Reuse, Recycle, Repeat

Hello there, a quick update to let you know some news, I will be doing two new set designs for shows at scarborough this year, of which i hope to put up some production process photo's and will be building a new Dog puppet for Phaedra's Love, which I may be operating myself. I will again put up some pictures of the progress on that, but wanted to write quickly about my preference for using recylced materials. I am a self confessed hoarder, and I can scavenge a bit too, which is worrying for the amount of stuff I have, but handy for getting raw materials for building. The area in which I currently live is very good for things like this, as I can often go out and find what I need for nothing on my doorstep. I went out for a quick walk around the neighbourhood this morning, and found the wood, polystyrene and piping I need to get started on the new dog (see picture below). The only thing I am missing is a body, although i may end up creating a new on which will be lighter than the previous one, based on a wooden frame instead. I will update this over the nest week or so as I begin to build. Check back for new updates as we go on. I hope to continue to resue and use found materials in my scenery and props too.

Update on Projects...

Hello all, just a quick update to let you know about current projects. Apart from puppetry for Phaedra's Love, I will also be designing the set for Bad House, which will also be up at NSDF, and hope to record my process for the set on here for all to see too. Meanwhile, work is going on apace to get hold of a venue for London for another run of The View from Down Here alongside some exciting new projects we are working on at the moment so keep an eye open!

Max

Dog and Vulture build 2, and Phaedra's Love for NSDF

Ravenrock's Phaedra's love was met with a fantastic response last week, and the excellent news is it has been selected for the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough this year, so fantastic news all round, and hopefully an opportunity to meet others interested in similar ideas. Meanwhile here are some pictures that I am indebted to Nick Coupe for, thanks Nick.

Vulture Puppet build part 1

And here is part 1 of the Vulture puppet build...again, i'll try to explain it as clearly as possible and will follow up with more pictures soon.
Firstly the head which is a block of polystyrene with a milk carton making the beak - they really are useful things for making, i've found...

Alongside the dog head.
A piece of dowel for operating and hosepipe for the neck...

Meanwhile the body and wings. I thought I might do some sort of flapping wing mechanism, But ended up feeling I would have to make a full set of wings from scratch if it was to look right. It proved to be one of the most technically rewarding builds I have tried. I began by tearing apart an old umbrella to see how the folding arms worked, and basically attempting to recreate this on a larger scale. I used aluminium U section as it is light and easy to cut and drill.

I Cut the U section and made laid it out to make sure they would all fit together...

Here they are with the remainder of that length of sign post I found...

Next I had to round off all corners and drill holes so each piece would not grind against the other

With the pieces cut I could begin assembling each wing

One wing assembled, without the last piece of dowel which will be the larger span of the arm. This section does the basic movement, and can be as big or as small as you like, depending on purpose.

Ready to mount on the body. You may notice the channel cut in the back of the post which will allow the dowel to slide back and forth without being in the way

Now you can see my ugly mug demonstrating the wings in action:

Now all we have to do is to make the frame for the body...
And we are ready for covering! The next step for Dog and Vulture will be posted soon.

Dog Puppet Build, Part 1

Hello. here are a series of pictures detailing the manufacture of the two new puppets i've built for Ravenrock's Phaedra's Love. Part 2 of this and Parts 1 and 2 of the Vulture build to follow. I will try to take you through it as clearly as possible!It starts with a load of polystyrene from which I will make the head of the dog to start with

Then I carve out the rough shape
A milk carton makes the ears...

and I begin adding masking tape to make a base layer to glue onto
This pipe I found in a skip will make a good base for the body
The tools required. I'm basing the dogs design on a german shepherd
Fopr the dogs neck, i'm going to use some hosepipe, to give it strength and flexibility
To attach it, i'm putting a block of wood to drill into in the middle of the dogs head
Drill through to the wood...
Then Attach the pipe through the holes
Now it's ready for papier mache...
Meanwhile, this sign post I found on the street will make a perfect spine for the dog, and will also provide enough wood to make the body for my vulture

Cut it to size to fit in the pipe....
...and while it's out, attach the block which will be the base for the tail
Attach it to the inside....
...and attach the wire which will pull the tail up and down

That's it so far for part one, part 2 of the dog build and part one of the vulture build will be up soon

New Puppet Build

Well, currently, i'm still in Oxford, not quite snowed in, but taking advantage of being inside to get some work done, and currently, that is a project I am enjoying a lot. I am building a Dog and a Vulture for a production of 'Phaedra's Love' by Sarah Kane which is being put on by our friends at Ravenrock. More details will follow on the show, and I hope to post a set of pictures detailing the new build, which has thrown up some really interesting technical challenges. (Whether they are all solved in time is another matter of course, but progress is good so far fingers crossed...)

Show details and build pictures to follow

Max

Back to the studio...

UPDATE: We are currently looking to creating new projects, but I have a request to put out to anyone who is interested in assisting in production, we are looking for anyone based in Leeds who has experience or similar interest to assit in scouting for venues, festivals etc. Email me at max.cardhousetheatre@yahoo.co.uk

(My mistake, I put in the wrong email. the one above is now correct)

Thanks
MD