston. Would you like to come see puppets Thursday? I can host a small group (no more than 5 to 10 people) for about forty-five minutes at 4:30. After that, I have to
Would you like to visit me and see some puppets? Read More »
Thor’s construction for Odd and the Frost Giants is much like Loki’s but he is much, much bigger. Here is the “skin” for his face cut out of veneer. You can see a pair of scissors in the lower right of the frame that give a little bit of a sense of scale. Those are
Assembly of Thor’s head for Odd and the Frost Giants Read More »
Today I assembled Loki’s face for the Odd and the Frost Giants production and, unsurprisingly, it didn’t go well. He is the god of mischief after all. I had the pattern that I’d worked out for the rehearsal puppets. When I cut it out of the watercolor paper, it looked slightly odd. so I decided
Loki’s face, take one Read More »
Well, this video amused me. A lot. The Serenading Unicorn was created by the Henson Company and performed by Allan Trautman. via puppeteers unite
Video: Serenading Unicorn Serenades Sarah Silverman Read More »
When I was starting out in puppetry I interned at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA. On the wall, was a poster of a puppet from the Little Angel Theatre. I was surrounded by puppets, historic puppets, but this was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. The Center also had
Wonderful article about Little Angel Theatre’s 50th anniversary The Guardian Read More »
While we were working on Loki, we kept joking that he looked like an alien caterpillar. Here is Jodi in front of the designs for Loki holding the naked puppet. In her right hand is the basswood control for the puppet’s head, minus the head. Her right hand is holding his hindquarters. The puppet has
Assembling rehearsal Loki for Odd and the Frost Giants. Read More »
On Friday I had two visitors from Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston to take a look at the puppets for their adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Odd and the Frost Giants. Rob Kimbro, the director and man who did the adaptation, and Jodi Bobrovsky, the props master for Stages, came to look at the rehearsal puppets and
Assembling Thor for Odd and the Frost Giants Read More »
Sorry for the terrible photo. The pencil lines were too light to pick up and I was too lazy to go back and redraw it so you can see it. BUT this is the full scale side view of Odin as an eagle. You can see that I use two different colors of pencil. The
Odin assembly: Photos from Odd and the Frost Giants Read More »
Here’s the rough design concept for the Odin puppet for the Stages Repertory Theater production of Neil Gaiman’s Odd and the Frost Giants. Odin was surprisingly difficult to design in this aesthetic and have him not look either cute or like Sam the Eagle. Really, I was annoyed by how hard this was. You can see one
Odin’s concept and paper trials. Read More »
I wrote this up for Rob Kimbro, the director of Odd and the Frost Giants. He is auditioning actors and needs a rehearsal puppet. Loki is a very simple rod puppet. He has a rod in the head, a flexible foam body, and a rod in the tail. The puppeteer stands in full view of
Demo of Loki puppet for auditions Read More »
While I was in Utah, I had occasion to visit the home of the Tayler’s. Knowing that they have four children, I brought along The Broken Bridge, my tiny little puppet show. Sandra has written a charming account of the afternoon spent playing with her children. With pictures! “Tra la la!” said Mary as she
Shadow Puppets with the Tayler children Read More »