photos by: Kirsten Mcternan
sculpting head and covering in worbla
creating ply wood former for inside the head and trigger mech for pivoting and tilting movements
Calico tubes embedded in outside edge of each finger to act a a channel for chord. threading chord through the end of finger and securing with bead.
making a masking tape pattern for foam section which I attempted to cut out and sew together in power mesh. I struggled due to the stretchy-ness of the fabric and ultimately used tight legs and hand sewed to fit to foam
I created this puppet based on concept art and story boards by fellow designer Melody Bainbridge-Todd for a production she devised. The show was a musical story telling piece about an orphan girl who rejects human relationships for the company of a cast of fantastical puppet characters resembling mushrooms and her beloved cello. these characters appear initially friendly but through the show reveal themselves as sinister antagonists. the puppet I made was based on the 'devils finger' species of mushroom. The story board shows that this character first arrives onstage with the 'fingers' closed, at the dramatic climax the fingers open to reveal a humanoid head. I was aware that performers were in short supply, so designed the puppet to have one puppeteer.
creating bulb shape out of paper light shades covered in layers of gum tape. internal structure made from ply, dowells and plastic tubing.
this structure was required to hold chords when pulled tight in to open position. I proposed disguising this with a some fabric strands to mimic mycelium.
adding magnets to keep fingers together and yarn under skin layer to create texture.
painting with a mixture of acrylic and liquid latex (for flexibility)
tendrils made with cotton wool mixed with PVA and painted with acrylic.
later added extra lumps and fabric texturing to the bulb as we were worried the phallic resemblance might detract from the seriousness of the show （；^ω^）
once the puppet was rendered the mechanism for opening the fingers no longer worked. I imagine this was due to extra stiffness created by the paint and perhaps the latex penetrated the calico channels, sticking the chord in place. Due to time constraints I was unable to start over. I ultimately settled on a solution whereby the fingers were tied together at the tips and would be untied in a flourish by the puppeteer. Gravity would cause them to open naturally. this was a lesson in last minute compromise and the dangers of over-complicating puppet mechanisms.
Show Photos
This project was very much a learning curve and while I'm glad the puppet was adequate for the performance there are many things I would do differently in hindsight having seen it on stage. My main take away from this project was the importance of prioritising and exaggerating the movement of a puppet. Rather than focussing on detailed rendering which gets lost on stage when viewed from a distance, and under particular lighting. This was my first experience of making a puppet but not being involved in the performance of it. If I had been present at rehearsals I likely would have modified the design accordingly. this highlighted the importance of properly understanding the art of puppetry performance so as to make puppets with this in mind.
Corda: Devil's Finger Mushroom Puppet - making of
Making Of
concept art and storyboard by Melody Bainbridge Todd
conclusion
Concept by Melody Bainbridge-Todd
Devised by Melody Bainbridge-Todd, Mabel Westwood, Pippa Hinken-Evans, Charlie Hagen, Theodore Poe, Tara Turner
Composers Jacob Owen & Theodore Poe