File spoon-archives/puptcrit.archive/puptcrit_1999/puptcrit.9903, message 119


From: "Hunter, Kurt" <KHunter-AT-siemens-psc.com>
Subject: RE: PUPT: A broader query on plastic wood
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 15:25:11 -0600



Since no one's mentioned it yet, roofing paper (Red Rosin brand) is another
popular item to use for paper mache.  It's a bit heavier than brown paper
bag and seems to be a great deal stronger.  I've used it for a few projects
with watered down wood glue and after three layers, it's like a rock.  For
$7 or $8 you can get a roll of the paper (3 feet by 125 feet or something
like that) where ever you buy your roofing supplies, I suppose.  Home Depot
carries it here.

Kurt Hunter
Minneapolis, MN

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Amanda C Langlinais [mailto:a.langlinais-AT-juno.com]
		Sent:	Tuesday, March 16, 1999 12:50 PM
		To:	puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
		Subject:	Re: PUPT: A broader query on plastic wood

		Sorry its taken me so long to write back, crazy birthday
weekend.  Also,
		a lot of the answers to these questions depend on this
Friday, when my
		partner and I make our final pitch to the owner.  He's kind
of
		unpredictable, so we may have to change everythig -- again.


		On Sat, 13 Mar 1999 08:58:27 EST Puppetz-AT-aol.com writes:
		>Amanda,
		>Maybe this info was in your original post, but what kind of
puppets 
		>are you
		>planning on building? 

		Originally, the stage was your classic closed procenieum
arch and the
		majority of the puppets were marionettes.  Now we are
looking at a _very_
		open central stage area surrounded on three sides by a
two-level,
		Greek-style faccade.  Anyway, to make a long story short,
the owner wants
		the look of the Lion King in a thirty minute show with about
1% of the
		Broadway budget and half the time to make it. (i.e. lots of
rod and
		modified bunraku-style puppets with the puppeteers in full
view of the
		audience.  

		  And also important, what size? 
		 Larger puppets
		>obviously require lighter-weight building material.

		The majority of the puppets will be traditional european or
bunraku-style
		hieght, about 3/4 human size.  Some are smaller, like these
little furry
		villagers who are about 30 inches tall; however, many of
them are
		oversized: Merfolk who's tails make them about 8-10 feet
long, a wizard
		body puppet who is about 10-12 feet tall (although it is
supposed look
		like that is only from the waist up.), a two headed dog that
is controled
		as a body puppet in front and a marrionette in back, a
pegasus that will
		probably fly accross the stage, and an enormous dragon that
rises up from
		below the stage about 6 feet (up to its chest) with wings
that stretch
		the width of the stage. (its a big project:) )

		   Also, how much 
		>level of
		>detail are you looking for in your sculpture?  

		That was one of the main reasons for my original inqiry, the
puppets are
		large and will need to be visible to hundreds of people in
every
		performance. Some of the puppets that I have seen and that
have been used
		at this show have either looked great and fallen apart in a
year, or
		lasted forever, but not exactly looked like the most
breathtaking artwork
		I've ever seen.  I'm trying to find a happy medium as
cheaply and quickly
		as possible. 

		How many puppets are 
		>you
		>making?  Are you making multiples of single characters?  

		At last count, the number of puppets have reached about 30,
not counting
		fun little details like birds and fish. The only one that
may be
		duplicated for the show is a little girl on the back of the
pegasus, but
		she won't have to do more than just sit there and be taken
off so the
		pgasus can come out during the grand finale.

		If the show were not so large, I would have greatly
preferred to go with
		carving all the pieces from wood -- especially since the
entire show
		takes place in a specific time period and it is always a
challenge to
		hide anachronisms like latex and foam rubber.  Our original
curiosty
		about plastic wood resulted from the idea of getting results
simmilar to
		wood using the space, eqipment and skills we already have
access to, as
		well as possibly haveing a material that large pieces could
be made from
		without the risk and expense of hollowing out a large piece
of wood.  We
		are still planning on experimenting and conducting all sorts
of stress
		tests on the various building materials we research (thanks
again
		everybody for helping add to our list) and I will tell the
results of
		what we find out.

		>Which books are you using for reference?  As some previous
posts 
		>mentioned,
		>some of the information in older puppet books is out-dated,
especially
		>regarding available building materials.

		The list of reference books is varied and growing.  The one
I originally
		found with a plastic wood reference is actually fairly
recent, but  sort
		of vague, and I was haveing a hard time finding concrete
evidence of what
		it was and where to get it.  Now I know:) 

		>It sounds to me like your stage will be relatively
protected from the 
		>elements
		>by the awning, and with a run of 60-70 performances, I'm
not sure 
		>weather
		>factors should play a big part in your consideration of
which 
		>materials to use
		>to build your puppets.  (You may want to think about
rain/sun when 
		>costuming,
		>though.)
		>
		>As for storage, the puppets should probably each have some
sort of 
		>protective
		>bag or covering before they are put away.

		I've worked this show for several years now, and it has
pretty much
		become second nature to prepare for the worst when it comes
to the
		rigours and dangers of performance in a season.  The other
puppets that
		have been out there have been used mostly on the street, and
so they have
		been more succeptable to weathering, but they are no where
near as
		complex or delicate as some of the ones for this show, so
its hard not to
		be paranoid.  I liked the protective bag idea, though,
thanks.

		>I'm looking forward to hearing more about your project.
		>Best regards,
		>Anne

		I am certain you will all hear all about the details of this
show as it
		evolves over the next year and a half.  You have already
become
		enormously useful in your experience and advise so far.
Thanks again.

							yours,
							Amanda

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		>

	
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		  --- Personal replies to: Amanda C Langlinais
<a.langlinais-AT-juno.com>
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  --- Personal replies to: "Hunter, Kurt" <KHunter-AT-siemens-psc.com>
  --- List replies to:     puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
  --- Admin commands to:   majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu

   

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