After making a couple of recycled creatures a few months ago, I’ve become a bit obsessed with the idea, and have been haunting the local op shops and trash and treasure markets, looking for suitably interesting bags and belts. I’ve now got far more than I have had time to make up! One side effect of this obsession is eyeing-off bags that people are carrying in shops and on the street.
The bunraku-style puppets I was working on are for production called ‘See Beneath’, being presented by Hidden Corners Theatre, Canberra’s award-winning theatre company of young carers. This is how the puppets turned out:
‘See Beneath’ is a play by and about young people dealing with disability in their families, directed by Robin Davidson and barb barnett, with the assistance of Max Barker. Its written by Rebecca Meston and the cast of Hidden Corners, and plays in Melbourne and Canberra during July. Here are season details:Melbourne: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St. Kilda.
13 – 16 July, Wed – Sat @ 7.30pm; Sat matinee @ 2pmCanberra: The Street Theatre Studio, Childers St, Civic
21 – 23 July, Thurs – Sat @ 7.30pm; Sat matinee @ 2pm
I’m making some bunraku-style puppets at the moment. They are about 60cm tall. I’ve just got to the stage where they are more-or-less complete in construction and movement, but still rough in finish. This is a stage I love – there is something very aesthetically pleasing about it – and I think it would be really interesting to use them unfinished in a play. I always almost regret having to finish them.
They are moving really nicely:
A few other pics of them below: the woman, the man, bending. Now I have to paint their faces, forearms and hands and the woman’s leg and foot; and dress them.
The theme for Month of Softies this month was ‘May Flowers’. My first thought was of daffodils, as I remember loving how they came up all over the place in lawns in the chilly spring in York and Cambridge; and I thought I might try to make Talitha, the brave daffodil princess from the book ‘The Mouldy’ by William Mayne, and illustrated by Nicola Bayley:
Then I decided to consider Australian May flowers. There isn’t much flowering here in May, except some irises which usually flower in July, but this year are muddled by our late winter and drought. But there are a few winter-flowering eucalypt trees, so I started planning a red gumnut flower fairy. I thought the stamens could make a kind of drop skirt, or hat fringe, but in the end decided that I liked the flower just as a flower.
Its quite big; including the leaves it measures just over 40cm (16in). For the stamens I used lycra, an idea that I had previously found worked well for making small octopus tentacles! I like the soft colours, too. There are few more pictures:
I’ve recently finished a small Frosty the Snowman puppet for The Fool Factory. Frosty will be joining Mini Milo and Milo the Clown in Milo the Clown’s Snow Show, playing at Thredbo’s Fun and Games Room from April 10th through 16th.
Arborio, a play by Jigsaw Theatre Company is being performed in schools this year, to coincide with the International Year of Rice. Written by Jonathan Lees and directed by Greg Lissaman, it is a comedy telling the story of Marco and Polo, two characters in an unknown place, holding their last grain of rice. While they play imaginary games, tell stories and squabble with each other about where and when they should plant it, they also tell of the importance of rice as a food, and the part it plays in the history and life of many cultures.
An international theme is reflected in the play. The characters, played by Chrissie Shaw and Bridget a’Beckett, assume different accents. This intregued the kids at the performance I saw. And the costumes, designed and made by Imogen Keen, are suggestive of a number of cultures without being able to be slotted into any one in particular. The clothing is imaginative, and beautifully coloured and patterned. Music adds a zest to the play too, with one character playing accordian, and the other a violin. John Shortis, known for his songwriting and performances that reflect ‘Australian history and politics in a way that is funny, satirical and informative’, is the composer.
The set for the play called for the making of a huge grain of rice, and a small cooking pot. I’ve just updated my site to include pictures of both.
A number of funny comments about the idea of such a big grain of rice were made to me when I was making it. I guess thats why I zeroed in on some stories about the world’s biggest seed, the Coco de Mer, which is produced by a palm tree found in the Seychelles. There are a number of these seeds being grown in conservartories around the world. One is in the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, and another in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.
