This is a post that I wrote over two years ago while working on the television show in Iceland. At the time, I held it because there was no way I could talk about this stuff without giving away that we were doing a circus episode. Well, the episode has been out long enough now […]
Stan Winston died last night. Stan Winston, an Oscar-winning visual effects artist, has died at age 62. Winston died at his Malibu home Sunday evening after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, according to a rep from Stan Winston Studio. I never met him, but I have a lot of friends who worked with him
Stan Winston, dead at 62 Read More »
Rolande Duprey documents the process of repairing an historic marionette. It’s fascinating and with beautiful photos. Paul McPharlin, sometimes called “the Father of American Puppetry” built a marionette covered wagon with a team of two horses and a driver for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair “A Century of Progress”. Many years later, the horses and
An American Marionette Story Read More »
We did the benefit performance of Peter and the Wolf yesterday. I’d spent the week in rehearsals and intended to blog about them, but I kept dropping into bed instead. I know, I know. Picking sleep instead of you guys. Clearly, my priorities need work. So, we’ll catch up today. The puppeteer who played the
A week of Peter and the Wolf in one post Read More »
Lisa Mantchev posted this video of You Think You Can Dance and I clicked on it because usually Lisa is smart about these things. At the 1:34 mark, the male dance did a move that I specifically teach new puppeteers to avoid because it is physically impossible. Let me repeat that. Physically impossible. He stands
Physically impossible Read More »
New York – The Players Theatre will host Hands together: New York Artists Gather for China Earthquake Relief to Benefit UNICEF presented by Matrix Music Collaborators on June 14, 2008, 3pm, 115 MacDougal Street (between W3rd and Minetta Lane) in Greenwich Village, New York. Admission is $45 / Package of Four for $125. All proceeds
Downtown Artists Unite for China’s Earthquake Victims and UNICEF Read More »
Details will follow, but I want to give as much warning as possible. Saturday, June 14th we’re doing Peter and the Wolf as part of a festival called: Hands Together: New York Artists Gather for China Earthquake Relief. We are working with UNICEF and have some great guests coming in such as Pan Asian Rep.
Peter and the Wolf, returns Read More »
This is a viral ad. Why am I showing it to you? It uses Brains, one of the characters from the Thunderbirds, and combines puppetry, CGI and motion capture to good effect. What I love about it is that, though are a few things that a marionette can’t do, ((The very fast spins, in particular,
Elizabeth Barrette asked, “How did you get into your cool practice of acquiring bizarre props and building puppets?” This is one that comes up a lot and, strangely, I don’t think I’ve posted on it, so I’ll give the long answer. I was one of those kids who wanted to do everything. My parents indulged
How I got started in puppetry Read More »
Thursday, Jodi and I shot a pilot episode. We were the only two puppeteers on the shoot, and as often happens, the only people in the room with prior puppetry experience. The puppets were charming but, to my eye, built by a stage puppeteer rather than a film and television puppeteer. How could I tell?
Film puppets are different than stage puppets Read More »
There’s an interview with me up on J. M. McDermott’s blog, which you should check out if you’ve ever wanted to know how I got started in puppetry.
J M McDermott interviews me Read More »
Remember when I was talking about working Peter? Deb Hertzberg, one of the other puppeteers on the show, took a short video backstage so you can see what I was talking about.
Peter and the Wolf demo Read More »
We thought we had the the system solved to deliver the donut “magically” to the middle of the stage. Alas, using a foam bunny as our test subject ((before carving it into a donut)) we discovered that the foam caught on even the tiniest bit of friction. When the friction released, the bunny shot into
Bunny delivery system Read More »
For Steve and Idi I need a fake jelly donut. I started with blue foam, the stuff used to insulate your house, and laminated two sheets of 1″ foam together to get the right thickness for the donut. Then I cut it out on the bandsaw. My beltsander and I rounded the thing. I used
Time to make the donuts Read More »
The live musicians came in today, which was fantastic. Yuri, the violinist paired with the Peter character, is funny and immensely talented. Initially she looked a little nervous, when we described the way Peter would be running in circles around her and said, “Be careful.” “Don’t worry. I played.” ((Seventeen years)) She immediately relaxed. “Okay.
Working with live musicians Read More »