Giant Puppets SINGING HELP!

[olneyprops]

Okay, so it has occurred to me that the masks and puppets that we will be using need to allow the actors to sing while wearing the masks. Will they muffle the sound? Is there anything I can do? They will be mic'd but I worry about the sound still getting warped. Any suggestions?

 

[Jinx]

A mask will certainly "contain" sound and affect the way it is picked up by your mics.

Whenever I have performed in full-body puppets it has been synced to a recording, or in the case of Little Shop of Horrors I was syncing to the live voice of another actor speaking/singing the role. It takes some getting used to, but if you have good teamwork skills, it loses nothing in spontaneity. As long as I was listening to him, and he was watching me were ready for any needed ad-libbing.

In fact, I was just reading an article about Jennifer Barnhart in Ave. Q, (http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=553755) and when Rick Lyon wrenched his ankle, she puppeteered Trekkie, Nicky etc while Rick did the voices live from a position where he could see her.