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What was your hardest puppet to make?

Discussion in 'Puppet News' started by Swedish_Cheff, Feb 9, 2004.

  1. Swedish_Cheff New Member

    I never made puppets before, but question is to you: what was the hardest time you had building a puppet, and wich one?
  2. Buck-Beaver Active Member

    The most difficult puppet I've ever had to attempt was probably the largest Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors" - the first time I built I did it without the benefit of Marty Robinson's "How To Audrey II" and it didn't work out well.
  3. Super Scooter New Member

    The one I'm working on now. Female puppets (in particular, cute, animal, female puppets) are near impossible for me. hehe
  4. Jinx Member

    A Tough Puppet!

    I would have to concur with Buck that the #4 Audrey II is the most difficult puppet project I've embarked upon, even with Mr. Robinson's helpful manuscripts. Although the second time you build one is much easier than the first!
  5. Buck-Beaver Active Member

    Female puppets are always hard to do well for some reason.
  6. BorkBork New Member

    My first attempts of building puppets was the hardest form me ;) :D
  7. Super Scooter New Member

    Well, she looks pretty good so far. She's just much larger than I had hoped. I made her a bit smaller, but, she's still too big.

    That's another problem of mine: Size. Size may not matter, but when it's too big, it tends to be annoying for me.

    I just finished my largest puppet creation (purposefully large). Comparible to a Muppet monster. Basically a pile of orange and green fur. If I decided to re-work him a bit, he could technically take on the full-body puppet form. Yow-zah!
  8. Fozzie Bear Moderator

    What's this book by Marty you mention?

    I'm trying to think of the hardest puppet I ever made, and I suppose it's just anytime that I've had to carve foam. The Audrey II I just made took about 3 weeks (cause I'm busy with every thing else in my life) with a different color of paint applied each night. Other than that, I'm just not really totally sure.
  9. Jinx Member

    Martin P. "Marty" Robinson is the original creator/puppeteer of the Audrey II's in the original 1982 production of LSOH. he is also puppeteering in the current Broadway production.

    Back when I first performed the show, it was licensed through Samuel French, Inc. and if you were licensed to perform the show you could get his "How To Audrey II" manuscripts for the creation of the puppets. In fact, when the show was first licensed (the first ever amateur production was in Helena Montana!) it was required that you build to these specifications.

    You could also get a set of "rib" patterns for the #4 puppet, as well as a set of photographs of the puppets.

    Now the show is licensed through Music Theatre International (www.mtishows.com) and I would imagine that these resources are still available through them. They are an excellent company, dedicated to making every production the license successful. I do believe that you do have to have a performance licence to obtain them, however.
  10. Buck-Beaver Active Member

    That's right, you do have to have a performance license to get them and even then I believe you don't get to actually keep the book. My company was contracted to build the entire set of Audreys in three weeks for a production in the US.

    I wasn't familiar with the show the first time I was involved with building them and the production they were built for "forgot" to mention Marty's booklet existed. When they arrived (and weren't exactly what they were expecting) someone ran up to me - waving "How To Audrey II" - and said "why didn't you build them like THIS?! It explains how everything is supposed to work!"

    They had forgotten to tell us about the book or show us Marty's diagrams.

    If he hadn't been holding my cheque I would have strangled the director. :mad:
  11. Show and Tell New Member

    ROFLOL! Sorry to interupt but that was funny:p
  12. The hardest puppets for me to built are the ones I have to rebuild. Trying to match another look exactly drives me up the wall... and across the ceiling... and down the other wall, and...
  13. Fozzie Bear Moderator

    So, then, I don't suppose anybody has a copy of Marty's How To Audrey II on hand and copyable, eh? I know it's nearly impossible to find anything online about Audrey II construction that looks right.

    ScaryLarry: The new Muley favors the second Muley, but looks fine--better, in fact. It's in the basic design that people are familiar with, not exactness. That's why many folks who don't know better accept a poser Kermit along with the puppet Kermit. But, yeah, rebuilding is tough.
  14. Buck-Beaver Active Member

  15. Fozzie Bear Moderator

    Thanks, but for me only two of the links there ever worked. I actually have that site saved at home.

    Oh, pics of my Audrey II are in the "Portfolio" album at www.picturetrail.com/muleythemule for those who haven't seen him/her yet.
  16. Buck-Beaver Active Member

    Uh, yeah I should get around to fixing those. :o They got messed up last time the site wasn't loaded properly.

    Stupid Frontpage.
  17. Fozzie Bear Moderator

    Stupid technology!! Computers should be able to read our minds now. Then again, maybe not. Mine would freeze up trying to figure out what to do next.
  18. Super Scooter New Member

    I have almost completed her. She looks really good, but she's much too big.
  19. Swedish_Cheff New Member

    when its finished you can send me a piccie?
  20. Buck-Beaver Active Member

    The Audrey II site is functional again (at last). I still have to check all the external links over the next week or two.

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