Author Archive
May
Comments Off on Blacklight Puppetry
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Stage makeup
Blacklight Puppetry
Black light puppetry is a form of puppetry where the puppets are operated on a stage lit only with ultraviolet lighting , which both hides the puppeteer and accentuates the colours of the puppet. Finger puppets normally have no moving parts, and consist primarily of a hollow cylinder shape to cover the finger. Human movements can be achieved up to some extent with these puppets as all their body parts are movable using backlight puppetry. As these puppets are made of cloth, sew the parts together and your puppets will move easily. Once you master these basic ideas, you can try the bigger marionettes with the help of do-it-yourself kits.
The puppeteers perform dressed in black against a black background, with the background and costume normally made of black velvet The puppeteers manipulate the puppets under the light, while they position themselves unseen against the black unlit background. Sock puppets are also popular in many puppet performances, as they are simple to make and easy to use. Sheets were produced for puppets and scenery from the 19th century for children’s use. Object Puppets can be created with found everyday objects either assembled in advance or during performance.
Supermarionation is a method invented by Gerry Anderson which assisted in his television series Thunderbirds in electronically moving the mouths of marionettes to allow for lip-synchronised speech. Throughout our ministry, we’ve focused our puppetry on using arm rod puppets and a couple of human arm puppets. We were able to purchase a full-bodied boy and girl puppet and two clown fish puppets for under $200.
However, the difference, if the shadow puppets or like all forms of shadow puppet in general show performances in the form of a shadow (silhouette) of the black color, while Motekar Puppet have discovered a new technique so that the shadow of puppets can be performed with full color. This allows you to use full body puppets where the audience can see their legs and gives you more room for creativity in performing your play.
I was asked to teach a weekly puppet class at a nearby non-public school and planned to team up with a guy that had used black light puppets in the past, so that was to be part of our curriculum. Our first blacklight was a small flashlight ordered from Puppets from One Way Street online. We mounted them at the top of our permanent theater so they shine down on the puppets. If you intend to do the puppets outside the theater, you’ll probably want to mount lights above the puppets and on the floor so you can illumine the entire puppet. The Ancient Greeks method of divination leaves little room for doubt that ventriloquism played a part.
Although there is not any definitive proof, there are many occurrences in the distant past of a supernatural voice that can only be explained by the art of ventriloquism. A natural conclusion is that the priesthood practiced the art of ventriloquism to deceive the worshippers because the description of the voice is very much like that of the voice found in ventriloquism. There is little doubt that the art of ventriloquism was used by spiritual leaders to deceive and keep power over their followers.
In the works of M. L’abbe La Chappelle, published in 1772 the ventriloquism achievements of Baron Menge of Vienna and those of M. St Gille a grocer of Paris are mentioned. During the middle of the 20th Century ventriloquism remained very popular due to Edgar Bergen and his famous wooden boy Charlie McCarthy and their radio show. The popularity of ventriloquism diminished during the latter part of the 20th Century due to the appeal of film and TV. Fortunately ventriloquism has recently made a comeback, notably Terry Fator, winner of America’s Got Talent 2007, and Jeff Dunham, a 2 time winner of Funniest Male Stand Up Comic have done much to popularise it again.
Fortunately, ventriloquism has today, in our more enlightened times, emerged as a wonderful performing art that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. Puppets were used in India back in the 11th century and quickly spread to other parts of Asia. Puppets in history have been used for presenting good, evil, greed or jealousy with the risk of identifying the real characters. Puppets were made from carved sticks in ancient India and were mostly decorated. It can be speculated that sock puppets might have been invented during that time.
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Apr
Comments Off on Costume Mom
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Costume Mom
Since 1974, we have been producing theater costume rentals for community theaters, high schools, childrens theater and churches. Former Lakeridge costume mom Cay Bourduin rocks the school play with her amazing costumes created specially for the Lakeridge High School production of Bye Bye Birdie!” Bourduin is in charge of the beautiful costumes for this show, going for an iconic 1950s” look.
Ms. Hilton has played a much larger part in the life of the high school theater and her departure after this spring’s production of Damn Yankees will leave a hole that will be hard to fill.
For the past eight years Hilton has brought her passion for arts, theater, history and most of all kids to the wildly popular performances that attract thousands of people to the high school auditorium each fall and spring.
Her other professional costuming credits include The Human Race Theatre Company (Dayton, OH), North Shore Music Theatre (Beverly, MA), Johnny Appleseed Outdoor Drama (Mansfield, OH), Mannes Opera (New York, NY), Hawaii Opera, Banyan Theater Company and Sarasota Opera Company.
