Actually, it’s an old stage, built in 2011 for our first show The Malachite Palace. We were quite proud that we were able to build it out of recycled wood! However, the pieces were long and bulky and the side wings somewhat flimsy. So now we are rebuilding. And here it is! Doesn’t it look pretty?

Genna also found a bag that is intended for boat sails, but works just as well for all the wood and PVC pieces of this stage. Hooray for not having to make ten different trips carrying pieces into the theater for shows! Here she is modeling:

Here are some pictures of a new Anansi puppet I created for our performance at Chevy Chase Library tomorrow. He is for a new section of the show explaining how Anansi got his eight long, thin, legs. Because you know, once upon a time, all spiders had eight short, thick legs. But then Anansi got into a little trouble….you’ll have to come see the show to find out what happened to him!

Here is the skeleton of the puppet, made out of wood scraps and filled out a little more with styrofoam.

Outer layer is plastic gauze and now he has his eight legs…

I couldn’t take a final picture of him because Genna took him home to add feet onto the ends of the legs! I will have more pictures soon. Meanwhile, here are some shots of the materials we are using to make the animals for the rest of the show, and Genna working on a new Turtle puppet.

I forgot about this photo, which was taken when we were doing a photo shoot with our puppets back in July, until I came across it on my computer today. The studio we were borrowing for the shoot has a resident dog who wanders in and out around the cameras and lights, sniffing at everyone who is around. His name is Hoggle (as in the character from the film Labyrinth) and he was very taken with our puppets. Here he was inspecting one of the marionettes from The Malachite Palace. I wonder if he knows that his name comes from a puppet?

For those who can’t make it to Arlington to see our exhibit at the library, here are photos of each of our displays. Some of the puppets are from videos I performed in for the library, including Cuentos y Mas from 2008 and Book Bubble from 2012. Others are from our workshop show Flight to the Scraplands, as well as projects that Genna and I worked on individually, such as the community theater play Mulan and my French show Elle Lit. All photos are by Phil Cackley. Enjoy!

Here are our business cards for people to take, as well as a biography of the artists.

In the front, Settareh at the festival and in her old clothes; at the back the Pottery Seller and  servant. All are from The Persian Cinderella, performed on the television show Book Bubble, May 2012

More Persian Cinderella Puppets. In front is the prince and queen, in back the father and stepsisters. All these puppets were made from cardboard, fabric and wire.

Celia Cruz, the first foam puppet I created. I performed her on the show Cuentos y Mas in 2008. She is made from polyfoam and fabric.

Text Monster and an Oyster, from the workshop of Flight to the Scraplands, performed at the Black Cherry Theater puppet slam in March 2012. They are created from a dryer hose, foam core and recycled paper.

At the back is Cricket, which Genna made for a production of Mulan and at the front are Billy Bookworm (looking down) and Fish, made for Cuentos y Mas in 2008.

An Old Woman, a carved Czech style marionette, that I made in a workshop at the Artisphere in 2011. You can see her control on the left.

On the left, Book Monster, created for Flight to the Scraplands in March 2012. On the right, Kismet, who will star in our new show next April called The Amazing and Marvelous Cabinets of Kismet. 

Genna’s fairy, created from polyfoam and fabric. She was used in a 48 hour film festival production in 2012.

Three little girls from classic children’s literature: can you recognize them? From the left, they are Dorothy Gale, Alice of Wonderland fame and Pippi Longstocking. All are made from fabric and dowels and were created for my 2009 show Elle Lit (She Reads) which I performed at the Avignon Off Festival in France.

Two more characters from Elle Lit: On the left is Katie and on the right Sophie, the protagonist of the show.

Here you can see what those last few puppets look like in their tall case in front of the youth services desk. We are so grateful for this opportunity to show our work to the Arlington community! Huge thanks and appreciation to the library for making it possible!

I had to make one more fabric backdrop (for a different show this time) and I decided to take pictures as I went, so if anyone is interested, here is how I put together the picture. I have almost no formal training in either art or sewing, so it is a rather haphazard process. I make a rough sketch of what I want it to look like. I pull out TONS of remnants of fabric off my fabric shelf and start moving them around and putting them next to each other. I work on a layer at a time, sometimes starting at the bottom, then jumping to the top and trying to keep everything in some sort of perspective. In this set of photos, you can see how I add parts of the picture, sometimes change my mind and eventually, end up with a backdrop!

Here is a sneak peek of how Genna and I spent our Saturday morning…more photos coming soon!

I first started experimenting with fabric collage back in February, when we were revising a little show about Ananse the spider for the Shakespeare Theater’s Happenings series. I sewed that backdrop very late one night with a stubborn sewing machine, so it was simple and quick to create. Now I am again working on the Ananse show (new title: Ananse’s Appetite) and I decided to make a new backdrop, to add to the first one. Here it is, all pinned and ready to be subdued with the sewing machine, which will hopefully be a bit less stubborn this time around.