After a nearly 20 year hiatus, I’ve decided to get back into the puppetry game.
I’ve always wanted to do a show of Italian folk tales because nobody does that outside of Italy and because they have a lot of stories where people get hit with enchanted sticks which I find really funny. This first one is a story called The Ass That Lays Money, which I changed to The Money Donkey for obvious reasons.
Putting a show together still works the way I’ve always been taught: Think of an idea, tell people who book shows that it’s already done, start building it once you book it, and finish building it moments before the show starts.
Also, it’s a good idea to use construction techniques and materials you’ve never used just to ratchet up the pressure. For this show I decided to try making latex puppet heads that were cast from plaster molds.
Since I wanted all the puppets to be about the same size, I used marbles for the eyes and kinda started sculpting from there. One trick I learned pouring the mold for this guy came from me thinking I needed to use some kind mold release on the clay. I brushed on Vaseline and didn’t think about how much texture I was adding until after I poured the mold. Fortunately, it turns out brushing on Vaseline gave him great old man skin texture!
Some light washes of latex paint and a fun fur mustache and this guy starts to look the part.
You might think the next step would be to start on the other puppets but instead I got obsessed with finding a suitcase for the show to live in because of course.
I got a hold of this old leather suitcase because it was completely perfect. Except for the grime, which cleaned up pretty easily.
Since I’d worked out the kinks in the sculpting and casting process, finishing the rest of the puppets up was pretty straightforward.
I actually finished the puppets and props an hour before the show!
The first show went really well, but there were some slow spots so I rearranged some events and cut two scenes. The second time through was gangbusters! Kids who came to see the show even gave me some of their trick or treat candy.
New Art Hero 