It’s truly been a luxury to work with an organization so collectively dedicated to producing company’s new scenic and prop shop facility would be the envy of virtually any theatrical producing organization.
In addition, since our recent successful endeavors helping with Neshaminy Summer Stock, and the middle school and high school productions, we are ready to branch out to help meet the needs of our neighboring theater communities.
Central Dauphin’s costuming team consists of Harriet Bright of Camp Hill and her daughter, Kate Bright, who are assisted by a team of parents and alumni seamstresses — along with Harriet’s husband, Ed, Masters said.
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Apr
Comments Off on Multimillion Dollar Collection of Costumes
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Multimillion Dollar Collection of Costumes
There were more than 500 boxes in all, newly purchased by Marilynn Wick to add to her multimillion dollar collection of costumes at Costume World which she rents to professional theatres and high school productions.
The mother-daughter duo opened a museum in 2011, showcasing more than one million costumes from nearly 50 shows, guiding daily tours through a nondescript South Florida warehouse against a backdrop of hand painted sets and a marquee replica from storied Broadway theatres like the Winter Garden.
For many of the shows, the Wicks own multiple sets: the original Broadway costumes, the Broadway revivals and two or three that their own wardrobe company has recreated to rent out for school productions.
While there’s nothing wrong with store-bought costumes (one of my other favorites as a child was a fairy one my mom bought at the mall), there is something fun and extra-personal about the homemade ones.
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Apr
Comments Off on Grow a Costume Collection
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Grow a Costume Collection
What does it take to grow a costume collection? It’s done usually by people with a dream, vision or just by happenstance. Here are a few miscellaneous tidbits.
Colin has worked locally as a theatrical technician at Tallahassee Community College, where he contributed to the development of their program, and also in the New England area for the Centennial Theatre Festival and SBL Lighting Design.
In April 2012, she advanced to the School of Theatre as the UBA Office Administrator where she works closely with the F&A Operations Manager and the Executive Director to complete the Financial and HR tasks for the School of Theatre.
As time went on, she began to get more requests from people wanting her tutus since it is a specialized skill that few possess and the price of getting them made by established costumes shops made it prohibitive for companies on a tight budget.
In recent years, other large productions have occasionally been added, such as a showcase musical for the state theatre festival, a second fully-staged musical, or an in-concert version of a musical in conjunction with the orchestra.
We are a public high school in Santa Barbara, California, and we are dedicated to giving as professional an experience to student actors and technicians as is possible-to that end, we employ professional designers, choreographers, musical directors and guest artists.
We offer an array of entertainment all year round (our summer show attracts current and former high school students from all over Santa Barbara County), in a renovated, 800 seat house featuring state of the art lighting and sound.
David has worked with the Ensemble Theatre Company, Cate School, Crane Country Day School, Stage Left Productions, Up Stage Left Productions and Goleta Valley Junior High focusing on student participation, youth outreach and exposing the world of theatre to as many young people as possible.
Currently working with the Santa Barbara High School Theatre and its foundation to maintain, expand, and revitalize the Santa Barbara High School theatre space, he has been the Technical Director and Shop Foreman for the Santa Barbara High Schools productions of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2014), Chicago (2013); SPAMALOT (2013); The Drowsy Chaperone (2012); Into the Woods (2012), Alice in Wonderland (2011).
The collection, conceived as part of the fund’s overall mission to foster and support the theatrical arts, rents out everything from top hats to moon boots, all of them Broadway-grade, to theater, television and film companies, at affordable prices.
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Apr
Comments Off on Costuming a High School Play
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Costuming a High School Play
Madison Consolidated High School Theater Department has an extensive collection of theater costumes from previous theatrical productions and events. One past triumph was a cache of rhinestone-studded camouflage jumpsuits that were pressed into service for productions of both Pippin” and Xanadu.” Often she just fills four to six large bags with whatever items strike her as stage worthy, and decides which production they fit best upon returning home. This is just one part of costuming a high school play.
The costume designer does this through designing, sewing, researching and purchasing actual clothing and costumes worn by those on stage and by selecting or designing the accessories and props which help to define each character.
From the moment the designer first reads the script until the show begins, the costume designer is always on the go. Once a production begins, the costume designer’s job is basically complete, though he/she may assist in the event problems occur with costumes during production.
Whimsy” is about The Boy,” played by Max Tullgren, who imagines that the school janitor is Snow White, that the school bully is the aforementioned Wolf.” He sees whimsy” all around, and without revealing too much, he has that whimsy taken away.
All this came out of the imaginations of Caple and Burns, who took songs Burns and Scott Hermenau wrote for various theater camps and created a story that should resonate with middle school students, and anyone has been one.
