I'm going to be a puppeteer in Little Shop Of Horrors!

[Zack the Dog]

Hey just sent you an e-mail!

 

[ShiveringCactus]

Well, we finally got our puppets for the show (which starts Friday) and, unfortunately, they're just awful! Pod 1 is a rubbery mess of latex which barely opens. Pod 3 is just too heavy for me, I mean there's no way I'm going to be able to use it. Pod 4 is okay, except that parts of it keep dropping off. Not to mention that they're all a rather drab browny-green colour.

So, i'm absolutely gutted. I won't be doing pod 3 now (and good luck to whoever does try to lift it!) although at the moment I will now be doing pod 4 instead. I'd worked so hard on my upper body strength too. It's a real shame though because apparently the people who had rented it previously had had to cut down the time the pod 3 was onstage, completely losing the magic of when the apparent 'prop' comes alive. (The puppeteer had actually passed out inside the thing, which has NO locking mechanism for the long wait and NO seatbelt)

Anyway, thanks again to Jinx for your advice.

Deb.

 

[Jinx]

Aw, what a shame! I'm so sorry to hear that the puppets are sub-par. It just goes to show (once again) how misunderstood puppetry is.

I wish you luck with what you are able to use.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

ShiveringCactus, that really is awful. Nothing like unprofessional-looking professional puppets to put a damper on things. Good luck with what you've got, though.

Speaking of which, what company did you guys get your puppets from? And by extension, which companies built the puppets anybody else used in the past?

 

[ShiveringCactus]

Thanks guys.

Hmmm, I don't really feel I can say which company it was because we've used them in the past for sets and props and will be doing so in the future as well. Thats the problem though really, they've treated it as a prop - needs to be sturdy (inch thick wood for the frame!) Still, the pod 4 is lovely, nicely counterweighted so I have no trouble.

As for the pod 3, it turned out no one else could use it either, so the clever backstage people have managed to rig it up in such a way that it's just about possible for me to do it (sadly it's got a flapping head now rather than the jaw dropping, but there was really no choice) so I will just have to do my best.

Cheers,

Deb.

 

[Blink]

Thanks guys.

Hmmm, I don't really feel I can say which company it was because we've used them in the past for sets and props and will be doing so in the future as well. Thats the problem though really, they've treated it as a prop - needs to be sturdy (inch thick wood for the frame!) Still, the pod 4 is lovely, nicely counterweighted so I have no trouble.

I understand your difficult situation.

I do hope however, that you offer the company some helpful input and let them know about the difficulties that you had with the puppets. Perhaps some constructive suggestions could be put forth to them?

Any company worth their weight, would want feedback (politely, as I am sure you would be) to make their products and services better for their customers.

I would hate to hear about another person being let down because nothing was said to the company about this issue.

Just my two cents.

 

[ShiveringCactus]

Oh, absolutely, Blink. I totally agree, we will definitely need to let the company know about the problems we had. I would certainly hope that they would make some changes based on our feedback.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Zach,

I'm still glad to see that you're in this play! Keep me updated, buddy.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

Felt like reviving this thready to ask something...

I'm watching an HS production of LSoH right now on YouTube and have a slight question about pod #4. I notice that it's usually stiff unless it needs to talk. Is it actually possible to move the pod so when it talks it can 'look' at Seymour or is it stuck in that stationary spot until the finale (I don't think you can but I might as well ask)?

 

[Teenager's]

I could in the Pod 4 I used.....I looked all over that stage. It was only 30 pounds and wasn't connected to anything--so I could move wherever I wanted (& did)