puppets

Flotsam and Jetsam

Posted by hil

lighthouse island set

Earlier this year I made the set and props for Flotsam and Jetsam, a production for children which tells stories about living on Australian lighthouse islands in the past. The script was written by Greg Lissaman, from recollections gathered by Chrissie Shaw, the actor. Catherine Roach is the director.

The set is an island, panels painted in a pointalist style, which can concertina into different shapes and be dismantle for touring. The lighthouse is modelled on the historic lighthouse at Cape Otway in Victoria, and Tasman Island in Tasmania was among other sources of stories and images, such as the flying fox access to the island. There were numerous props – seaweed, wooden chests, a porcelain doll, an albatross, and a sea buoy. There are more photos of these in my  Flotsam and Jetsam photoset.

Touring dates and booking details for Flotsam and Jetsam are listed at Chrissie’s site. On 19 – 21 August it has a short season at the Maritime Museum in Sydney, and then it will tour coastal community venues in NSW. Chrissie also performs The Keeper, an adult play also based on lighthouse stories.

lighthouse

flying fox
seagull skeleton
porcelain doll

Puppet Warp in PhotoShop

Posted by hil

A new feature in PhotoShop called Puppet Warp will enable manipulation of an object, or parts of an image, by using an overlayed mesh and control pins.

Peppa Pig’s Party, live

Posted by hil

When I mentioned the cartoon British TV show Peppa Pig a few years ago the pigs were putting on a puppet show for their parents. Now an adaptation, a live theatre show Peppa Pig’s Party, has become a roaring success for pre-schoolers.

The puppets have lovely simple lines and are very cute! Built by Paul Jomain, (known for his Virgin One mascot, Red, and the PG Tips monkey), they are ‘operated by actors who remain on stage with them, perform alongside them, and provide the voices’ in the style of the Avenue Q puppets, an aspect discussed in an interview with the puppetry consultant, Nigel Plaskitt. He also talks about the decision not to use body suit puppets; they exist, but are gross in comparison!

Wayang Obama

Posted by hil

(photo credit: Kompas/Ferganata Indra Riatmoka)

Indonesian master puppet maker Ki Ledjar Subroto has made colourful wayang puppets of President Obama, his family and dog, which will be given to him by his relatives when he visits Indonesia.  Some of the process of making the puppets from hide is shown here.

Kooky’s Return (Kuky se vrací)

Posted by hil

Kooky’s Return (Kuky se vrací), a combined puppet and live action feature, has some lovely inventive puppets made by the team that produced the beautiful puzzle-solving game Machinarium.

A seven year old boy whose teddy bear Kooky has been thrown away wonders what his toy is up to in the big world out there, imagining Kooky as he tries to find his way back home. The film was written and directed by Czech Oskar winning director Jan Sverák and production design was created by Jakub Dvorský (Amanita Design). The release will be on May 20, 2010 in Czech cinemas.

There’s also a subtitled version of the trailer and a FaceBook fan page.

Terry the Squirrel

Posted by hil

I love this interview with Terry the Squirrel from Sammy J And the Forest Of Dreams from a couple of years ago; it’s a riot. The puppeteer is Heath McIvor.  McIvor and Sammy J’s new show, Sammy J and Randy in Ricketts Lane, is playing at the Melbourne Comedy Festival from 25 March to 14 April.

Handspring’s giraffe

Posted by hil

The amazing Handspring Puppet Company‘s giraffe at Design Indaba 2010 in Cape Town recently.

Cloudbuilder’s 3D iPhone puppets

Posted by hil

cloudbuilder's 3d puppets

Kara Jansson Kovacev (Cloudbuilder) creates intriguing and creepy 3D iPhone puppet images on an iPhone 3gs using the Sculptmaster 3D and Brushes and/or Layers apps. She also makes puppets and toy theatre.

On my first attempts using Sculptmaster 3D I found controlling the results difficult, and my images very blobby. But perhaps the lumpiness is intrinsic to the app, and part of the spookiness of Kovacev’s images comes from the juxtaposition of that lumpiness with the definition added with the other apps.