Then the stage was alight with the imagination of one middle school boy as he went though the school day, turning everyone into his characters – Alice and the Red Queen, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, Jack looking for his beanstock; even Huck and Tom were there.
Though many of these costumes can be pieced together from existing costume closets, for those productions with a little more money and no ability to produce clothing, it might not be a bad idea to rent costumes.
Jumpsuits have often been used as stage costumes in stage productions and by various singers and bands: Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, The Who, Freddie Mercury, Feeder, Alphaville, Goldfrapp, Britney Spears, Pink, Devo, Polysics, The Spice Girls, Korn and Slipknot, for example, have all performed in flamboyantly-designed jumpsuit-like garments.
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Apr
Comments Off on Children’s Costume Ideas
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Halloween costumes
Children’s Costume Ideas
If you are a little cute girl and you want to dress up for Halloween in a costume such as Princess Tiana costume will be the best to have. This season buy kids Halloween costume and let your kids have a truly memorable night, a night that they might forever remember as they grow up. Some Children’s costume ideas this are wizard of Oz outfit, the best-ever favourite Disney character costumes, or Transformers Optimus Prime or Bumblebee outfit and also the other characters in the flick.
But whatever the difficulties are in finding the ideal costume for them, one thing’s sure and that’s watching your kids choose their Halloween costume and wearing them on Halloween night is a particularly rewarding and wonderful experience for the folks.
Costumes from this major blockbuster movie include Captain Jack Sparrow in adult and child sizes and standard and deluxe versions; Elizabeth Swann also available in adult and child sizes and standard and deluxe versions and Captain Jack accessories; pirate boot covers and pirate sword.
Cinderella is over-worked, trying to meet the demands of her stepmother, stepsisters, and the seemingly endless chores she is assigned to. The death of her newly remarried father left Cinderella with her new family, and she wants to fulfill her father’s desire of being good to her new family.
Although the sleeves and accessories of the dresses differ for the Disney princesses, it is notable that both girls meet their Prince Charming and enter the ball scene wearing a similarly shaped pastel blue gown.
If you want a good quality costume that will last for Halloween and then can be used as a fun dress up for your child after the holiday is over, Little Adventures sells a great line of costumes for boys and girls.
It can be used every year for an easy Halloween Costume, for a little girl’s birthday party, so you can lend it to a friend who is hosting a princess tea party, for a local or school play, or for a princess ball.
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Apr
Comments Off on Cinderella Wedding Gown
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Halloween costumes
Cinderella Wedding Gown
Marriage is a one time happy and glorious occasion where the wedding service will stay in the married couples mind from this day forward. When choosing the bridal outfit eliminate the Cinderella Wedding Gown you would not be seen dead in this will lessen the number for you try on. It can be time-consuming and stressful trying on dresses due indecisive moments and the endless stunning designs that make your task even harder.
No midnight strike to say that her choice of wedding gown was to give her the fairytale wedding she had always dreamed of. This is why the importance of planning your wedding well in advance is vital.
Most future brides have an image of the wedding gown they would love to wear at their wedding but you need to remember at this point not all images conjured up in the mind is a guarantee that the vision you see is the style for you.
Mostly the dressing up will make her feel special like a princess, so you should try to give her the best possible costume that looks perfect and that has all the correct accessories that go along with it.
With the Cinderella movie already out and all the dress up parties, you will want to start thinking about what you and your children can dress up as. Being a perfect princess means that you have to have a stunning ball gown.
There are several costumes available for adult men this year to choose from some of the famous ones are the Darth Vader costume, Michael Jackson Billie Jeane costume, Scream ghost face costume, Halo 3 costume and much more.
This frustration can be overcome by measuring your child from the shoulder to the ankle before purchasing any dress online or by taking those measurements to the store with you to make sure it will fit perfectly.
There is nothing worse for a little girl than to have to squeeze into a dress that does not fit and is uncomfortable or even worse, having one that is too long that she is tripping on all of the time.
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Mar
Comments Off on Cinderella Costumes
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Halloween costumes
Cinderella Costumes
Cinderella is one of the most famous and beloved princesses of everybody, young and old. The material can be different satin, taffeta or even cotton, but it is a the dress that makes you feel special and beautiful – Cinderella Costumes are just the thing that you can wear for a special occasion like Birthday Party, or New Year’s Party.
While there are costumes available for more modern princesses, like Princess Tiana or Princess Mulan, the Snow White princess and the Cinderella princess are closest to the adult generation’s heart because of the time periods these princesses came out.
Mostly seen in young girls and boys, dressing up is a popular activity that many young children participate in. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that children love to dress up in princess costumes, playing “cops and robbers” in a police costume, and even dressing up in infant Indian costumes and stampeding around the house.
Costumes could be inspired by movies, fairy tale characters, cartoon charters, gothic themes, famous personalities, historical figures and even things like vegetables, items found around the house and much more.
There are several costumes available for adult men this year to choose from some of the famous ones are the Darth Vader costume, Michael Jackson, Billie Jeane costume, Scream ghost face costume, Halo 3 costume and much more.
The modernistic elements of this type of party will put guests more at ease with a princess theme while still allowing all in princess costumes adult to accessorize their Little Adventures Cinderella princess dress with a tiara.
Adults can find many unique costumes such as the Deluxe Captain Hook Pirate outfit that’s sold as a package with a maroon and black jacket with gold trim, pants, sash, dickey and shoe covers to complete the look.
For example, if you are looking for a Cinderella costume, to find one, try searching for “quality adult Cinderella costume” You can usually find some in the $50-$75 range in sizes from small to extra large.
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Mar
Comments Off on Easter Bunny Costumes
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Easter Bunnies, Etc.,
Halloween costumes
Easter Bunny Costumes
The really nice party costumes have been designed for the bonsai population – yes, the children. Do something extra special by sending out anonymous greetings to your well wishers as well an individual you wouldn’t otherwise talk to. You could also send out Easter greetings to soldiers, religious heads, or even someone in nursing homes. Easter Bunny costumes can be part of this.
We were smart kids – we recognized them in costume, but we loved that they were playing make believe with us. We also enjoyed the fact that they would give us delightful chocolate Easter bunnies when they were in costume!
The exact origins of the Easter Bunny aka Peter Cottontail, are buried in obscurity but the connection to the Easter holiday appears to lie in the fact that the rabbit is an ancient symbol of fertility and the creation of life.
The best thing about Easter is that one minute your kids can be cuddling up with the Easter Bunny and another minute your wife can be thrown on the floor and held in a choke hold (in a bad way) – all on sacred mall grounds.
There have been a few strange incidents involving the Easter as well as the pleasantries. At a mall, Bunny Frechette punched a gentleman by the name of Johansson in the face which then prompted McClure, the Easter Bunny (“you might know me from mall fights as…”), to take off his Easter Bunny head (the Easter Bunny decapitated himself kids!) and sock it to Johansson himself.
And another….Luckily for the bank, and unfortunately for our costumed friends, the staff members at the office were able to activate a security door and block the guys from entry all while the blue bunny robber had to stand there in his bunny costume, waiting to be arrested for a robbery that ended way before it began.
K-mart visitors in Manhattan were given a treat when 28-year-old Amy Hamilton-Thibert dressed up as an Easter Bunny while protesting the military-themed Easter baskets sold at the chain store because in this economy, not everyone has a job.
She stood inside the store wearing a lilac sweater with cellophane grass, white pants, plush slippers, a stuffed cottontail and white rabbit ears, all while carrying a sign that read “Someone’s in my Easter basket…and it’s G.I. Joe!!” She explained to children who approached her that, “Guns are for war and killing people.
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Mar
Comments Off on Cinderella Costume
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Halloween costumes
Cinderella Costume
One of the most popular Disney princesses in history, Cinderella, is a princess who is timeless and stunning in her simplicity. And chances are, you are like the rest of us, searching for a Cinderella costume for our girls that is somewhere in between the cheap falling apart costumes and the fancy dresses with the fancy price tag that doesn’t fit into our budget no matter how much we stretch it.
With your fancy dress costumes all sorted for your child, you can make sure that she has a blast at whatever party she is going to. If you work hard to make it look exactly like the story, then you might also help her to win the best dressed prize if there is one.
Women Halloween costumes, men Halloween costumes, boys Halloween costumes and girls Halloween costumes can be chosen to suit the pair wanting to dress up for the party to make it an interesting event.
You can dress up as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, The Flintstones, the Simpsons, the Jetsons, Charlie Brown and Lucy, Cinderella and Snow White and the Prince, Little Mermaid and Prince Eric and many other characters as pairs.
Interestingly Disney has another live-action Cinderella movie coming this Spring directed by Kenneth Branagh, with Downton Abbey’s Lily James starring in the titular role of the rags to riches tale, so that must have added to the pressure of the role and appearance to make it unique.
Disney Princesses in Historically Accurate Costumes – Cinderella inspired by her childhood memories of Disneyland and a practical knowledge of period costuming, artist Claire Hummel created a series of illustrations featuring historically accurate versions of Disney’s princess costumes.
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